Frequently Asked Questions
What's with the name Sacred Grounds - are you a faith-based organization?
No. While Sacred Grounds Coffee House aspires to partner with a diverse number of local community partners (including communities of faith) we are NOT a faith-based organization. We are a secular organization. We aspire to transcend racial, cultural, and religious divisions by sharing the creative arts. The Sacred in “Sacred Grounds” is meant to reflect our intention to have this arts-based community space be a place of refuge and renewal in which all people feel authentically safe, welcomed, and supported. Sacred Grounds Coffee House acknowledges that here in the St. Paul Area, we are upon the Dakota people's lands. Land that was stolen from them. To learn more and see a map created by local artists of the Dakota lands about the Twin Cities, please visit https://ias.umn.edu/about/ias-land-acknowledgement. To learn more about the history, land tenure issues, and the ongoing systemic injustices people within Indigenous communities face daily, please visit the Indian Land Tenure Foundation at iltf.org
We recognize that our sisters and brothers from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) massive ongoing generational trauma related to a history of slavery and systemic racism still prevalent in our society today. Sacred Grounds Coffee House stands in Solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement (BLM). We are committed to learning more about how we can be part of the positive change towards a society where all people are safe, valued, respected, and have equal opportunities.
Sacred Grounds is also deeply aware that people within the disability community have suffered a long (and relatively recent history) of mass institutionalization, abuse, neglect, and oppression. People with disabilities and mental health conditions continue to suffer abuse in all forms at a startlingly high rate than other populations. We are committed to being an active participant in the state of MN's “Treat People Like People” campaign.
Sacred Grounds Coffee House is also aware that many of our brothers and sisters with the LGBTQ+ also face discrimination, oppression, and higher violence rates against them. From this human rights advocacy lens, Sacred Grounds seeks to partner with local artists, musicians, and other creative entrepreneurs from the BIPOC, GLBTQ, and disability communities. Let us create a sacred space together in which seeds of understanding are planted so that collective healing and equity may flourish for all. Please see Founders Statement for more information.
What does generosity-based community space mean?
As a grassroots endeavor seeking to honor marginalized people's life experiences through the creative arts, we are committed to making our creative opportunities and coffee accessible to everyone- including individuals facing economic barriers. While many artists, musicians, and facilitators leading workshops are paid, the board of directors and coffee house baristas are all volunteers. We are community-supported and volunteer-led. We rely on our patrons, community partners, and donors generosity to keep Sacred Grounds programs and coffee accessible to everyone. Please see our Get Involved page for ways you can help.
When I spend money at Sacred Grounds Coffee House- where does my money go?
Operating from a nonprofit business model, all revenue received through coffee sales, artwork sold, fundraising, and grants go directly back into supporting our basic operational costs (such as lease, insurance, supplies, programming, and scholarships and free coffee tokens for individuals in financial need).
What does "trauma-informed togetherness mean?
acred Grounds recognizes that many people who have experienced oppression, marginalization, and other forms of systemic injustice are survivors of complex trauma. Sacred Grounds acknowledges that there are many underlying factors for why people may be at higher risk of complex trauma. These reasons may include race, culture, socioeconomic, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and mental health conditions.
Sacred Grounds Coffee House is NOT a direct service mental health service provider. However, as an organization, we are committed to being an organization that strives to operate from a trauma-informed lens in all that we do. To learn more about general guidelines regarding what it means for an organization to be committed to trauma-informed best practices, please see The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Guidelines HERE.
Sacred Grounds is committed to ongoing partnerships with local nonprofits, professionals, and community leaders to ensure that all participants' unique gifts, dignity, and safety are consistently valued and upheld. All volunteers at our Sacred Grounds Coffee House location will provide written information and ongoing learning opportunities around issues of diversity, equity, trauma, and resilience.
Are my financial and “in-kind” donations tax-deductible? Are you a 5013c nonprofit?
Yes. Sacred Grounds Coffee House is a non-profit 510(c)3. Contributions to Sacred Grounds are tax-deductible to the extent of the law.
In-kind donations (supplies and services) are also tax-deductible. Please visit our GiveMN fundraising page at https://www.givemn.org/story/Sacredgrounds or contact Sarah McGuiness at Sarah.SacredGrounds@gmail.com
for more information. Thank you for your support!