About Us
Zonta International has successfully empowered women worldwide through service and advocacy for more than 100 years. Learn more about our global organization, including our vision for a more equal world and long-standing partnerships that help us work toward that vision every day.
The Zonta Club of Minneapolis is a non-profit, volunteer organization, formed in 1926. We are a chartered member of Zonta International and dedicated to changing the world for women with a focus on the Twin Cities metro area.
Our members come from Minneapolis, St. Paul and the surrounding metro area and volunteer their energy, time, talents, connections, leadership and organizational skills to improve the lives of women and girls in our community and around the globe.
Does Zonta sound fun and inspiring to you? Explore Membership.
What We Do
Scholarship Programs
We are dedicated to achieving gender equality and believe higher education plays a critical role in that mission. Our club raises funds to offer multiple, annual scholarship opportunities.
As a member you can take part in the process, meet the awardees, and see your efforts make a real difference to outstanding women in the Twin Cities area.
Service Programs
Our goal is to provide support to women and girls in the greater metro area in order to facilitate positive change in our community. To that end, we partner with local, non-profit organizations, whose mission and work is in alignment with ours. We provide service in two ways:
- Hands-on service projects, like creating ‘welcome bags’ full of toiletries and essentials for women asylum seekers new to Minnesota receiving legal services from The Advocates for Human Rights.
- Providing funding support to meet critical needs, like furnishing the ‘Hearts for Freedom’ house at Heartland Girls ranch with everything from flat-screen televisions to bathroom towels so teenage girls who had been trafficked have a safe, cheerful place to live and receive the care they deserve.
Recent partners include Dress for Success Twin Cities, The Advocates for Human Rights, Heartland Girls Ranch, Breaking Free, Alexandra House, and many other worthy organizations.
Advocacy Efforts
Our members add their voices through advocacy to foster our mission at both the National and State level on topics such as ending violence against women via the Zonta Says No! campaign, ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), and ending child marriage across the U.S. Find out more at Zonta USA Caucus.
Ending Child Marriage in Minnesota – In 2019/2020 our members, along with members from the other Minnesota Zonta Clubs, joined a coalition led by Unchained at Last to successfully advocate to eliminate child marriage in Minnesota by closing dangerous legal loopholes.
Members sent postcards and letters, made phone calls to State Senators and Representatives, attended a rally at the Capital, and coordinated with out-of-state partners. These efforts paid off when Minnesota became the fourth state in the nation to end child marriage, and the second state to do so unanimously and during a global pandemic. The law, signed by Governor Walz, went into effect on August 1, 2020.
Child marriage is pervasive, legal, catastrophic. Learn more
Events & Fundraising
Our members enjoy getting together with like-minded individuals from the community. In addition to our monthly member meetings, our club hosts events such as in-person and virtual book club and film discussions, facilitated guest speaker sessions, and scholarship award recognitions. Our events are open to guests and perspective members.
Our scholarships, service, and advocacy efforts are funded through donations and a variety of annual fundraising efforts. As a member you can make an impact by helping determine ways to raise funds, organize and execute, and celebrate success!
Recent fundraisers have included the ‘Get Surly with Zonta’ dinner and beer tasting at Surly Brewing, Feminist Trivia night at Urban Growler, and a Zonta centennial scarf sale.
See what is coming up on our Event Calendar and follow us on Facebook to find out more.
Zonta International Meetings & Convention
A variety of opportunities are available to participate in the work of Zonta beyond our local club. These opportunities include Area, District and Conference Meetings and International Convention.
They are a great way to connect more deeply with Zonta through learning opportunities, involvement in debate and voting on leadership and bylaws (if attending as a club voting delegate) and engagement with fellow Zontians from the U.S. and around the world.