Lyndale Neighborhood Association

The Lyndale Neighborhood Association's mission is to be a diverse community driven organizations that brings people together to work on common issues and opportunities to ensure all community members have the opportunity to live, work, and play in a safe vibrant, and sustainable community.

The Lyndale Neighborhood has a remarkable story of success. Over the past 30 years Lyndale residents have worked together to fight crime, transform the neighborhood’s housing stock, initiate economic development, provide youth enrichment programs, and most importantly build community.

Located in the heart of South Minneapolis, living in this area are over 8,000 people and over 250 businesses. As a neighborhood Lyndale has always worked tenaciously to leverage outside resources to provide for the neighborhood's needs, this has resulted in Lyndale leveraging over $50 million dollars for neighborhood activities and programs.

Programs such as the Women's Leadership Program and adult English classes work to create bonding and bridging connections between and across diverse cultures, while community events provide opportunities for people to get involved, work together, and learn about each other's cultures. LNA's work is built upon a foundation of committee work that address livability issues and creates innovative initiatives that address these issues.

To accomplish this work LNA provides support to community members to implement their ideas, partners with local government, public, and private organizations to help bring people together to take advantage of common opportunities and solve common problems. In essence, LNA strives to be the catalyst that makes everything in the community work.

LNA's goals are:

• Be the ‘go-to' resource for the neighborhood
•  Have an active diverse cross-section of community members working to improve their neighborhood
•  Engage community members to actively work to improve the neighborhood
•  Have the human, financial, and organizational resources necessary to accomplish its goals

Awards:

• Award for Excellence in Volunteer Engagement from Literacy MN (2018)
• Best Business Rain Garden from Metro Blooms (2013)
• Finalist in Neighborhood of the Year from Neighborhoods, USA (2013)
• Gold level award for Lyndale Neighborhood News from Neighborhoods, USA (2011,2012,2013)
• Community Partner Award from Lake Street Council (2009)
• Minneapolis Arts Commission Award for Celebrating the City through Public Art for the Walldogs on Nicollet project (2008)
• Minneapolis Blooms Award presented to the Lyndale Environment Committee for the Lyndale Community Rain Garden - First Place (2006, 2007)- Certificate of Appreciation (2008)
• Strong Communities Award to Laura Johansson for her outstanding community service by the Blaisdell YMCA (2001)
• Best Community Building Project by NRP Neighborhood Conference for Lyndale Initiatives: Block Clubs Deluxe, Mujeres Latinas en Accion, Youth Leadership Initiative (2001)   
• Fostering Agency Excellence Award by the United Way in recognition of fostering outstanding program excellence, community involvement, and integrated service delivery (2001) 
• Neighborhood of the Year by Neighborhoods USA (1999) 
• Do Something Brick Awards to Joseph Barisonzi (1997)

You can read more about LNA at www.lyndale.org .  For more information on LNA contact our Associate Director Erin Cary at 612.499.8382.