How is the Un-Fair Campaign funded?

The Un-Fair Campaign to raise awareness about the effects of discrimination in Duluth “operates on a shoestring,” said Ellen O’Neill, executive director of the YWCA and a designated spokeswoman for the group.

The campaign was designed by Swim Creative with the help of a $2,500 grant from the Lake Superior Initiative Fund, supported by the federal government.

Beyond that, the group has spent $4,600 so far, O’Neill said. Support and funding has come from 15 partner organizations: the Duluth Central Labor Body, CHUM, the city of Duluth, the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial Inc., Community Action Duluth, the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project, Lake Superior College, Life House, the NAACP, the St. Louis County Department of Health and Human Services, the University of Minnesota Duluth, the University of Wisconsin-Superior and the YWCA.

The St. Louis County Department of Health and Human Services chipped in $2,500 for the campaign, according to its director, Ann Busche. But she said the contribution did not involve public tax money. Rather, she explained the money came from the proceeds of an annual conference her department has been putting on for 30 years.

For its part, the city of Duluth has lent its support to the educational effort but has made no financial contribution, said Adele Hartwick, the city’s chief financial officer.

For more information about the educational effort and pending events, visit unfaircampaign.org.

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