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The Otto Bremer Trust has awarded more than $12 million in grants, including two grants in Albert Lea, as part of its most recent grantmaking cycle.

“As communities continue to feel the impact of the pandemic and economic uncertainty,  these organizations are supporting basic needs, education and training, economic self-sufficiency, and other programs directed at helping the recovery,” said Brian Lipschultz, co-CEO and trustee of Otto Bremer Trust in a news release

The Otto Bremer Trust is a bank holding company and a private charitable trust based in St. Paul that works at the intersection of finance and philanthropy. Created in 1944 by Otto Bremer, it is today one of the nation’s largest philanthropic organizations and is committed to supporting a better quality of life for residents of Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and Wisconsin. OBT is the majority owner of Bremer Financial Corporation, a regional financial services company; manages a diversified investment portfolio; and operates Community Benefit Financial Company, a financial resources subsidiary. Since its founding, OBT has invested more than $841 million in people, places and opportunities in the Upper Midwest. Visit ottobremer.org.

In Albert Lea, grants included the following:

• Accessible Space Inc., St. Paul, $50,000 for capital improvements to Prairie Sky Apartments, an accessible, affordable, residential complex serving individuals with disabilities in Albert Lea.
• Grace Lutheran Church, Albert Lea, $10,000 to provide supplemental food support to children experiencing hunger.