For funders & partners
We built infrastructure, not a program.
Built to last. Built to scale.
Most organizations offer a service. We built a pipeline. A family that connects with We The Gente doesn't get handed a pamphlet and a phone number. They get one guide who stays with them, from the first conversation through stabilization and into a path forward. Every step a family takes makes the next one possible, by design.
The model
Latino families in southeastern Minnesota don't lack talent or drive. They lack access: the right information, the right connection, at the right moment. Many organizations work to build political power for the community. That work matters. We start differently and complement it: we deliver direct, practical help to families, one at a time, and we connect them to everything they need next.
We are the front door, and we are the thread that runs through every step after it.
How we operate
We run on infrastructure built by our founder, a first-generation Army veteran who spent years as a site reliability engineer keeping critical systems online, then pointed that same discipline at community work. The result is an organization that runs less like a startup nonprofit and more like a system designed to scale.
One human thread
Every family is paired with a Navegante, a bilingual guide who is the consistent point of contact across every program the family touches. Technology handles the coordination so our people can do what only people can: build trust.
A structured front door
We meet families where they already are, at food distributions, in churches, through trusted referrals, and move them through a structured assessment across the core domains of their life: housing, employment, education, healthcare, legal stability, and more. It surfaces real needs and real goals, conversationally, never as an interrogation.
Built on data, not estimates
Every service we provide is captured as a structured record. When we report on our impact, the numbers come from the system that runs our work, not from memory. That means a funder can trust what we say we did, because we measured it as it happened.
Delivered with privacy and dignity
We coordinate direct aid quietly. Families in difficult or vulnerable situations can get help without exposing themselves, a design choice that proved essential when our community came under pressure.
Proof
When immigration enforcement swept through the region, families were suddenly without income, without groceries, and afraid to ask for help. We mobilized, reaching over 700 families with food and essential supplies, delivered quietly and with care. Those families became the foundation of the relationships we now build on.
When a local father was detained, we moved first: connecting his family to legal representation, covering the initial bond hearing fee the same day, and coordinating with community partners to bring him home. That effort was independently reported by MPR News.
We are now channeling those relationships into long-term progress, guiding families from immediate stability toward jobs, education, and economic mobility.
Accountability
We The Gente is a verified 501(c)(3) public charity, governed by an active volunteer board providing financial and strategic oversight. Meet our board.
Candid profile + transparency record are available for review.
Partner with us
We are looking for funders and partners who want to invest in something built to last. Whether you fund the work, refer families to it, or build alongside us, there is a place for you here.