Search Through Health Care Grants in Minnesota in the U.S.

We care about the communities in which we live and work. Amcor Cares (formerly the Bemis Company Foundation) was founded as our principal tool in the United States to serve our Amcor Flexibles communities. From volunteer work to monetary donations and community support, Amcor Cares donates several million per year to charitable organizations.

Community Support Grants

Encourage

• Fighting Hunger & Homelessness
• Supporting Disaster Relief

Empower

• Expanding STEM Education
• Building Life Skills
• Improving Health & Wellness

Elevate

• Promoting Arts & Culture
• Funding Amcor Scholarships

Types of support:

• Non-profit Organization Programs
• Non-profit Organization Operating Support
• Capital Campaigns
• STEM Programs

Our Purpose

The Foundation was established in 1968 to provide Rupert and Ruth Dunklau a systematic method of gifting to God’s people a portion of the blessings God had given them.

The Foundation exists to glorify God and serve His gracious will, by providing financial resources for the varied ministries related to the Lutheran tradition, especially the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, educational entities of the Lutheran Church and appropriate projects that promote the welfare of mankind

Focus Areas

• Lutheran Higher Education: The Foundation will support processes, efforts, and programs of ministries that engage people in furthering their education and continued learning opportunities, enabling them to become of greater service in meeting the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs of people.
• Health & Human Care: The Foundation will support processes, efforts and programs of ministries that take collaborative and results- oriented approaches that address the varied needs of people in His Church and the communities they serve, thus promoting the welfare of mankind.
• Faith Strengthening: The Foundation will support processes, efforts and programs of ministries that strengthen, enhance and embolden participants and their families to share their Christian faith in His Gospel Message, lived as well as spoken.

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.

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.

The Impact Fund awards recoverable grants to legal services nonprofits, private attorneys, and small law firms who seek to confront economic, environmental, racial, and social injustice. Since our founding in 1992, the Impact Fund has made more than 800 recoverable grants totaling more than $10 million for impact litigation. We award grants four times per year, most within the range of US$10,000 to US$50,000.

Social Justice

The Impact Fund provides grants and legal support to assist in human and civil rights cases. We have helped to change dozens of laws and win cases to improve the rights of thousands. The cases we are funding allege that:

• In Texas and North Carolina, incarcerated people with mental health disabilities are forced to remain in jail despite being found not guilty and unable to proceed with a criminal trial.
• In Orange County, California there are currently 13 gang injunctions under effect, which disproportionately affect young men of color.
• In Chicago, Illinois, the city’s homeless shelter program is inaccessible to people with disabilities.
• In Springfield, Oregon, the city and its police department used excessive force against Black Lives Matter protesters.
• In West Virginia, the state fails to protect children in foster care from abuse and neglect. 
• In Montana, voter suppression laws disadvantage young adults and give priority to gun owners.
• In Gary, Indiana, a gun manufacturer negligently marketed and distributed its guns, leading to an epidemic of gun violence in the city. 
• In Vancouver, British Columbia, the police perpetuate systemic discrimination against Indigenous people through bureaucratic measures.

Environmental Justice

The Impact Fund provides grants to support local litigation for environmental justice. These grants are for cases aiming to help people or communities who are affected by environmental harm or who lack access to basic environmental needs, such as clean water, clean air, adequate waste treatment, and green spaces. The cases we are funding allege that:

• In Centreville, Illinois, the city’s failure to maintain its sewer system has caused raw sewage to flood peoples’ homes, endangering the property and health of a predominantly Black community.
• In Fresno County, California, the California Department of Transportation approved a highway expansion project that would increase air pollution and traffic in one of the state’s most environmentally burdened communities.
• In downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the proposed expansion of a highway would divide the region's Black, Asian, and Latine neighborhoods and cause pollution and ill health.
• In North Dakota, the five-month closure of a highway in response to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests disproportionately affected the livelihoods and health of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe members.
• In Ontario, Canada, mercury contamination of the English-Wabigoon river system causes catastrophic environmental and health impacts for the Grassy Narrows First Nation.
• In Sacramento, California, the county government and Sacramento Area Sewer District violated the Clean Water Act by discharging raw sewage into nearby rivers.
• In the Eastern Coachella Valley in California, 1,900 residents of the Oasis Mobile Home Park suffer from arsenic-laced drinking water, wastewater contamination, and overcharging for utilities.

Economic Justice

The Impact Fund provides financial and other forms of support to cases fighting for economic justice. From workers' rights to consumer protection for vulnerable populations, impact litigation is a powerful tool to hold corporationss and the government accountable. The cases we are funding allege that:

• In Brooklyn, New York, a prominent mortgage lender engaged in predatory practices, leaving homeowners of color at risk of losing their homes. 
• In Washington, live-in caregivers are unconstitutionally excluded from the state’s wage-and-hour protections.
• In Ravalli County, Montana, the county has created a “modern-day debtors’ prison” by incarcerating people unable to afford pre-trial fees. 
• In San Diego, California, vehicle ordinances target unhoused vehicle owners even when no adequate housing alternative exists.
• In New York, a federal immigration detention facility is violating minimum wage and forced labor laws by forcing detainees to work for just a dollar a day. 
• In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the city and county destroy the property of unhoused individuals and conduct forced evictions from public spaces. 
• In Miami, Florida, insurance companies discriminate against a nonprofit community development corporation renting to tenants with Section 8 rental subsidies.

Background

F. R. Bigelow Foundation believes that our community should not only benefit from our work, but inform and form it as well. Creating solutions to today’s issues requires a collaborative approach. Our work is also rooted in a commitment to racial equity.

We offer general operating, program and some capital support. The Foundation considers grant applications from nonprofit organizations and public entities fostering a vibrant East Metro region and seeking to achieve racially and economically equitable outcomes in the areas of arts & culture, economic & community development, education & youth development, health, housing and human services.

Funding Priorities

F. R. Bigelow Foundation has six focus areas and will consider proposals that address one or more of the following:

Arts & Culture

Strengthening the arts & culture sector to serve all individuals and all communities across the East Metro region by supporting general operations and capital projects

• The 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., people with disabilities, low-income communities, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, formerly incarcerated people, etc.).
• Please note that the Foundation has not historically supported specific productions, performances, exhibits, artist fees, etc. through this application-based process.

Community and Economic Development

Building a strong and vital East Metro through community building, physical development and strengthening support for low-income individuals, families and underrepresented communities through workforce development and training 

• The Foundation seeks to invest and partner in solutions informed and formed by the people facing the highest barriers to wealth creation, economic security and family-sustaining career pathways. In the East Metro, this includes BIPOC, women, veterans, young people, people with disabilities, formerly incarcerated people and LGBTQIA+ people.
• Specific priorities for wealth creation include strengthening the entrepreneur ecosystem and increasing local ownership of businesses and homes.
• Regarding economic security, the Foundation recognizes the importance of anchor institutions embedded at the neighborhood level. For workforce development, we will prioritize employment pathways that meet the needs of individuals and employers alike.

Education & Youth Development

Supporting under-served children, youth and young adults by investing in access to high-quality education and youth development both in and out of school from cradle to career

• The Foundation recognizes how important it is for students and young people to feel cared for, protected, valued and seen after a difficult period in their learning and growth. This is complex and urgent work, and the Foundation will prioritize organizations that blend academic, social and emotional support for young people most impacted by educational inequity.
• The Foundation will also prioritize support to organizations working to build a robust early childhood system that gives children and families access to high-quality care and education programs.

Health

Increasing health equity through quality, affordable, culturally relevant services, particularly for low-income, uninsured, under-insured and socially marginalized individuals.

• The Foundation continues to prioritize health organizations that focus on health equity and increasing access to affordable, culturally relevant health services.
• The Foundation hopes to better align its health grants to be inclusive of programs and organizations that serve low-income families, provide free or affordable, culturally relevant services, and holistic care.
• Given the increase in severity, cost of and demand for mental health services, urgent care and/or crisis prevention, access to reproductive health care, trauma-informed health care, and free or reduced services for uninsured or underinsured communities, the Foundation will prioritize these programs and organizations to continue to serve our most vulnerable and marginalized communities.

Housing

Improving access for low-income individuals and families to affordable quality housing, preventing and ending homelessness.

• The Foundation embraces the vision for housing justice articulated by the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness.
• The Foundation will prioritize work that ensures the most marginalized people experiencing housing instability and homelessness are able to access housing that is “safe, decent, affordable,” and “free of prejudice” while also receiving the additional support and services they need.

Human Services 

Investing in basic needs for individuals and families, helping them be safe, stable and independent.

• The Foundation will prioritize grants that assist residents in navigating life transitions, finding safety and stability, and promoting independence.
• In addition to supporting work that centers the voices of the people most impacted by an organization’s work, special priority will be given to disability support services, child welfare support services, family and parent support services, food relief and assistance, older adult services, immigration and legal services, and re-entry supports for formerly incarcerated people.

Types of Grants

The Foundation will consider grant applications for:

General Operating Support

• These grants provide flexible funding for nonprofits in which at least 50% of the organization’s services benefit residents in the East Metro (Dakota, Washington and Ramsey counties).

Capital Projects

• The Foundation supports capital projects located in the East Metro with 50% or more of services from that facility benefiting East Metro residents.
• Grants are designed to support investment in buildings, facilities and equipment. Foundation investments are typically limited to buildings owned by nonprofits or held by long-term lease agreement.
• These grants are generally paid over multiple years.

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.

BackgroundWe fund in the state of Minnesota with priority given to the seven-county metro area. We work in settings that serve children who are at-risk or experiencing abuse or neglect, exposed to toxic stress/trauma, or have challenges developing reading, writing and math skills. This includes schools and early childhood settings, non-profit and research organizations, government agencies, collaboratives, and networks. Funding Areas We fund direct service, research, field building, and systems change efforts in the following areas:Building Strong Family Relationships: Prevention and Intervention in Child Welfare

• Supporting children and families with a whole family approach network of community-based initiatives towards preventing child abuse and neglect.
• Keeping children safe at home through parent support and family treatment services. When this is not possible, building connections through family-finding and natural support towards achieving relational permanence.
• Meeting the social emotional needs of foster children & youth and decreasing time to permanency, interrupting the exit to homeless youth services.
• Increasing public awareness of the foster care experience through the elevation of experienced and informed foster youth voice.

Building Supportive Environments that Promote Emotional Safety for Children & Youth

• Programs for preK-12 schools that promote the emotional safety of children and youth.
• School-based small group interventions for children facing shared adverse experiences, e.g.; grief, separation from caregiver.
• Programs that offer children and families tools to talk about emotional and mental health.
• Professional development in trauma-responsive practices for professionals working with children; including resiliency to secondary trauma.

Building Educational Success for Children: Literacy Skills and Specific Learning Disabilities in Reading PreK – 12th Grade

• As the Sauer Family Foundation approaches its planned sunset in 2027, we will continue to partner with current grantees on this important work.
• To ensure substantial investment in what has shown successful outcomes in this funding area, we will no longer accept unsolicited inquiries or applications for Educational Success funding.

Building a Workforce that Reflects the Diversity of Minnesota’s Children: Racially Equitable Career Pathways in our Funding Areas

• As the Sauer Family Foundation approaches its planned sunset in 2027, we will continue to partner with current grantees on this important work.
• To ensure substantial investment in what has shown successful outcomes in this funding area, we will no longer accept unsolicited inquiries or applications for Diverse Workforce funding.

Awareness. Education. Prevention.  These are three key tenets of Bayer Fund’s investments in health and wellness.  With a focus on cancer and cardiovascular disease, we provide resources to organizations dedicated to educating and/or providing services to patients, caregivers and at-risk populations.

Health & Wellness Grants

Programs that Bayer Fund will support include those that focus on patients and their families needing assistance with issues to managing cardiovascular disease and cancer. This includes education, disease awareness, and supportive services for these diseases. In areas related to cardiovascular disease, priority (though not exclusivity) will be given to charitable organizations that focus on programs and support for the African American community due to the high incidence rate of disease in this population.

Giving in this category will focus on support services such as education, disease awareness, and general access to care (e.g., housing for families traveling for cancer or heart care).

All funding requests and budgets must be for program activities and expenses that start after funding decisions are made. All programs must be completed within one year of the start date, except in limited situations where longer term programs have been agreed upon. Grant award amounts vary, depending on the size of the community, the type of programming, and the reach of the organization.

Please see FAQs for additional guidelines.

RCU Foundation Grant

Our nonprofit foundation has given more than $10 million to support organizations and initiatives in our communities.

The RCU Foundation is a perfect example of how we are striving to live out our core purpose of creating a positive impact in the lives we touch. The Foundation awards grant funds to organizations in the communities Royal serves across Western Wisconsin and Eastern Minnesota. Since it began in 2012, the RCU Foundation has given more than $10 million to our communities.

Criteria

Requests are carefully evaluated on several criteria, including:

• Demonstrated need and community benefit
• Geographic focus on areas that Royal serves, especially near office locations
• Significance and impact, especially the total number of people that will benefit
• Organization or initiative capacity and credibility
• Future sustainability and plan for ongoing expenses
• Demonstrated financial support from a variety of sources, with the RCU Foundation not the largest or sole source of project funding

About School-Based Healthcare Solutions Network (SBHSN).

Utilizing a unique framework of funding systems offered by the Department of Health and Human Services, managed care organizations, health insurers, and private donors, SBHSN promotes a system of care model (Coaching Model℠) offering a mix of evidenced-based intervention, prevention, and care coordination services to children in grades K-12. The Coaching Model aims to expand quality mental healthcare access on public school campuses and improve children's social, emotional, behavioral, family, and wellness outcomes.

School-Based Mental Health Implementation Grant

In response to the growing number of students who need mental health counseling, the School-Based Healthcare Solutions Network (SBHSN) is accepting applications from Local Education Agencies (LEA), Public and Private Universities, State and local Colleges, Charter School Management Companies, Public Schools, Charter Schools, and Non-Profit Organizations (501c3) to implement and expand mental health program services on local school campuses. Grantees will receive direct funding and reimbursement to support the following activities: 

• Expanding access to School-Based Social and Emotional Learning (SEL).
• Coordinating mental healthcare services with school administration and staff. 
• Delivering mental healthcare services and coordinating academic-support activities to students with a history of attendance, behavior, and poor academic performance.

FUNDING

5-Years, renewable based on meeting performance goals 5-year award ceiling is $5,500,000.

Mission

The fund supports initiatives that:

• Increase community awareness of global interdependence
• Encourage progressive social change
• Broaden democratic participation, particularly to assure continued freedom of expression as guaranteed by the First Amendment
• Fight racism, sexism and discrimination of all kinds
• Promote justice
• Promote access to universal health care
• Promote the well-being of all people

The fund encourages co-sponsorship and co-funding of projects.

Other objectives of the fund include:

• Increasing citizen understanding of world cultures, political and social systems and international trade
• Highlighting the need for population control
• Addressing problems of less-developed countries
• Contributing to the preservation of the environment
• Examining the validity of military expenditures
• Fostering justice and human rights.

Examples

The following are representative but not exclusive examples of projects:

• Lectures in support of peace and justice
• News articles
• Sister city relationships, particularly with countries with which the United States may be on unfriendly terms
• Foreign exchanges of postsecondary faculty or students
• Awards to individuals for university or graduate-level study in the United States or abroad on subjects related to peace and justice
• Projects that explore innovative ideas for solutions to problems of hunger and homelessness, or that provide emergency aid to people dealing with these issues in northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin

The following are representative but not exclusive examples of possible grant recipients:

• Colleges and universities in northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin as well as Finlandia University in Hancock, Michigan
• Finnish-American organizations
• The Immigration History Research Center at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
• Organizations that support Native American treaty rights
• Organizations concerned with health care for low-income people
• International organizations working on programs with local implications, such as national security, population, refugees or the environment

Mission

The Animal-Assisted Therapy Fund promotes and provides animal-assisted therapy for people of all ages with mental, emotional and psychological challenges. The fund supports this work in the memory of Cordelia Anne Brinton. The fund prioritizes work in which animals are nourished and cared for in therapeutic healing processes versus companion animals.

Examples

The following are representative but not exclusive examples of projects that could receive a grant from this fund:

• Teaching people to interact with animals in a way that fosters emotional growth and learning to improve emotional, behavioral and mental health
• Broadening dimensions or understanding of an individual’s life challenges through interaction with animals
• Impactful programs that meet the emotional and developmental needs of individuals

The following are representative but not exclusive examples of services provided by organizations that could receive a grant from this fund:

• Programs that provide mental health therapy inclusive of animal-assisted therapy
• Services to clients with mental health issues, including those that may arise with physical health challenges
• Animal-assisted therapy programs focused on safe, therapeutically sound, goal-oriented sessions in cooperation with physicians, therapists, educators, instructors and volunteers
• Programs to rescue abused and neglected animals to train and restore them to health for facilitating therapeutic healing.

The following are representative but not exclusive examples of organizations that could receive a grant from this fund:

• North Country R.I.D.E.
• Forget-Me-Not Foundation
• Seeds of Hope Youth Ranch
• Unbridled Hope Equine Assisted Learning Center
• Solvay Hospice House
• Can Do Canines
• Reins of Inspiration
• Amberwing’s Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Programs
• Changing Gaits
• Giant Steps

Mission

The Hugh J. Andersen Foundation’s mission is to give back to our community through focused efforts that foster inclusivity, promote equality, and lead to increased human independence, self-sufficiency and dignity. To fulfill this mission, the Foundation acts as a grantmaker, innovator, and convener.

History

The Hugh J. Andersen Foundation was incorporated on March 2, 1962. The original board members were Hugh J. and Jane K. Andersen, and Hugh’s sister, Mary Andersen Hulings. They strongly embraced Andersen Family values learned from Fred, Molly, Isabel and Kitty Andersen: giving back to the community, being responsible citizens, and caring for their neighbors. The current board members continue to uphold this commitment, strive to build upon this spirit of philanthropy, and remain strongly supportive of the St. Croix Valley area.

Overview

The Foundation is particularly interested in asset-based programs created, initiated, supported or staffed by the constituency for whom benefits are sought. This type of effort builds upon and further develops individual and community capacities. These programs or projects are internally motivated and organized, rather than need-based, service-oriented systems brought in and directed by nonconstituents

Programmatic Focus

Within the primary geographic focus areas, the Foundation is particularly interested in direct service programs:

• Serving children and youth, especially those that provide personal development activities.
• Providing various social support services to the community at large.
• Providing access to health-related services and information.
• Providing educational opportunities and enrichment to the general community.

The Foundation will only consider the following types of programs and organizations if services are provided in the St. Croix Valley – Washington County in Minnesota and Pierce, Polk and St. Croix counties in Wisconsin:

• Special projects or programs in public schools.
• Programs for individuals with developmental or physical disabilities.
• Programs for seniors.
• Public/civic projects and activities

Background

Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) seeks proposals to prevent cannabis and other substance use among Minnesota youth using the Communities That Care (CTC) prevention program within local communities.

CTC is a community-based prevention system proven to reduce youth health and behavior problems community wide. The CTC program provides a framework for local coalitions to develop community-specific prevention plans based on their unique levels of health risk behaviors and risk and protective factors. CTC’s five-phase process provides communities with a step-by-step guide and tools to build a high functioning community prevention coalition, develop a community profile using a community youth survey, create a community action plan for prevention, and then implement and evaluate those activities.

Goal

The goal of this grant program is to prevent youth substance use, including but not limited to alcohol, cannabis, and commercial tobacco use, through a multi-faceted approach. Reducing risk factors associated with substance use and enhancing protective factors in a community- wide, sustainable way will reduce youth substance use as well as impact other health (e.g., mental health, violence), and social areas (e.g., academics). Funding will be provided to organizations with the capacity to develop and lead local coalitions, implement prevention strategies, and evaluate progress based on measurable outcomes.

MDH is committed to supporting communities around capacity building and multi-sector partnerships to focus on youth substance use prevention. MDH will fund up to 12 communities to implement the CTC prevention system, with a focus on strengthening protective factors and reducing risk factors for substance use.

Funding

$1,500,000 is available for up to 12 communities to implement the CTC prevention system annually for five years.

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.

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:

• Benefits local communities.
• Improves the availability of, access to and/or quality of health care.
• Achieves success or demonstrates effectiveness through measurable outcomes.

Minnesota: Behavioral Health Grant

We seek proposals that provide support for people of all ages experiencing serious mental illness and/or substance use disorders. We also seek proposals that creatively or collaboratively address the behavioral health workforce shortage. This includes programs that address service delivery gaps; integrate physical and mental health care; address co-occurring disorders; attend to the mental health needs of children; and/or provide supportive and intensive case management services.

We focus on promoting improvements to health outcomes and equitable solutions to reduce health disparities. Priority is given to proposals that build partnerships and collaborations within the community and embrace trauma-sensitive practices, with a strengths-based approach to care and treatment.

Funding

Individual grants may be awarded up to $50,000

About Our Funding

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

The Esther Tomljanovich Strategic Initiatives

The Esther Tomljanovich Strategic initiative grant lets us make community investments on a larger and more impactful scale to advance health equity. We seek transformational "big ideas" that are catalysts for systemic improvements in health outcomes. These are on a larger scale than our typical program grants. 

The goal is to provide more flexibility for our grant partners to implement longer-term project and evaluate their impact. Strategic initiative grants are implemented over the course of two or even three years. 

Proposals should address one of the following focus areas:

• Healthcare workforce development programs at all levels
• Women's health: access to prenatal and postpartum care and reproductive health services
• Support for aging health services, dementia and/or Alzheimer's disease
• Dental programs for youth or adults
• Programs focusing on the intersection of health and stable housing for families
• Collaborative behavioral health projects with system level or community-wide impact
• Reducing barriers and increasing access to healthcare services for marginalized communities

Funding

A single grant is awarded up to $200,000.

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.

Program Overview

The Twin Cities Metropolitan area, often lauded for its quality of life, still grapples with deep-seated disparities disproportionately affecting Indigenous youth and young people of color. Neighborhoods like North Minneapolis, the East and Westside of Saint Paul, parts of South Minneapolis including George Floyd Square, and historic communities like Rondo and Frogtown have faced significant challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the aftermath of George Floyd's murder. These communities suffer from economic hardship, underinvestment, and higher crime rates compared to other parts of the region.

The pandemic has also cast a light on mental health, especially for young people. Young people experience these hardships in their own unique ways and have shared the need for safe spaces to connect with their peers. According to Mental Health America (Davis et al, 2022) “Nonclinical and community-driven approaches are especially important for youth, as they are most comfortable turning to their peers, often motivated to support their friends, and aware of rapidly changing youth culture.”

Non-clinical mental health services encompass a variety of supportive care that do not involve traditional therapy. Examples include (but are not confined to):

• Peer support groups
• Meals
• Hotlines and helplines
• Self-help resources (books, apps, websites)
• Wellness activities (yoga, meditation, exercise)
• Community programs (workshops, classes)
• Creative arts therapies (art therapy, music therapy)
• Peer counseling and mentoring
•  Sports (participating, attending a game)
• Spiritual support (drum circle, praise dance)

If it brings joy , connection and friendships so that young people are connected, heard, feeling belonged and supported its aligned!

Grant Program

Youthprise envisions a Minnesota where the outcomes for youth are not determined by race, geography, or socioeconomic status. In alignment with this vision and recognizing the existing challenges, we have partnered with the Minnesota Institute for Trauma-Informed Education (MITIE)* to bolster non-clinical, culturally centered, and community-based healing and wellness programs for youth of color. MITIE's role will be to support the collection of data points that paint a full picture of how each organization is contributing to the health and well-being of youth of color in the community through engaging in continuous improvement cycles, reflective and restorative practices, storytelling, and asset mapping. Together our focus is on addressing the gaps in access and availability of such programs in the Twin Cities Metro areas.

Through this 18-month grant program, we will provide financial support of up to $75,000, prioritizing small organizations with annual budgets of $750,000 or less that are led by people of color and dedicated to serving youth of color. Additionally, selected organizations will benefit from capacity-building support through a cohort model**. This model is designed to facilitate feedback, foster the sharing of learnings, and harness collective expertise as part of a broader initiative aimed at understanding and enhancing nonclinical supports for the health and well-being of youth identifying as youth of color.

Grant Priorities

In addition to prioritizing small organizations with annual budgets of $750,000 or less, led by people of color and dedicated to serving the youth of color in the Twin Cities metro, this opportunity focuses on bringing joy, connecting individuals, building friendships and relationships through healthy, cultural, traditional, joyful so that young people are connected, heard, feeling belonged and supported. We have selected two priorities learn more about your organization's practice:

Racial Equity

• The elimination of racial disparities and improving outcomes for everyone. It is the intentional and continual practice of changing policies, practices, systems, and structures by prioritizing measurable change in the lives of young people of color.

Mental Health/Wellness

• Non-clinical, culturally centered, and community-based approaches that address gaps in availability, as well as work that increases access to mental health and well-being services for underserved communities statewide.

Awards Amount

• 20-25 local youth-serving community partners (subgrantees) to be selected.
• Organizations can request up to $75,000.

Grantmaking

Since its founding, the Foundation has developed trusted working relationships with grantees, building sustained engagement. 

The George Family Foundations supports programs, organizations and initiatives that transform lives by working to change the systems affecting those lives.

Whole-Person Health and Wellbeing

We Believe:

We believe in whole-person health and wellbeing that nurtures all aspects of our humanity — mind, body, spirit, and community. 

Our Aspiration:

• Empower people to take charge of their health and wellbeing — so that all may thrive and flourish in their lives.
• Foster an integrative and proactive model of healthcare that places the individual at the center, embracing a full range of evidence-informed treatments and support.
• Ensure choice and expand access to whole-person health and wellbeing for people of all races, genders, and socioeconomic levels.

What We Fund:

To support achievement of our aspirations, we seek to fund an intentional mix and balance of Whole-Person Health and Wellbeing endeavors, including:

• Community-Based Whole-Person Health and Wellbeing
  • We are increasingly investing in community-based (vs. medical system-based) organizations that are aligned with our aspirations in whole-person health and wellbeing — moved by the unique positioning of community organizations to ensure choice, expand access, and empower people to take charge of their own health and wellbeing.
• Medical System-Based Whole-Person Health and Wellbeing
  • We fund select initiatives at leading medical systems that are committed to fundamental internal change by developing/deepening an effective and pervasive whole-person model of care.
• Healthcare Choice/Bodily Autonomy
  • We believe strongly in choice and bodily autonomy — that individuals should be empowered and supported as the principal agents of their own health and wellbeing. There is no possibility of whole-person health and wellbeing without true bodily autonomy.
• National Leadership and Engagement
  • We are committed to supporting national and regional efforts to advance whole-person health and wellbeing.
• Professional Training and Education
  • We invest in professional training and education programs, with the goal of increasing the availability of whole-person health and wellbeing practitioners — especially practitioners of color. 

Goals

Our funding focuses on building healthy generations by increasing access to health insurance The goals of this funding opportunity are to increase healthcare coverage among Minnesota communities most impacted by a lack of healthcare access, reduce racial disparities in insurance coverage and maintain historic-low overall uninsurance rates in Minnesota.

Equitable Access to Healthcare Coverage

The Foundation expects to grant a total of up to $700,000 in year one and an additional $700,000 in year two. Applicants may request grants of up to $100,000 per year and one- or two-year grants (up to $100,000 each year). Organizations applying for two-year grants may request different amounts each year.

The Boston Scientific Foundation

The Boston Scientific Foundation’s mission is to improve health and open up educational opportunities for economically disadvantaged persons, with an emphasis on communities where Boston Scientific employees live and work in the United States.

Health

Programs that aim to improve the health of those who are economically disadvantaged, with a focus on cancer, diabetes, respiratory, cardiovascular, neurological, mental wellness, gastrointestinal and urologic diseases and disorders through any one of these approaches.

• Disease prevention
• Disease awareness and diagnosis
• Access to care
• Quality of care

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:

• Benefits local communities.
• Improves the availability of, access to and/or quality of health care.
• Achieves success or demonstrates effectiveness through measurable outcomes.

Minnesota: Rural Health Grant

We aim to fund community-led solutions that address health equity in rural communities. 

We prioritize proposals that address:

• Culturally-focused care
• Dental health
• Domestic violence and sexual assault services and prevention
• Independent living for seniors
• Maternal and birth health
• Mental health and chemical health
• Primary care for underserved communities
• Sexual health
• Transportation for medical/health appointments

Funding

Individual grants may be awarded between $5,000 - $10,000.

In 2002 the Women’s Fund was established as a component fund of the Central Minnesota Community Foundation to benefit women and/or girls within a 30 mile radius of St. Cloud. The Women’s Fund seeks to leverage the efforts and dollars from local nonprofits to provide resources that will make a difference to single individuals or systems.

Favorable Considerations

Girls Ages 10-18

The Women’s Fund seeks to support programs to assure equality, success and health for girls. In evaluating proposals for girls, priority will be given to programs with goals aligned with one or more of the following emphases: (These goals may be addressed through culturally specific programs where appropriate.)

• Building self-esteem and helping girls make smart choices to avoid risky behaviors, make good relationship choices, and maintain a healthy body image.
• Increasing girls’ access to mentors and role models to help them increase their aspirations and envision success, make good educational and career choices, and choose healthy behaviors.
• Encouraging and preparing girls to pursue higher and/or post-secondary education, including math, science and other nontraditional education.
• Developing leadership skills and providing venues in which to practice these skills.

Women in Transition

Through its grants for women in transition, the Women’s Fund seeks to focus its grants on building the capacity of women who have experienced significant change in their lives. These goals may be addressed through culturally specific programs where appropriate. Priority will be given to proposals for programs with goals aligned with one or more of the following:

• Fostering women’s economic self sufficiency by increasing access to job training, education, support for searching for jobs, resume building and coaching.
• Encouraging low-income women to pursue job training or education to improve their financial status.
• Increasing access to quality, flexible childcare and/or early childhood education.
• Increasing access to support services, mentoring and mental health services for women during and after transitions.
• Supporting immigrant women and refugee women to achieve their aspirations and successfully integrate into the community.

Elder Women

Through its grants for elder women, the Women’s Fund seeks to focus on issues unique to women as they age, striving to improve the status of life for midlife and older women. These goals may be addressed through culturally specific programs, where appropriate. Priority will be given to programs with goals aligned with one or more of the following:

• Encouraging and increasing access to economic security, including information and support for employment opportunities in later life, financial planning, budgeting and saving.
• Encouraging healthy lifestyles and increasing access to reliable transportation allowing women to maintain an independent lifestyle as long as possible.
• Increasing access to quality health care coverage and mental health services, which includes access to direct fitness and exercise components and preventive care to help keep people active and healthy.
• Addressing the needs of older women living alone and/or caring for elderly parents, all facing major life changes, which could result in depression, loneliness, chemical abuse etc. Provide support for coping with life changes in a healthy manner.
• Encouraging lifelong learning, including non-traditional education, language classes, tutoring young students, to maintain an active mind and contribute to the community.

The Fund seeks to leverage the efforts and dollars from local nonprofits to provide resources that will make a difference to single individuals or systems.

• Projects/Programs that support diversity, equity and inclusion.

Background

In 1950, Ianthe Hardenbergh and her daughter Gabrielle Hardenbergh created the St. Croix Foundation, named in recognition of the family’s logging business which had created their wealth. In 2005, the Foundation’s name was changed to the Hardenbergh Foundation to avoid confusion with the newly created St. Croix Community Foundation.

Since its inception, the Foundation has contributed to programs providing health care, senior housing, education, community services and support of the arts. In recognition of its limited resources, grants are focused on charitable organizations operating in the East Metro, Ramsey and Washington Counties, and the St. Croix River Valley.

About Grants Awarded

The Foundation makes about 100 grants each year. Most are for general operating support. Although there is never a long term commitment, many organizations receive general operating support year after year. Those grants are generally in the range of $10,000 to $25,000.

The Foundation also makes a few capital grants each year. Some of those are to organizations that have been receiving general operating support. Capital grants are made generally in the range of $50,000 to $250,000. Most capital grants are paid in full in the year approved. 

What We Fund

Our funding focuses on building healthy generations by increasing access to health insurance coverage and quality healthcare, increasing access to and quality of early childhood care and education, and increasing social connections within and across communities and generations to reduce social isolation.

Healthy Start

Healthy Start: Investing in early childhood care and education for lifelong health

The goal of this funding opportunity is to increase access to quality early childhood care and education supports for vulnerable young children and their caregivers.

The Foundation will fund tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations, fiscally sponsored groups and Tribal Nations across Minnesota working to support healthy child development and eliminate structural, racial, and health inequities that impede access to and quality of the following early childhood care and education supports:

• High-quality child care and early learning, which is in unsustainably low supply, is deeply unaffordable and lacks necessary workforce support and resources
• Early childhood screenings, which are essential in providing developmental assessment, support and early intervention services
• Family home visiting, which increases parents’ knowledge, provides social support, and connects families to additional resources

Funding

The Foundation expects to grant a total of up to $1 million in year one and an additional $1 million in year two. Applicants may apply for grants of up to $100,000 per year and may apply for one- or two-year grants (up to $100,000 each year). Organizations applying for two-year grants may request different amounts each year.