Search Through Foundation Grants for Nonprofits in Minnesota in the U.S.

About Us

Our Mission

The mission of The Auto Club Group Foundation is to work on behalf of our members and the communities we serve to create lasting solutions, inspire learning and provide funding in the areas of traffic safety, driver education and financial literacy.

Our History

In 1902, nine motor clubs across the country joined together to form the American Automobile Association (AAA) to protect the rights and interests of automobile users and promote better highway and traffic safety. Today, The Auto Club Group Foundation continues to support those interests by investing in traffic safety, driver education and financial literacy initiatives. The Auto Club Group Foundation which is a private Foundation, represents 14 states and 2 U.S territories, and is an integral part of AAA's evolution and success.

How We Work

Our approach to grant funding comes from a very basic principle which is to have an understanding of the goals and objectives of local communities. Our relationships, which have developed from years of community service, allow us to offer support in a more impactful and meaningful way.

The Auto Club Group Foundation, which is a private foundation, is funded by our sponsoring organization, AAA – The Auto Club Group. We award grants to organizations and initiatives that enhance our mission in the areas of Traffic Safety, Driver Education and Financial Literacy throughout our 14 U.S. states and two U.S. territories.

Priority Areas

Traffic Safety

The Auto Club Group Foundation is dedicated to supporting traffic safety programs and initiatives that make our roadways safer for all users. The ACG Foundation strives to be responsive to emerging traffic safety issues by considering grant applications that are forward thinking and address new technology.

Financial Literacy

The Auto Club Group Foundation supports financial literacy programming in grades K – 12, empowering students with the tools they need to make sound financial decisions.

Driver Education 

The Auto Club Group Foundation wants to ensure everyone has access to quality driver education by supporting scholarships and programming needs in underserved communities.

The Minneapolis Foundation

The Minneapolis Foundation drives collective action to realize strong, vibrant communities. We cultivate generosity by taking action on the greatest civic, social, and economic needs—partnering with nonprofits, facilitating grantmaking, driving research and advocacy, and providing services to donors seeking to make a difference in their communities.

Great Lakes Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program

In partnership with the Midwest Environmental Justice Network, NDN Collective, and RE-AMP Network, the Minneapolis Foundation will award environmental justice grants to organizations working in and for underserved communities throughout the Great Lakes region.

Grants will be awarded to community-based nonprofits and other eligible organizations in the following three tiers:

• Tier 1: Assessment and Engagement
• Tier 2: Community Education and Planning
• Tier 3: Project Development and Implementation

We aim to distribute 30% of grant funding to federally recognized tribes and Native American organizations, 25% to rural communities, and 45% to urban communities. The partnership anticipates making 206 grants: 83 in Year 1, 85 in Year 2, and 38 in Year 3.

You may submit an application for multiple tiers at the same time, in any order.

Program Goal

The Great Lakes TCGM Partnership will distribute grants to organizations working in and for underserved communities throughout the Great Lakes region. The partnership was selected by the EPA as one of 11 grantmakers around the nation in its new Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking program.

The program’s goal is to lift up community-led innovation and strengthen community-based groups by breaking down barriers to federal funding. All grants will be given to environmental and public health efforts in underserved communities as defined by the EPA.

Issue Areas

Grants will support projects that focus on issues including, but not limited to:

• Environmental health
• Air, soil, and water quality
• Healthy homes
• Access to healthy food
• Stormwater and green infrastructure
• Emergency preparedness
• Disaster resilience
• Environmental job training

Tier 3: Project Development and Implementation

Tier 3 awards are one- to two-year grants of up to $350,000 to pilot or implement project plans. Projects may have educational and outreach components, but must focus on developing tangible community assets or providing environmental or public health benefits to one or more disadvantaged communities. Up to 50% of the grant can be used for relevant property acquisition or purchase. Grants will be paid on a reimbursement basis, with a small number of grantees eligible for one advance payment of up to 10% of the total grant.

Eligible activities include, but are not limited to:

• Strengthening cumulative impact, public health, or environmental protections
• Increasing access to healthy food
• Reducing the use of pesticides or toxic substances
• Cleaning up contaminated sites
• Conducting healthy home assessments
• Increasing energy or water efficiency in homes or buildings
• Launching community energy or water efficiency programs
• Installing water filters; developing community gardens
• Creating community resilience hubs
• Installing green infrastructure projects
• Creating internships or implementing workforce development programs

You need not develop a new project to receive a grant. These one-time grants are well suited to support existing work that is currently not funded by another source or to complement other projects for which you already have funding. We also welcome proposals for high-priority new projects. 

Grotto Foundation seeks to improve the educational, financial, physical and social well-being of individuals and families by investing in effective nonprofit organizations throughout the state of Minnesota.

Focus Areas

We award grants to organizations that work in at least three out of the following four areas:

Youth Development

Programs that provide experiences and activities to help youth develop personal values systems and social, emotional, physical, and cognitive competencies in order to achieve one's full potential.

Postsecondary Success

Any high-quality postsecondary credential or certification program that leads to workforce success as defined by individuals having the skills needed to secure living wage jobs with pathways to higher levels of pay, skill, responsibility or authority.

Community Safety & Neighborhood Development

Programs should incorporate community-led organizations, localized economic development, community leadership/leadership development and clear plans for sustainability.

Mentoring

Programs that promote both formal and informal mentoring relationships. Mentoring, when successful, can profoundly benefit all parties: the mentor, the mentee and the organization.

Arts & Culture: 

The Arts & Culture program supports organizations, programs, and projects that provide support structures for working artists and culture bearers to develop and share their work, and to lead in movements and communities. These artists and culture bearers spark our collective imagination, enrich the quality of our lives, and enhance the vitality and vibrancy of Minnesota.Our strategies include: supporting partnerships that provide direct support for individual artists and culture bearers; developing and sustaining the presence and visibility of underrepresented artists and cultural institutions, including Black, Indigenous, Asian, and Latinx artists, and those in rural areas, Tribal Nations, and across Greater Minnesota; and supporting working artists and culture bearers advancing justice.

Our Mission

The Old National Bank Foundation believes that social responsibility is essential to fostering vibrant, sustainable communities. We realize this belief through strategic partnerships with charitable organizations addressing defined community needs.

Old National Bank Foundation

The Old National Bank Foundation makes contributions to nonprofit organizations to fund widespread community impact programs and/or projects. The Foundation is part of Old National's overall charitable giving initiative, which enables us to support programs that improve quality of life in areas of Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin where our clients, associates and shareholders live and work.

Invested in our communities

Caring for our clients means being an active and dynamic partner in the cities and towns we serve. Through sponsorships, Old National helps organizations improve the quality of life in the areas where our clients, associates and shareholders live and work.

Old National Bank Foundation Sponsorships

Old National sponsorships provide monetary support for events or activities, while enabling us to partner with many community organizations. Typically such sponsorships are in exchange for advertising and/or publicity that directly benefits Old National. Our goal is to make meaningful contributions, measure the results of our sponsorships, and work closely with the organizations we support.

Here are examples of the types of activities we sponsor:

• One-time events
• Fundraisers
• Golf tournaments/scrambles
• Corporate tables at galas
• Sporting events
• Special events (telethons, marathons, races or benefits)

Valero Energy Foundation 

Valero, its employees and the Valero Energy Foundation are committed to improving the quality of life in communities where we work and live, fulfilling a mission that was set from the beginning. We set the standard for corporate citizenship and promotes prosperity in our communities. 

The Valero Energy Foundation -- a public charity and Valero's philanthropic arm -- funds nonprofit agencies that serve predominantly disadvantaged children and families. In 2019, the Foundation contributed appoximately $40 million in assistance in the communities where Valero has major operations.

Four Pillars of Support

Our funding focuses on our four pillars of giving in communities where we have major operations.

• Basic Needs:  Valero gives assistance to agencies that provide basic needs of life, including shelter, food and clothing necessary for the development of a strong and safe community. 
• Health Care: We invest in the development of strategic community health resources and facilities that will support the needs of all members of our nearby communities, with major gifts going to children’s hospitals, university medical centers and service providers that offer specialized health care services and programs.
• Education: Valero is a strong advocate of education as it creates a necessary foundation for all children to thrive and for adults to lead productive lives. 
• Civic: We support civic and environmental initiatives directly related to the success of the communities where we live and work.

Our Approach

McKnight’s Vibrant & Equitable Communities program fosters shared prosperity, power, and participation through four strategies: Accelerate Economic Mobility, Build Community Wealth, Cultivate a Fair and Just Housing System, and Strengthen Democratic Participation.

Within these strategies, we use all forms of capital—from our grants to our civic voice—to advance systemic improvements for individuals, communities, and society at large.

Accelerate Economic Mobility

We recognize that to create vibrant and equitable communities, all Minnesotans need high-quality jobs. We aim to drive gains in employment, working conditions, and earnings for Black, Latinx, Asian, immigrant, Indigenous, and low-income Minnesotans across the state, paying attention to industry-specific and geographic clusters. We work with a range of partners, such as networks of funders, worker centers, businesses, and government agencies.

Our grantmaking priorities in this area focus on efforts that:

• Engage champions, allies, funders, workers, and private sector partners to identify and prioritize worker-centered approaches to high-quality jobs.
• Develop and advance shared solutions among worker leaders, government, and the private sector to make gains in safety, wages, working conditions, and workers’ assets.

Build Community Wealth

We aim to increase the dollars flowing to the community investment sector and into communities of color and low-income communities, and to increase access to capital (as loans and other forms) to under-represented entrepreneurs and households, so they can launch or grow businesses and/or acquire assets, whether it is a new home, vehicle, or other resources.

Our grantmaking priorities in this area focus on efforts that:

• Strengthen key community-focused financial institutions’ operational and lending and investment capacity.
• Develop and spread innovative and equitable lending and investment capital—such as new underwriting, risk management, due diligence, and credit consideration—resulting in new types of loans, ownership structures, and investments.
• Increase private and public investments in Minnesota’s Community Development Financial Institutions and other community-focused capital providers.
• Accelerate an equitable procurement strategy designed to increase underrepresented businesses’ share of contracts for products and services to the public and private sectors.

Cultivate a Fair and Just Housing System

We aim to ensure that more Minnesotans of color and low-income Minnesotans are affordably housed and positioned to build wealth through housing. In doing so, we must also stabilize the housing system to ensure as little loss of existing affordability and ownership as possible.

Our grantmaking priorities in this area focus on efforts that:

• Increase political will and public support for public sector investments in affordable housing.
• Expand capital flows to support project pipelines and resource efforts to make it easier and faster to produce and preserve affordable housing (rental and ownership) in our state.
• Catalyze innovative housing-oriented wealth-building efforts, such as financial products, development practices, and models of ownership.

Strengthen Democratic Participation

We aim to foster multi-issue coalitions organizing in support of our program goals and to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in our democratic and governing institutions.

Our grantmaking priorities in this area focus on efforts that:

• Support a strong civic infrastructure around the state through capacity-building investments in key organizations, networks, and intermediaries focused on civic engagement, organizing, and participation.
• Solidify our core democratic institutions through equity-focused initiatives, such as the U.S. Census and legislative re-districting.

About

Through its grantmaking and other policy-focused efforts, the Foundation seeks to:

• Racial Equity: Incorporate the voices of, and achieve more equitable outcomes for, Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) communities in the Great Lakes region.
• Economic Mobility: Improve the ability of individuals in the Great Lakes region to move up the economic ladder within a lifetime or from one generation to the next.
• Next Generation: Incorporate the voices of, and improve outcomes for, the next generation of Great Lakes residents, defined as young people born after 2000.

Education & Economic Mobility Grants

The mission of the Education & Economic Mobility Program is to close income and race disparities in college and career success through equitable access to high-quality education. We invest in local, state and federal policies that aim to ensure historically underserved young people 1) have effective educators; 2) graduate high school with academic and career momentum; and 3) attain affordable college credentials with economic value. In the short term, we will invest in research, policy development, and advocacy to help young people recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Effective Educators

Evidence is clear that teachers and principals are the main in-school driver of student success. Yet, young people of color and those from underserved communities often have inexperienced, unqualified, or ineffective educators. To ensure historically marginalized students have top-notch and diverse educators, the Foundation invests in research, policy development, advocacy, and technical assistance to: 1) use data to better align educator supply and demand; 2) diversify the educator pipeline; 3) build strong pathways from high school into teaching; and 4) spread innovative school staffing models that attract educators, boost retention, and improve student outcomes. Our investments focus on Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and national efforts.

College and Career Readiness

There is overwhelming evidence that a college degree significantly improves life outcomes. Yet not enough high school students—especially young people of color and those from underserved communities—are prepared to succeed in post-secondary. To help students get on the right path, the Foundation supports federal and state policies to: 1) align K-12, higher education, and workforce systems; 2) increase access and success in rigorous courses; and 3) increase access to high-quality work-based learning activities connected to careers with family-sustaining wages.

Post-Secondary Success

A post-secondary degree remains the surest path to social and economic mobility. Yet colleges fail to enroll and graduate students of color and students from low-income households at the same rate as White and wealthier students. This contributes to racial and socioeconomic disparities in education and career outcomes. To address these disparities, the Joyce Foundation supports federal and state policies that: 1) scale proven student support models to improve community college outcomes; 2) preserve access for students of color and rural students to affordable, high- quality public college options and labor markets that require college degrees; 3) seek racial and family income representativeness at selective public universities; and 4) narrow gaps in post-graduate financial outcomes for students of color and low-income students.

Fostering a lasting impact.

For over 20 years, the Peoples Bank Foundation has been dedicated to making a positive difference in the communities we serve, granting millions to nonprofit organizations in Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Since its inception in 2003, the Foundation has awarded over $7.5 million in grants and scholarships.Let us help you.

Foundation contributions are distributed across all segments of our communities to foster a lasting impact, and we continue to increase our support of local programs that help low to moderate-income individuals and families. We focus on five areas of giving and want to hear about your work and how the Foundation can aid your mission.

About Us

Committed to Funding Technology to Advance Nonprofit Missions

Our Values

• We will always be programming agnostic: we fund technology projects for nonprofits with a wide range of missions.
• Transparent: we make our process and funding decisions as transparent as possible. If you cannot find an answer – please ask us!
• Minnesota focus: we focus our funding across the entire state and reserve capital for each cycle to specifically fund nonprofits outside the Twin Cities metro or who provide services statewide.
• Continuous improvement: we are open to suggestions on how our process can be improved.
• Trust nonprofits to do their mission: you are the expert in your operations and how you can best leverage technology to impact your ability to meet your mission.

Focus on the Future

Leveraging the Power of Technology.

The implementation of an innovative technology project can make a non-profit a leader in program delivery or operational efficiency that sets them apart from their peers.

What We Fund

Impactful Projects that Serve the Organization or Community

Projects should show a clear impact or transformation for an organization’s operations or capacity to meet its mission with measurable benefits greater than the cost. Technology investments have limited shelf lives so we want to see projects that can amplify results and allow the organization to be ready for what comes next. 

Organizations Who Have Done the Work

Projects should show a clear relationship to an organization’s strategic planning and mission. Vendor/solution vetting, budgeting, and project plans of the technology proposal must be done prior to our involvement. Our focus is on funding the implementation of the technology versus the planning stage.

About Us

The Northland Foundation is a place-based, publicly supported foundation working within seven Northeast Minnesota counties and all or parts of five Native nations.

Mission & Values

Our mission is to support Northeast Minnesota people and communities working toward a future where everyone feels they belong and can thrive.

Integrity. Be solid partners: ethical, reliable, and transparent. Keep the mission and values at the forefront.

Respect. Honor different cultures, traditions, and beliefs. Trust communities to know their own challenges and strengths.

Empowerment. Help ensure people and communities can use their voice and power to shape their own lives for the better.

Inclusiveness. Actively work to reach and reflect the diversity of the people and communities served. Be intentional to break down barriers and bring people together.

What We Fund

Quarterly grants can be used for general operating support and are flexible to help grantees meet their funding needs. General operating grants are only available to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that are headquartered and have a staffing presence in our geographic region. Grants may also be used for capacity-building efforts that strengthen the organization or improve service delivery.

Program restricted grants are available for nonprofit organizations that 1) have operations or are headquartered outside our region or 2) are governmental organizations, such as school districts, colleges or universities, or Tribal nations. Program-restricted grants can only be used to support a specific program and associated activities that take place in our service area.

Grant Priorities

The most successful proposals will clearly address one or more of the following five priorities.

Basic Needs

Services and programming that address human needs essential to overall wellbeing. Proposals can address one or more of the following basic needs categories.

• Food Security
  • Support for food access programming such as meal services, food banks and food shelves, and child hunger programs (summer meal programs, backpack programs, school-based pantries, etc.).
• Affordable Housing
  • Support for affordable housing programs or services that help increase opportunities for people to access quality affordable housing.
  • Proposals should be for general operating or program support, not construction costs.
  • Examples are programs that provide downpayment assistance, home ownership programming, and landlord/tenant rights education.
• Homeless Services
  • Support for services to people experiencing homelessness such as support for shelters, transitional housing, permanent supportive housing, or warming shelters.
• Aging
  • Providing services to help older adults age in place, such as caregiver support, grocery services, or meal services.
• Health and Wellbeing
  • Programs that support the health, wellness, and mental wellbeing of people who otherwise would not have access to these services.
  • Examples are free health clinics, oral health care programs, and mental health services.
• Other Basic Needs
  • Services to people with disabilities, workforce programs, legal services, etc.

Belonging

Inequities exist in our society. Resources and opportunities are often limited based on place (where someone lives), race (skin color or cultural background), and class (economic status). Belonging seeks to support projects and initiatives designed to help everyone, especially those who are under-served or underrepresented in traditional power structures, to gain full and fair access to essentials like quality housing, education, and employment, and generally thrive. This may include broad, community-wide efforts or a specific focus on belonging within our existing priority areas.Domestic and Sexual Violence

Prevention and intervention efforts in relation to domestic abuse and family violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking, such as shelter, advocacy, legal, and other supports or visitation programs that provide a place for safe and supervised parental visits.

Early Childhood Care and Education

Early care and education quality and access, parenting education, and supports. Note: the quarterly grant program does not include support for child care start-ups or child care operating expenses, but sometimes there is funding available for these activities through Special Grant Opportunities.

Out-of-School Time

Structured, consistent, and accessible out-of-school time educational programming and activities for broad groups of children and youth delivered by an organization whose primary focus is to serve youth/youth development.

Strategic Approaches that are Encouraged

High-impact programs and projects build in certain strategic approaches that can improve outcomes. We encourage including one or more of the following approaches in work considered for funding

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

• Actively working to reach and fully reflect the diversity of communities served, facilitate inclusion, and counter systemic inequity.

Multi-Generational

• Considering the needs of multiple generations when addressing an issue. For example, programs for children may include components for parents and guardians.

Collaboration

• Bringing other partners into a program or project in order to tap others’ expertise, expand geographic or demographic reach, and/or improve outcomes.

Systems Change

• Seeking to change public policy and increase the civic engagement of under-represented populations.

Our History

On August 27, 1953, Archie D & Bertha H Walker established the Archie D & Bertha H Walker Family Foundation. The purpose, as stated in conformity with the Minnesota Nonprofit Corporation Act, "shall be to foster and promote charitable, scientific, literary, religious and educational ends,..." their personal reasons for establishing such an institution were to support and encourage charitable activities. They wished to devote the excess of funds over and above their needs, and those of their family, to improve the community in which they lived. They wished to enhance the effectiveness and value of those funds devoted to the charitable activities in which they had become interested. They encouraged their family members to become involved in community programs which improve and enrich the life of their community.

Annual Grant Giving Program

• Combating Racism, Prejudice & Exclusivity: Programs that address the dismantling and prevention of racism, prejudice & exclusivity.
• Programs in the Arts: Programs that support the creation of art, learning in the arts at all stages of life, and the integration of the arts into the fabric of community life.
• Chemical Dependency: Programs which deal chiefly with alcoholism, and its effects upon children and their development.
• Minor Grants of $1,000: Programs in the areas of conservation and ecology, health, culture, recreation, education, & social welfare.

Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation

The Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation is a statewide community foundation that serves all of Minnesota. We got our start in Saint Paul in 1940, and today we steward $1.8 billion in charitable assets for community good.

Community IDEAS Grant Program

The Minnesota Community IDEAS Program seeks to design, test and spread ideas that make our communities better for everyone and inspire, equip and connect people through meaningful, community-led change.

Grants will be awarded within three target communities, with five grants awarded within each of the communities:

• Greater Minnesota
  • Organizations located outside the 7-County Metro Area.
• Twin Cities 7-county Metro Area
  • Organizations located within in the seven counties of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington.
• Native-led, Native-serving organizations
  • Within Minnesota and the 11 Native Nations that share the same geography.
  • Organizations must have at least 51% of the Board of Directors and Senior Leadership identifying as Native to be considered Native-led.

This program’s selection criteria focus on an organization’s transformational impact; or the long lasting, meaningful change that can happen through ideas of all sizes, within communities of all sizes, and through organizations of all sizes.

Selection Criteria

This statewide grant program was informed by, and developed alongside, community members. Grant selection will be determined by community members through Community Selection Committees that will consider the following criteria for grant review and selection.

• Impact: Communities realize significant, long-lasting change.
• Development: Communities develop, test and spread ideas.
• Equity: Communities are equipped and connected to benefit from change.
• Agency: Communities inform and form change.
• Solutions: Communities drive action

Funding

The Minnesota Community IDEAS Program will award $1.6 million each year. Grants will be awarded on an annual basis, one round per year.

Selected organizations will each receive a total award of $160,000, paid over three years ($100,000 in the first year, $40,000 in the second year, and $20,000 in the third year).

Funding is unrestricted and can be used for any charitable purposes that align with the vision and purpose of the Minnesota Community IDEAS Program, including operating costs, program-related expenses, capital expenditures or whatever else would best support the organization's ongoing good work.

In the first year of the program, the Foundation will award grants to 15 organizations. To ensure broad and equitable distribution of these across the entire state of Minnesota and the 11 Native Nations that share the same geography, the Foundation will distribute grants into three target communities.

The Sheltering Arms Foundation supports high quality direct service programs and a limited number of advocacy efforts that raises the level of public awareness and commitment to the well-being of children. Advocacy programs might include public education campaigns, public policy development, research, coalition building, or community organizing

What We Fund

Advocacy

The Sheltering Arms Foundation’s vision of success is that the opportunity gap will be significantly diminished because broad public will exists to make investments to assure that all Minnesota children succeed in school and life. To achieve this goal, we fund advocacy efforts that increase access to high quality, culturally appropriate early childhood care and education and youth development/out of school time opportunities.

We fund political networks, coalitions and campaigns that lobby, advocate and organize for children’s early learning and life success. We also support training to help parents become advocates for their children’s early learning and out of school time success.

Early Childhood

The Sheltering Arms Foundation’s vision of success is that all Minnesota children with the least access to resources are socially and emotionally, as well as physically and cognitively ready for kindergarten. To achieve this goal, we fund high quality culturally appropriate early childhood programs that support children’s social, emotional, physical and academic development with strong family engagement strategies.

Eligible programs include innovative early care and education, targeted home visiting and parent education, and early childhood mental health programs.

A high quality early care and education program has the following elements:

• A 3 or 4 star Parent Aware rating or is on a pathway to attain it
• A research based high quality curriculum
• Opportunities for family engagement in programming
• Quality assessment tools where data informs program improvement
• Access to professional development for staff that supports growth in their job in areas such as: program design, evaluation and assessment, inter-cultural skills, and child development.

A high quality parent education and targeted home visiting program has the following elements:

• A focus on strength-based whole child and family development that includes cognitive, physical, social and emotional development
• A research based high quality curriculum and evidenced based model
• A parent-child interaction component
• Active involvement of parents/caregivers in their child’s learning process
• Intensity and duration of contact appropriate for goals of the program
• Quality assessment tools where data informs program improvement
• Access to professional development for staff that supports growth in their job in areas such as: program design, evaluation and assessment, inter-cultural skills, and child development.

A high quality early childhood mental health program has the following elements:

• Priority given to mental health programs that align with high quality early care education and targeted home visiting programs
• Primary focus on Relationships
• Culturally appropriate interventions
• Research based high quality methodology
• Opportunities for family engagement in programming
• Initial assessment of each child including for trauma and chronic stress
• Intensity and duration of client services appropriate to the goals of the intervention
• Quality assessment tools where data informs program improvement
• Access to professional development for staff that supports growth in their job in areas such as: new developments in early childhood mental health treatments, program design, evaluation and assessment, and inter-cultural skills.

Youth Development

The Sheltering Arms Foundation’s vision of success is that all Minnesota children are socially and emotionally, as well as physically and academically prepared to succeed by 7th grade. To achieve this goal, we fund high quality culturally appropriate youth development programs for 5-12 year olds that support children’s social, emotional, physical and academic development with strong family engagement strategies.

Eligible programs are out of school time and mentoring programs in school based settings, community settings or affordable housing locations.

A high-quality youth development programming should include the following elements:

• Sequential activities that teach skills
• Active and experiential learning
• Focused and explicit skill development
• Developmentally and culturally appropriate program design
• Intensity and duration of contact
• Social and Emotional Learning competencies (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making)
• Opportunities for family involvement and participation in programming
• Quality assessment tools where data informs program improvement
• Access to professional development for staff that supports growth in their job in areas such as: youth programming, evaluation and assessment, inter-cultural skills, and program design.

Mardag Foundation Grants

Mardag Foundation has three primary interest areas for its grantmaking.

Improving the lives of low-income Children, Youth and Families that lack access to critical opportunities and resources that they need

Mardag Foundation seeks to support organizations focused on eliminating barriers and increasing access to equitable opportunities for children, youth and families.

This round, priority will be given to organizations working with marginalized communities (especially Black, Indigenous and communities of color) at the intersections of education, basic needs, mental health, access to healthcare, pathways to employment, and stable and affordable housing.

Supporting older adults across Minnesota who lack access or have barriers to critical opportunities to thrive and create community connections

Mardag Foundation supports organizations directly serving low-income older adults who may also be experiencing other forms of marginality (e.g., Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, people with disabilities, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, etc.).

Priorities include meeting basic needs, improving the well-being and quality of caregiving, addressing isolation and mental health issues, services to help older Minnesotans age in place and/or in safe and stable housing, and intergenerational programming.

Building capacity to improve community vitality through Arts and Culture

Mardag Foundation shares Grantmakers in the Arts’ view that “all peoples, their cultures, and their art contribute to the meaning and understanding of our humanity and should be honored and celebrated.”

Priority will be given to arts and culture organizations that seek to amplify narratives and voices across BIPOC communities and other communities experiencing marginalization (e.g., older adults, people with disabilities, low-income children/youth/families, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, etc.) through the arts.

Old National Bank Foundation

The Old National Bank Foundation makes contributions to nonprofit organizations to fund widespread community impact programs and/or projects. The Foundation is part of Old National's overall charitable giving initiative, which enables us to support programs that improve quality of life in areas of Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. We believe in supporting where our clients, team members and shareholders live and work.

Funding Priorities

Our funding targets innovative programs that enhance the quality of life within our communities in support of the following four strategic initiatives: Affordable Housing, Workforce Development, Economic Development, and Financial Empowerment. We prioritize programs that serve underrepresented communities and low- to moderate-income people. 

Examples of funding priorities with measurable outcome focus areas include:

Affordable Housing

• Increase Homeownership Opportunities: We seek initiatives that enable individuals and families to purchase homes through accessible financing, down payment assistance, and homeowner education.
• Support Critical Home Repairs and Revitalization: We fund programs that ensure safe, habitable housing by assisting with essential repairs for homes
• Promote Multi-Family Housing Developments: We prioritize programs that develop or sustain affordable rental units

Economic Development

• Small Business Development and Growth: We aim to support programs that help small businesses scale, access resources, and build sustainable growth plans.
• Capacity Building for Technical Support: We encourage projects that enhance the capability of organizations offering technical support to small businesses and nonprofits.
• Entrepreneurship and Business Coaching: We support programs that offer entrepreneurship education, business coaching, and professional development for new or aspiring business owners.

Financial Education

• Old National Bank’s Real-Life Finance e-learning curriculum provides robust financial education training for community partners

Workforce Development

• Access to Apprenticeship and Work-Based Learning: We support workforce readiness through initiatives offering hands-on training, particularly in trades and high-demand fields.
• Job Creation, Employment Entry, and Retention: We support projects that connect individuals to stable employment and increasing levels of income. This can include higher education with dual credentialing, leadership and professional development

Financial Empowerment

• Financial Wellness: We fund long-term initiatives that reduce barriers to banking and credit access, especially for underbanked groups. This can include culturally relevant and multilingual outreach, foreclosure prevention, and credit counseling with the goal of financial independence
• Community Lending Access: We support organizations that provide access to affordable microloans, emergency loans, and community cooperative lending as safe and sustainable alternatives to predatory loans

Mission

The Mission of the Foundation is to provide resources to nonprofit organizations that build thriving communities and improve the quality of life primarily in the St. Croix Valley geographic region of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Funding Priorities

The Foundation has established a focused set of priorities and welcomes requests for general operations, programs, or projects.  Capital requests may be considered on a more limited basis.

• Healthcare
  • Medical Research
  • Mental/Chemical Health
  • Hospitals
• Housing
  • Affordable Housing for Families and Seniors
• Education
  • Youth Education Initiatives
• Human Services
  • Basic Needs
  • Food Insecurity
  • Employment
• Civic
  • Local Initiatives
• Environment
  • Environmental Education

Andersen Corporate Foundation

The Andersen Corporate Foundation was established in 1941 with the mission to improve lives and strengthen communities where Andersen employees live and work. Since then, the Foundation has donated more than $65 million to worthy causes.

The Andersen Corporate Foundation supports nonprofit organizations working in the following areas: housing, healthcare, hunger relief, and education. 

Giving Areas

Housing: Funding to increase housing access and stability, including services to transition out of homelessness, and provide and maintain affordable housing.

Health: Funding to advance health access and equity, including support for critical access hospitals/clinics/providers, expanded access to mental health services, and expanded access to preventative healthcare.

Hunger Relief: Funding to address food insecurity and increase food access, including providing healthy and culturally relevant foods.

Education: Funding to advance equity and opportunity in education, and funding to support and raise the profile of trades and industrial education programs.

Funding

The Andersen Corporate Foundation supports general operating, program/project, and capital campaign funding requests. Grants requests may range in size from $5,000 to $50,000 for general operating and program/project requests. The majority of general operating and program/project grants awarded fall between $5,000 and $20,000.

History of the Foundation

Fern Pachel formed the Pachel Foundation with the assistance of the Biga family in 2007. Fern and her sister Elsie lived together in the Twin Cities until Elsie’s death in 1977. They took good care of their parents who lived on 19th Avenue East in Duluth. They also traveled to many countries, including Cuba. Elsie wisely advised Fern to put a little money away every paycheck. They successfully invested in the stock market starting in the 1950’s. The interest income is used to support many nonprofits in the state of Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin.

About Our Funding

The information provided on this page applies only to potential grantees located in the state of Minnesota. The Medica Foundation recognizes the importance of supporting the unique health needs of individual communities in our grantmaking.

Our overarching principles:

• Benefit the communities Medica serves
• Advance health equity
• Build trust and collaboration with grantee partners and create mutual accountability between funders and nonprofits
• Improve the availability of, access to, and/or quality of health care
• Achieve success or demonstrate effectiveness through measurable outcomes

Minnesota: Early Childhood Health Grant

We seek proposals that support early intervention programs that foster optimal growth and development for children from birth through age 12. We prioritize proposals that strategically align their work to advance health equity for the following communities:

• Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)
• Immigrants and refugees
• Individuals experiencing homelessness
• Individuals living in rural areas
• LGBTQ+
• Youth in or aging out of foster care

We'll prioritize proposals that address:

• Abuse prevention
• Culturally-focused care
• Early childhood health workforce
• Maternal health and birth equity (e.g., prenatal/perinatal care and doula support)
• Oral health
• Parenting skills
• Primary care and immunizations
• Social-emotional learning

Funding

Individual grants may be awarded up to $100,000.

Travelers believes that strong communities are sustained by educational and economic opportunities — and we are dedicated to assisting our communities in generating those opportunities. With a focus on equity and inclusion, we target our giving and volunteerism to help improve academic and career success, develop thriving neighborhoods and create culturally enriched communities.

Travelers is ensuring opportunity by contributing to efforts that create strong, vibrant communities and offer pathways to success. Through corporate funding and the Travelers Foundation, Travelers targets its giving to achieve three outcomes: Academic & Career Success, Thriving Neighborhoods and Culturally Enriched Communities. Our primary focus is educating underrepresented students to lead tomorrow’s workforce. In addition, Travelers contributes to organizations that aid in developing communities through small business support and neighborhood revitalization, and that enhance lives and learning through arts & culture. 

Travelers accepts grant applications exclusively for Hartford, Connecticut and St. Paul, Minnesota, primarily for project, program and operating support and for limited capital opportunities.

Academic & Career Success

Because today’s student will be tomorrow’s co-worker, education is the primary focus of our giving. We support college and career readiness programs for underrepresented students from middle school through college and into career. 

A successful future starts in the classroom. But many people struggle to get the education they need to compete for quality jobs and to lead a fulfilling life. Our giving focuses on helping to provide a foundation for individual success and on building a skilled workforce for our industry and our communities.

Where We Give

Nearly half of our annual giving goes toward initiatives that help underrepresented students attain academic and career success. We seek to improve academic achievement gaps by focusing on low-income and minority students in grades five through 12, students in college and those seeking careers in the insurance industry.

Funding Priorities

Academic & Career Success: Travelers supports initiatives that improve academic achievement and career success for underrepresented youth, specifically targeted at public school students in grades five through 12, students in transition to post-secondary education, and students in post-secondary learning environments.

• Middle & High School Academic Achievement– Travelers funds initiatives that foster improved academic achievement for middle and/or high school students.
• Post-Secondary Preparation & Degree Attainment– Travelers supports organizations that are building awareness of and personal readiness for post-secondary education and educational initiatives that improve degree completion for underrepresented students.
• Career Awareness & Readiness– Travelers supports educational initiatives that are building awareness of and preparation for careers in insurance and financial services.

Background

Established in 2005, the C.H. Robinson Foundation is a Minnesota nonprofit corporation as described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Foundation is funded by C.H. Robinson and creates a long-term resource for giving back to our communities through the support of other Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. We work with a trust company that provides support to charitable organizations to provides checks and balances while ensuring compliance with Internal Revenue Service guidelines and corporate tax law.

Through general operating and program grants to organizations that address hunger, provide shelter, support K-12 education and develop workforce, the C.H. Robinson Foundation helps strengthen the greater metropolitan area of Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Giving Priorities

The C.H. Robinson Foundation Twin Cities Grants Program is focused on strengthening our local communities and supporting basic needs of hunger, shelter, education and workforce development.

To be considered for a Twin Cities grant from the C.H. Robinson Foundation, your charitable organization must meet one of our giving priorities:

Hunger

• Serving the local community through food shelves/pantries/banks
• Providing meal service or food programs targeted to specific needs of senior citizens, youth, people living with life threatening illnesses, etc.

Shelter

• Providing transitional housing, permanent supportive housing and efforts to end chronic homelessness
• Offering emergency shelter for those facing homelessness or domestic violence
• Supplying essential household items and furniture for those in need

Education

• Improving educational opportunities for k-12 for students facing barriers to success
• Developing youth to become successful, productive adults through core educational programming
• Supporting systemic improvements to advance education outcomes for students, schools and educators
• Cultivating talent for successful careers in supply chain and technology

Workforce Development

• Strengthening pathways to quality jobs for low-income workers
• Supporting strategies that move low-wage workers into higher wage jobs including bridge, upskilling, and credentialing
• Improving the quality of low-wage occupations
• Building the capacity of workforce and education organizations to prepare for the future needs of the labor market
• Additional consideration may be given for:
  • Workforce development and talent pipeline initiatives for supply chain and logistics
  • Workforce development and talent pipeline initiatives for technology

Our Legacy

For more than 100 years, the Target Foundation (founded as The Dayton Foundation) has upheld the idea that the prosperity of a business is dependent on the prosperity of the communities in which it operates. It’s an important part of our history and our commitment to serve and support our neighbors.

In 2019, the Foundation expanded its support to address the growing urgency in our hometown, across the country and globally to help address widening socioeconomic gaps.

Target Foundation

We’re proud to continue our long legacy of support for communities in our hometown and around the world.

At the Target Foundation, we envision a world where all families and communities have the resources they need to determine and realize their own joy in life. It’s a reality that is out of reach for far too many families as they struggle for access to economic opportunity and stability, for equity and for the kind of empowerment that lifts up their communities. We believe we have a responsibility to work to remove structural barriers and help create access for those who have been left out. When we shift power to communities, they can more meaningfully participate in the economy, creating a world where all families can thrive.

Serving as a learning lab, the Target Foundation is committed to enabling shared prosperity and opportunity by upholding equity and inclusion for all communities. Guided by our deep commitment to community, we invest in leaders, organizations, coalitions and networks that expand economic opportunity equitably, enabling communities to determine their own futures. We support strategies that center and elevate the voices, stories and leadership of individuals and communities that have historically been silenced.

The Target Foundation is leaning into trust-based philanthropy to drive systems change, with values rooted in advancing equity, shifting power and building mutually accountable relationships. The Foundation’s capabilities allow it to work toward long-term solutions across complex and interconnected economic issues, grounded in the voices of Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) as well as Global South communities and organizations.

Building on our legacy of giving in our twin hometowns of Minneapolis and St. Paul, and extending across the U.S. and in emerging economies around the world, we remain committed to listening, learning and building the kinds of relationships with partners that will shift systems to realize a world where joy is for all.

Hometown Racial Equity Grant

Advancing racial equity for underserved and under-resourced communities to enable shared prosperity and opportunity for all.

At Target Foundation, we believe a vibrant and growing economy is only possible when economic opportunities are available to all our neighbors. The Target Foundation is committed to advancing racial equity and shared prosperity in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul and the greater state of Minnesota.

In addition to supporting the overarching Minneapolis-St. Paul philanthropic ecosystem and addressing persistent and immediate community needs, the Target Foundation hometown program concentrates its investments in organizations working to address the specific systemic and structural barriers facing Black communities, Indigenous communities and communities of color. We do this in four priority areas: entrepreneurship and small business, workforce development, housing and asset building.

• Entrepreneurship and Small Business: The Foundation supports entrepreneurship initiatives that address current ecosystem gaps, drive inclusive practices and create access to knowledge, services, networks and capital for entrepreneurs at all stages.
• Workforce Development: The Foundation supports employment and technical training opportunities to ensure the workforce development system operates effectively and connects job seekers and workers with the skills they need to succeed.
• Housing: The Foundation supports efforts that increase housing availability, stability and access — creating pathways to greater opportunity.
• Asset Building: The Foundation supports organizations that improve the asset-building opportunities available to traditionally marginalized communities, especially those that are engaged in work to increase financial inclusion, wealth building and overall financial health.

Why We Care

Target is proud to have called the Twin Cities our home since its founding more than 100 years ago. Our commitment to our hometown region continues to be a signature legacy of the Target Foundation.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul region is home to more than three million people. The region’s assets include the natural beauty of its parks, woods and lakes; a deep, vibrant and robust history of craft, visual arts, music and theater; numerous longstanding international anchor corporations; and widespread and increasing racial, ethnic and cultural diversity.

There are many communities who continue to be at an economic disadvantage despite our region’s thriving job market and strong economy.

Similar patterns can be found across the nation — rising income inequality and persistent racial gaps in health, education, employment, income and wealth preventing all people from realizing their full economic potential. As the demographics of our region continue to shift, the costs of inequality will grow.

However, the Twin Cities not only mirrors what is happening throughout the United States, but in several key areas, our hometown actually fares worse. Recent statistics on home ownership, income inequality, wages, and educational attainment all paint a picture of glaring disparities that could impact the region’s long-term success.

Equalizing economic opportunities for communities of color is not just important for these families and communities but also critical to a vibrant and growing economy, which ultimately benefits all.

Compelled by this data, Target Foundation recognizes that everyone’s future depends on overcoming inequalities and has made racial equity the cornerstone of its hometown program.

Our Desired Outcome

In our hometown program area, the Target Foundation envisions racial equity that enables shared prosperity and opportunity for all. To achieve this vision, the Foundation believes that our hometown region needs:

• A strong frontline of Black-, Indigenous- and people of color-led direct service organizations that are well-resourced, connected and able to serve the most marginalized communities, lifting them out of poverty and into economic vitality.
• Well-coordinated and well-resourced multi-sector networks, coalitions and alliances that are catalyzing economic development in the Twin Cities’ poorest neighborhoods, while displacing no one and leaving no one behind.

Who do we want to impact?

• Black communities, Indigenous communities and other communities of color.
• Historically disinvested communities.
• Individuals with low income.

Funding

Estimated grant size will range from $25,000-$200,000.

Our Mission

The mission of the Ciresi Walburn Foundation is to serve as a catalyst for creative, innovative, and societal-changing programs and policies to promote education and equitable opportunities for all of Minnesota’s children and youth.

Our Key Priorities

• Eliminate the misconception that Minnesota schools provide a quality education for all our children. 
• Expand the number and capacity of high-performing schools and educational organizations throughout Minnesota serving students of color and low-income students. 
• Support parent and family engagement in schools and their demands for access to high-performing schools for all students. 
• Invest in strategies to diversify Minnesota’s educator workforce and equip teachers with the cultural intelligence and skills needed to support and educate all students. 
• Expand access to science-based literacy instruction; high-quality early childhood learning opportunities; equitable pathways to in-demand careers; and scalable, high-quality tutoring programs. 

What We Do

The Ciresi Walburn Foundation seeks to partner with K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that support youth and families in Minnesota.

We support efforts to eliminate inequities in the educational system. We’ve funded early learning programs, education policy and advocacy, programs that support educators, high performing K–12 schools, and wrap-around programs focused on children and families in high-needs neighborhoods. We also established a scholarship fund to help African-American males complete their undergraduate degrees and stride forward as tomorrow’s leaders. 

We look forward to helping innovative, effective ideas gain traction and build momentum across the educational system. 

Please note:

We seek to make strategic investments during critical phases in an organization's history and to be a catalyst for innovative, bold ideas, approaches, and initiatives. Therefore, past recipients of funding should not necessarily assume that they will receive funding every year.

The Foundation will not consider for funding project or program budgets which are solely or predominantly related to technology expenses, but will consider requests for support for technology (hardware and software) that are ancillary to broader, innovative proposals.

The Foundation requires all K-12 School finalists to complete our Schools Data Dashboard Form, which can be downloaded from our website or the online application portal. In order to be eligible for funding, schools must commit to, during the grant period, assess all students, as appropriate, using either:

• The State Standards-Based Accountability Assessments (MCAs or MTAS); and/or
• A nationally-normed growth and proficiency assessment (such as the NWEA/MAP) at least twice during the school year; and, to share the results of the assessment(s) with the Foundation. 

The Management Improvement Fund

THE MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENT FUND, A SPECIAL FUND OF THE SAINT PAUL & MINNESOTA FOUNDATION, IS DEDICATED TO STRENGTHENING NONPROFITS’ INTERNAL OPERATIONS.

The Management Improvement Fund provides grants of up to $15,000 to small and midsize nonprofits across the state of Minnesota for technical assistance and consultation to:

• Support new and vital capacity-building work
• Expand and improve organizational capacity
• Nurture Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) leadership in the nonprofit sector

Since 1991, the Fund has provided $7 million to more than 470 nonprofit organizations.

Travelers Foundation

Travelers believes that strong communities are sustained by educational and economic opportunities —and we are dedicated to assisting our communities in generating those opportunities. With a focus on equity and inclusion, we target our giving and volunteerism to help improve academic and career success, develop thriving neighborhoods and create culturally enriched communities.

Travelers contributes to organizations that prepare historically underrepresented students to lead tomorrow’s workforce, develop vibrant communities through small business support and neighborhood revitalization, and enhance lives and learning through arts & culture.

Travelers accepts grant applications exclusively for Hartford, Connecticut and St. Paul, Minnesota, primarily for project, program and operating support and for limited capital opportunities.

Thriving Neighborhoods

Travelers supports organizations that help create and maintain safety, stability and vitality in low- and mixed-income communities.

What Our Funding Supports:

• Accessible, Safe Housing– Travelers supports organizations and programs that provide permanent housing and supportive services to create safe, stable neighborhoods.
• Successful Small Businesses – Travelers funds organizations that develop economic vitality and create and retain wealth by assisting the creation and growth of small businesses, with an emphasis on women-, minority- and veteran-owned businesses. Travelers also supports programs that prepare individuals for business ownership and support them on their journeys.
• Resilient Communities – Travelers supports organizations that show leadership in disaster preparation, response and recovery.

What We Fund

Joseph Durda established his Foundation in 1989. Prior to his passing in 1990, he wrote:

" The very basis of the human condition - its tragedy and its triumph - can be found in the entities this Foundation will be supporting. All the poverty that is lessened by a helping hand, all the hunger that is alleviated by the gift of food, all the service that makes heroes of the most humble among us....charity is the supreme virtue, and the great channel through which the mercy of God is passed on to mankind." -- Joseph Durda Sept. 1989

The grant making framework reflects the core priorities of the Foundation, supporting organizations that provide direct services in which the Foundation endeavors to create a positive impact. The following are high priority areas:  

• Charitable giving for the needy, poor and homeless... those needing a helping hand.
• Aid and assistance to orphans and underprivileged youth.
• Services for the disabled and those with disabling health issues.
• Educational support to our young people to help advance their lives.
• Invest in cardiovascular and other medical research.
• Support and assist our military veterans and their families.