Community Healing Arts Initiative (CHAI)
A nonprofit fundraiser supporting
Springboard for the ArtsTogether, we can grow a community of care, one session, one artist, and one relationship at a time
30 donors
raised $2,431
100 donor goal
6 months left
Community Healing Arts Initiative (CHAI): Healing Belongs to Everyone
Across Minnesota, many people face barriers to care, expression, and connection. For BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, and low-income community members, access to healing spaces—especially culturally-rooted and arts-based healing—is often limited by cost, long waitlists, systemic bias, and a lack of providers who reflect their identities and lived experiences.
At CHAI, we believe healing is not a privilege. Healing is a collective right.
The Challenge
Community-rooted healing—whether provided by credentialed arts-based therapists or by grassroots cultural practitioners—has always existed. Yet these healers are consistently underfunded. Many work without institutional support, without access to materials, without sustainable income, and without platforms that recognize the deep value of their art and care. Minnesotans who would benefit most from healing arts are often the ones with the least access.
Our Response
CHAI was founded to change that. We partner directly with credentialed music, art, drama, and dance/movement therapists—and with cultural and community-
rooted artists—to make healing accessible to communities who have been historically excluded from resources. Instead of re-granting to organizations, CHAI pays practitioners directly, funds materials, and removes financial barriers for participants.
Our mission is grounded in justice, cultural humility, and community care. We honor the truth that healing has always lived both inside and outside institutions—and we invest in both.
Why It’s Urgent Now
Minnesota’s cultural and political landscape is shifting. Many communities continue to navigate grief, isolation, displacement, and discrimination, all while local healing resources shrink or become less accessible. Community-rooted healers are stepping up—but they cannot do it alone. Every dollar you contribute helps Minnesotans access creative spaces that support emotional well-being, identity affirmation, collective care, and belonging.
What Your Donation Supports
Your gift to CHAI directly funds:
• Therapy groups and 1:1 sessions led by credentialed creative-arts therapists
• Workshops and community-healing experiences led by culturally-rooted artists
• Materials, instruments, space rental, and accessibility needs
• Fair and dignified compensation for healers and community builders
• Supporting existing programming specifically for communities who have been under-resourced and over-burdened
• This is collective investment in the artists, healers, and cultural workers who keep Minnesota’s communities whole.
Why CHAI?
Our co-directors are disabled, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and deeply rooted in Minneapolis’ arts and healing justice movements. CHAI is built by the communities we serve and accountable to them. Because we are all volunteers, 100% of our donations go directly to programming (minus standard sponsor administration fees). We prioritize transparency, impact, and sustainability.
Your Action Matters
Give to the Max Day is an opportunity to expand access to healing for thousands of Minnesotans. Whether you give $10 or $500, your contribution fuels real, immediate support for people who deserve culturally attuned, accessible, creative healing.
Make your gift today—and help us build a Minnesota where healing truly belongs to everyone.
Together, we can grow a community of care, one session, one artist,
and one relationship at a timeTogether, we can grow a community of care, one session, one artist, and one relationship at a time.
Across Minnesota, many people face barriers to care, expression, and connection. For BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, and low-income community members, access to healing spaces—especially culturally-rooted and arts-based healing—is often limited by cost, long waitlists, systemic bias, and a lack of providers who reflect their identities and lived experiences.
At CHAI, we believe healing is not a privilege. Healing is a collective right.
The Challenge
Community-rooted healing—whether provided by credentialed arts-based therapists or by grassroots cultural practitioners—has always existed. Yet these healers are consistently underfunded. Many work without institutional support, without access to materials, without sustainable income, and without platforms that recognize the deep value of their art and care. Minnesotans who would benefit most from healing arts are often the ones with the least access.
Our Response
CHAI was founded to change that. We partner directly with credentialed music, art, drama, and dance/movement therapists—and with cultural and community-
rooted artists—to make healing accessible to communities who have been historically excluded from resources. Instead of re-granting to organizations, CHAI pays practitioners directly, funds materials, and removes financial barriers for participants.
Our mission is grounded in justice, cultural humility, and community care. We honor the truth that healing has always lived both inside and outside institutions—and we invest in both.
Why It’s Urgent Now
Minnesota’s cultural and political landscape is shifting. Many communities continue to navigate grief, isolation, displacement, and discrimination, all while local healing resources shrink or become less accessible. Community-rooted healers are stepping up—but they cannot do it alone. Every dollar you contribute helps Minnesotans access creative spaces that support emotional well-being, identity affirmation, collective care, and belonging.
What Your Donation Supports
Your gift to CHAI directly funds:
• Therapy groups and 1:1 sessions led by credentialed creative-arts therapists
• Workshops and community-healing experiences led by culturally-rooted artists
• Materials, instruments, space rental, and accessibility needs
• Fair and dignified compensation for healers and community builders
• Supporting existing programming specifically for communities who have been under-resourced and over-burdened
• This is collective investment in the artists, healers, and cultural workers who keep Minnesota’s communities whole.
Why CHAI?
Our co-directors are disabled, LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and deeply rooted in Minneapolis’ arts and healing justice movements. CHAI is built by the communities we serve and accountable to them. Because we are all volunteers, 100% of our donations go directly to programming (minus standard sponsor administration fees). We prioritize transparency, impact, and sustainability.
Your Action Matters
Give to the Max Day is an opportunity to expand access to healing for thousands of Minnesotans. Whether you give $10 or $500, your contribution fuels real, immediate support for people who deserve culturally attuned, accessible, creative healing.
Make your gift today—and help us build a Minnesota where healing truly belongs to everyone.
Together, we can grow a community of care, one session, one artist,
and one relationship at a timeTogether, we can grow a community of care, one session, one artist, and one relationship at a time.
https://www.chaimn.org/