Nami Minnesota

“A nami minnesota member may be one individual or a family of individuals that is counted as one for the purposes of paying dues and voting. Members accept the mission of nami minnesota and shall have paid dues to the state organization or to an affiliate unless waived by the affiliate or state organization. The membership dues shall be split between the affiliate, nami minnesota, and nami national. Members may become members through an open door policy that allows for reduced dues payment. Open door members are defined by income or economic necessity. All members through open door shall have the same rights and privileges regardless of the amount of dues paid.”

“Each member shall be able to cast one vote in person upon each matter submitted to a vote at a meeting of members. Each member shall be entitled to cast one vote in person for each director to be elected. No cumulative voting for directors shall be permitted. No proxy or voting agreements are permitted.”

“An annual meeting of the members of the organization will be held during each calendar year, on the date and time and place set by the board of directors, for the purpose of electing directors and for transactions of such other business as may come before the meeting. All meetings of the board, its committees, and the organization shall be governed by rober's rules of order. Generally members vote on board members and changes to the bylaws.”

“The nami finance committee shall present the annual form 990 to the board for approval before filing. A representative from the firm hired to prepare the 990 must be present to explain it and answer questions.”

“The nami minnesota board of directors and staff review and sign the official conflict of interest statement every january or at least once per calendar year. The executive director and senior director will ensure this is accomplished. There will be monthly additions to the board meetings asking for disclosure of any new conflicts of interest. These will be recorded in the board minutes.”

“The nami board of directors shall establish the salary of the executive director based on the annual survey of salaries conducted by the minnesota council of nonprofits. In addition, the board will take into account the performance of the executive director measured against the job description, annual plan, and strategic plan. The review will occur annually.”

“Nami minnesota will make the form 1023 and form 990 available on their website and to anyone who requests it and contacts the main office.”

“Through education, support, and advocacy, nami minnesota champions justice, dignity, and respect for all individuals and families affected by mental illnesses. To serve that mission, nami minnesota works with individuals with mental illnesses, their families, professionals, youth, and the community at large by providing education, support, and advocacy.”

“Nami minnesota reached over 53,000 people in the past year through its classes, events, support groups, and helpline calls. This includes a 22% increase in class attendance over the previous year. By the numbers: "534 family members learned about mental illnesses and how to support their loved one. "1,961 parents and guardians of children gained knowledge and skills to help their child who is struggling with their mental health. "5,039 employees from a variety of businesses and organizations better understood how to promote good mental health in their workplace. "2,332 professionals who work with people who have metal illnesses learned how to help someone quit smoking, engage with families, and about the unique mental health needs of older adults. "2,659 people are more aware of the signs of suicide and how to prevent suicide. In addition, nami provided 331 lockboxes across the state. Nami also reached 13,038 high school and middle school students in the last year, helping them learn to identify the warning signs of mental illnesses and how to get help when needed. In addition, we also reached over 2,554 middle and high school students by holding youth mental health shoe day events for mental health awareness month. Our 73 peer-led support groups continued to be an essential element in recovery for people living with mental illnesses and offered critical support to their family members. This included 7 identity-based support groups for people from lgbtq+, bipoc, and spanish speaking communities. Attendance at our peer-led support group meetings continues to increase, with over 11,655 seats being used in our online support group platform last year.”

“Nami minnesota reached 4,057 members of the general public providing classes and presentations to increase their awareness of mental illnesses and how to build caring communities. Presentations with guest speakers on a variety of topics were also held during the year, along with events such as our annual conference, research dinner, super saturday for parents of children, and employer breakfast. We also reached more than 1,404 people by providing special presentations or serving on panels at community events and conferences. Over the past 12 months, nami continued its efforts to become more culturally informed, partnering within cultural communities to offer classes to 2,852 people. These classes included short informational talks at local consulates that served spanish speaking communities, mental health 101 for cultural communities, salud mental 101, and our journeys which shared the stories of people from diverse backgrounds who are in recovery.”

“Nami minnesota worked on legislation to build our mental health system during the 2025 legislative session. Working with the mental health legislative network, which nami co-chairs, the following priority goals were established: "increase rates for inpatient and outpatient mental health and sud care "address workforce shortages "address the needs of youth boarding in the ed and waiting for services in the community address the needs of youth in the juvenile justice system "increase grant funds for programs that work "support audio only telehealth "ensure access to mental health care for students "require health plans to cover effective mental health treatment "increase funds for housing for people with mental illnesses "increase funds for employment programs for people with mental illnesses "support recovery residences funding and regulation "build the sud system "fund re-entry programs from the criminal justice systems "address the issue of transport holds under the commitment act "sustain fasttrackermn.org, a web-based directory for all minnesotans to search and find real-time access to treatment openings, services, and facilities the 2025 legislative session was a difficult one. Legislators were tasked with developing a two-year budget, which is normally a difficult process, as they tried to address competing priorities. This year was more difficult due to a projected deficit of 6 billion in 2028 and 2029. This led to a decision to cut 1 billion from health and human services. Progress was made on many of the key priority issues thanks to the people who testified at hearings, attended day on the hill, and called and emailed their legislators. Specifically, the state will invest 1.75m into voluntary engagement, increase access to the state hospitals for people in jail and community hospitals, establish a task force for the commitment act for people with mental illnesses who are considered dangerous, require schools to provide mental health education, increased support for school- linked mental health care by 3m, and more.”

“Nami's helpline continued to be a link for over 2,875 people in the past year. Calls involved a variety of issues including people seeking information about first episode psychosis, options for helping a loved one with a mental illness, advocating for a loved one involved with the criminal justice system, understanding the commitment act, helping locate missing loved ones, helping obtain housing and services, and much more.”