METROPOLITAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION

As filed

Subsection

03

Classification

1000

Street

1256 PENN AVE N STE 4800

These codes are the IRS's own and are shown exactly as filed. What each one means is in the Business Master File documentation (opens in a new tab).

Mission and programs · 2025

• MEDA's mission is to Help BIPOC Entrepreneurs Succeed. Our theory of communities of color is a primary strategy to build a more just and fair economy. To fulfil our mission, MEDA provides integrated, wrap-around services in the areas all entrepreneurs need to be successful to grow and scale their businesses through providing the access to the "3C's" -- Access to Consulting, Access to Connections, and Access to Capital. Meda's services and products are available to all low-income entrepreneurs in Minnesota. MEDA serves small business owners who do not have access to traditional commercial banking markets and services.Continued on Schedule OIn 2025, MEDA made a significant impact across Minnesota, deploying $10.5M in new loans across disadvantaged geographies of the state. MEDA served 722 unique businesses in 2025, in industries such as healthcare and social assistance (10.5%), manufacturing (6.2%), Construction (9.4%), retail (8%) and scientific and technical services (13%) as well as accommodation and food services (13.8%). The breadth and variety of these businesses drive economic growth, bringing revenue to our neighborhoods, cities, counties, and state. Moreover, the majority of MEDA-supported client businesses are employer businesses, that together create jobs for more than 1,000+ people.As a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), MEDA provided commercial real estate loans, lines of credit and other term debt products to fund hiring, inventory, and equipment. In real estate, MEDA supports small businesses to acquire, renovate and occupy commercial spaces in disadvantaged corridors of the Twin Cities. MEDA's Minnesota MBDA Business Center and Ascend Twin Cities connected BIPOC contractors to secure contracts that lead to sustainable growth. Access to Capital: The consulting services we offer are augmented by the $36 million MEDA Loan Fund, which is a CDFI-certified and SBA-licensed fund that we leverage to support our clients' business growth, real estate, and acquisition needs. We help with financial analysis, projections, and loan packaging. We also expand access to capital for our clients through our excellent relationships with community, regional and national banking institutions. Access to Contracts: Our business consultants provide education, training, and guidance on operations to ensure entrepreneurs are contract-ready. We connect businesses with opportunities to access public and private contracts that support business growth. In the current award period, the Minnesota MBDA has added the Ascend Twin Cities Program to its service delivery. This is a partnership initiative between JPMorgan Chase Small Business Forward Initiative, MEDA, and the Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship (Carlson School of Business at the University of Minnesota. Developed by the University of Washington Foster School of Business, we will offer mentorship, education & training, and connections with our Anchor Corporations to identify and secure new business opportunities. Access to Connections: MEDA's staff works ongoing to connect small business entrepreneurs with the networks and connections they need to find the right services. When MEDA is unable to meet the need of an entrepreneur, our staff make referrals to a variety of nonprofit partners, county offices, chambers of commerce, and other supports in the small business ecosystem.

  Expenses $5,529,408 · Revenue $2,355,002

• MEDA hosts the regional Minority Business Development Agency. For the fiscal year ended June 30th, 2025, we assisted 145 clients. They reported $45.5 million Gross Revenues, and we helped them to acquire $75.1 million in capital that helped to support 1,138 Jobs (Full and Part time).

  Expenses $398,082 · Revenue $22,765

• Ascend Management Education Programming: The purpose of MEDA's Ascend program is to improve the capabilities of suppliers, provide connections, and to assist suppliers with obtaining the capital needed to support meeting the needs of their contracts. The program meets the critical need to access management education as well as knowledge of corporate suppliers that are essential to scale a supplier's operations.Continued on Schedule OThe core gap that many disadvantaged, low-income suppliers encounter is that management education, contract opportunities, and capital are essential for scaling a business but is not always easily accessible to low-income or otherwise disadvantaged entrepreneurs. The Ascend program bridges the gap by providing the education needed to further develop their capabilities, providing an introduction and opportunity to showcase their business to corporate partners involved in procurement, and contract financing options that would be necessary to scale the business.In 2025, the program supported 14 small businesses through management education, with an additional 46 that maintained access to MEDA services.Across all client types, 65% of Ascend Alumni survey respondents reported an increase in gross revenues over the last 3 years (15% reported staying the same).60% reported an increase in market opportunities over the period (20% reported staying the same).35% reported an increasing number of employees over the period (35% reported staying the same).

  Expenses $413,992 · Grants $25,000 · Revenue $16,822

• MEDA supports earlygrowthstage entrepreneurs through its Volunteer Accelerator Network (VAN), a program designed for entrepreneurs of color who are committed to building sustainable and growing businesses. VAN provides a structured pathway for collaboration, networking, education, and mentorship by connecting participants with seasoned subjectmatter experts and experienced entrepreneurs from within the community. The network now includes 65 mentors who offer strategic guidance, help entrepreneurs develop SMART goals, and deliver topicspecific support. Many mentors also serve as instructors in MEDA's Roadmap to Business Success educational series. In 2025 alone, the program facilitated 110 mentorships, with each engagement being specifically tailored to the unique needs of each business.Mentees receive biweekly mentorship aligned with their business goals, monthly educational sessions designed for earlygrowthstage entrepreneurs, and access to a supportive peer community. VAN also hosts everyothermonth coffee chats to build relationships and strengthen the broader entrepreneurial landscape, along with strategic celebrations and networking events that bring together mentors, mentees, and the wider network. With VAN as a core offering, MEDA delivers robust business consulting, mentorship, and capacitybuilding programming that helps small businesses grow sustainably and successfully.

  Expenses $228,440 · Revenue $12,056

As filed on the 2025 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Officers and directors · 2025

As listed in Part VII of the 2025 return, in the order the filer printed them. Each return names its own; this is not a roster the organization keeps with us.

The first 25 listed. Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those. Earlier years are each on their own filing page.

Filings

• 2025

  Revenue

  $8,616,550

  Expenses

  $9,228,096

  Contributions

  $5,371,722

  Grants paid

  $25,000

• 2023

  Revenue

  $9,291,098

  Expenses

  $8,074,691

  Contributions

  $7,558,087

  Grants paid

  $367,240

• 2022

  Revenue

  $6,566,738

  Expenses

  $9,518,584

  Contributions

  $5,219,088

  Grants paid

  $389,427

The four totals the IRS asks for on Part I of the Form 990, as filed. A dash means the figure was not present on the return — not that it was zero.

Other returns filed

• 2021 · 990

  Revenue

  $12,064,856

  Expenses

  $7,934,680

  Assets (EOY)

  $45,113,584

• 2020 · 990

  Revenue

  $7,589,215

  Expenses

  $6,034,922

  Assets (EOY)

  $39,495,187

• 2019 · 990

  Revenue

  $5,856,303

  Expenses

  $6,699,083

  Assets (EOY)

  $26,982,294

• 2018 · 990

  Revenue

  $7,372,838

  Expenses

  $6,346,017

  Assets (EOY)

  $24,620,444

• 2017 · 990

  Revenue

  $5,982,625

  Expenses

  $5,829,336

  Assets (EOY)

  $16,386,770

• 2016 · 990

  Revenue

  $7,171,173

  Expenses

  $4,026,359

  Assets (EOY)

  $15,382,995

• 2015 · 990

  Revenue

  $3,857,602

  Expenses

  $3,557,547

  Assets (EOY)

  $11,367,698

• 2014 · 990

  Revenue

  $4,003,903

  Expenses

  $3,211,610

  Assets (EOY)

  $9,559,276

• 2013 · 990

  Revenue

  $3,176,094

  Expenses

  $3,085,225

  Assets (EOY)

  $6,451,209

• 2012 · 990

  Revenue

  — not reported

  Expenses

  $2,797,263

  Assets (EOY)

  $4,651,980

Nonprofiteer parses Forms 990, 990-EZ and 990-PF, in a window of recent tax years. These returns are recorded from the IRS e-file index, so their figures were extracted by that index rather than read from the return here — treat them as a different source from the filings above, not as more of the same record. A dash means the index carries no figure; Form 990-T listings carry none at all. Showing the 10 most recent; the API carries the rest.

Grants made

• Wugs Vending

  $25,000

  2023 · General Operations

• Taste of Rondo

  $25,000

  2022 · General Operations

• EDI AI LLC (ChatLPO)

  $25,000

  2025 · 2025 MN Cup Grant

• TurnSignl

  $25,000

  2022 · General Operations

• Howard's Bar Inc

  $20,000

  2022 · General Operations

• Christina Childcare

  $15,500

  2022 · General Operations

• Howard's Bar Inc

  $15,000

  2023 · General Operations

• H2overhaul Inc

  $15,000

  2023 · General Operations

• Eggroll Queen

  $15,000

  2023 · General Operations

• Tacos El Kevin

  $15,000

  2022 · General Operations

The 10 largest by cash amount. The API serves every itemized grant.

Where these grants went next →

Grants received

• PROSPERITY NOW

  $480,438

  2023 · TO PROMOTE THE ORGANIZATION'S MISSION & EXPAND ITS REACH TO THE UNDERSERVED POPULATION

• CHARITIES AID FOUNDATION AMERICA

  $250,690

  2024 · CHARITABLE DONATION

• PROSPERITY NOW

  $160,000

  2022 · TO PROMOTE THE ORGANIZATION'S MISSION & EXPAND ITS REACH TO THE UNDERSERVED POPULATION

• ROUND IT UP AMERICA INC

  $90,000

  2022 · COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAMS

• MINNEAPOLIS FOUNDATION

  $52,100

  2024 · DONOR ADVISED, PUBLIC AFFAIRS/SOCIETY BENEFIT

• MINNEAPOLIS FOUNDATION

  $51,000

  2022 · DONOR-RECOMMENDED, COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

• SAINT PAUL & MINNESOTA FOUNDATION

  $30,000

  2023 · MULTIPLE GRANTS FOR PROGRAMS, OPERATIONS, OR OTHER PURPOSES

• SAINT PAUL & MINNESOTA FOUNDATION

  $30,000

  2022 · MULTIPLE GRANTS FOR MULTIPLE PURPOSES

• ROUND IT UP AMERICA INC

  $30,000

  2024 · COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAMS

• TWIN CITIES-METRO CERTIFIED DEVELOPMENT COMPANY

  $25,000

  2023 · GENERAL OPERATING GRANT

The 10 largest by cash amount. The API serves every itemized grant.

Other IRS files