Building New Systems to Empower St. Paul Residents

For generations, homeownership has been framed as the only viable pathway to building intergenerational wealth. But renting is not a temporary stopgap or a failure to launch.

For millions of households — including more than half of all households in Saint Paul — renting is a long-term, intentional housing choice shaped by economic realities, cultural preferences, and structural barriers that were built into our systems by design.

Renters in the Twin Cities include essential workers, families with children, seniors, immigrants, and multigenerational households. Nearly one in three renters in unsubsidized housing spends more than 30% of their income on rent — leaving little room for emergency savings, credit-building, or long-term planning. Over time, exclusion from wealth-building systems — not individual financial behavior — drives persistent inequality.

This exclusion is not accidental. Our wealth-building systems were designed to reward ownership — leaving renters without a meaningful seat at the table, even when they demonstrate financial responsibility year after year. Renters deserve meaningful pathways to economic security and long-term prosperity, and the communities most impacted by housing inequity should lead the way in defining what those pathways look like.

That's why we're launching ProsperSt.Paul — an initiative rooted in the belief that renter wealth-building is possible, and that renters themselves are best positioned to design the systems that make it real. Through emergency savings support, financial coaching, and tenant rights education, ProsperSt.Paul equips renters in the Twin Cities with tools to strengthen financial resilience and expand economic agency. And through the Renter Leadership Council, we're building a cohort of renter leaders who will shape policy and drive systems change in St. Paul.

We invite you to learn more — and to help us shape what comes next.

Launching the Renter Leadership Council

This summer, ASANDC is launching the Renter Leadership Council — a paid cohort of St. Paul renters who will help design and lead renter-centered wealth-building strategies for our community. This first phase will lay the groundwork for a long-term, community-driven ecosystem for renter prosperity — one built by the people who have the most at stake in getting it right.

Are you a St. Paul renter? The application is open to all residents — stay tuned for details on how to apply.

Our Partners in This Work

The Alliance for Metropolitan Stability: Whose Stable Ground program is funding the launch of the Renter Leadership Council as part of their regional initiative to strengthen BIPOC-led housing organizing and systems change across the Twin Cities.

Rainbow Research: Whose expertise in curriculum design, co-facilitation, and program evaluation is helping shape this initiative from the ground up — ensuring it is grounded in ethical practice, renter voice, and rigorous learning.

POWER THE FUTURE OF ASANDC

We’re proud to pave a path where every individual and family in Rondo, Frogtown, and Summit-University has equal access to economic well-being, community support, and education. But we can’t do it alone. Here are a few ways you can help sustain this work and resource communities who need it the most: 

• Make a donation to sustain the future of our organization.  

• Join our email list by clicking here. 

• Connect us with a partner we should know.
  Email us at info@aurorastanthony.org. 

* U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey — St. Paul city, Minnesota.
† Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, "Renter Households Have Become Older and More Settled."
‡ National Association of REALTORS®, "Wealth Gains by Income and Racial/Ethnic Group," 2023.