Best Ramsey County Grants for Nonprofits in Minnesota

The Metropolitan Council is the regional planning organization for the seven-county Twin Cities area. The Met Council operates the regional bus and rail system, collects and treats wastewater, coordinates regional water resources, plans and helps fund regional parks, and administers federal funds that provide housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income individuals and families. The 17-member Council board is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the governor. 

Livable Communities Small Area Planning Grants

Livable Communities small area planning grants support cities in establishing conditions for dense, connected, and equitable development in alignment with Imagine 2050 goals.

May Family Foundation

Eleanor Jean May established the May Family Foundation in 2000, as a gesture of gratitude to the communities that shaped her life. The May Family Foundation is dedicated to identifying programs that strongly resonate with our mission and values as we work together to empower and uplift lives within our communities.

Our foundation provides resources and opportunities that empower young individuals to thrive and reach their full potential. Our goal is to create a brighter future for under-resourced youth in our local communities.

May Family Foundation After-School Enrichment Grant

Our foundation strives to be engaged in our local communities beyond grant funding. We support select programs that align with our goals and form a connection through potential volunteering opportunities, site visits, and recognition of successes.

We welcome grant applications for financial support in after-school enrichment:

• Programs with trained instructors that provide students with opportunities to participate in enrichment activities to learn new things and develop skills they will find useful in real life.

May Family Foundation

Eleanor Jean May established the May Family Foundation in 2000, as a gesture of gratitude to the communities that shaped her life. The May Family Foundation is dedicated to identifying programs that strongly resonate with our mission and values as we work together to empower and uplift lives within our communities.

Our foundation provides resources and opportunities that empower young individuals to thrive and reach their full potential. Our goal is to create a brighter future for under-resourced youth in our local communities.

May Family Foundation Mental Health & Counseling Grant

Our foundation strives to be engaged in our local communities beyond grant funding. We support select programs that align with our goals and form a connection through potential volunteering opportunities, site visits, and recognition of successes.

We welcome grant applications for financial support in mental health and counseling:

• Programs and services that improve life for those with physical and mental challenges.
• We support programs that help students deal with a mental health diagnosis and life stressors, to help navigate the changes that occur during early childhood development through college.

Our Home State Grant Program

Our Home State works to ensure Minnesota’s housing ecosystem has the power and resources to create an equitable future where all Minnesotans have a stable home they can afford.

A collaborative effort by the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, F. R. Bigelow Foundation and Mardag Foundation, with additional support from businesses, peer foundations and individual donors, the Our Home State Grant Program seeks to increase access to housing across Minnesota. Our Home State North Star: Minnesota’s housing ecosystem has the power and resources to create an equitable future where all Minnesotans have a stable home they can afford.

The grants support organizations and programs that provide pathways to affordable, quality housing supports organizations and programs that ensure access to affordable housing or emergency shelter.

Our Home State Ecosystem Grant Program 

The Our Home State Ecosystem Grant Program supports organizations and programs that ensure access to affordable housing or emergency shelter. Ecosystem Grants will be offered for general operating support.

• For shelter: grant amounts will be $100,000 per year for a five-year grant period, for total grant amounts of $500,000 per grantee.
• For affordable housing: grant amounts will be up to $150,000 per year for a five-year grant period, for total grant amounts of $750,000 per grantee.

In 2026, we plan to select ten shelter and ten affordable housing grantees. Seven East Metro and three Greater MN/Tribal grantees in each focus area. 

May Family Foundation

Eleanor Jean May established the May Family Foundation in 2000, as a gesture of gratitude to the communities that shaped her life. The May Family Foundation is dedicated to identifying programs that strongly resonate with our mission and values as we work together to empower and uplift lives within our communities.

Our foundation provides resources and opportunities that empower young individuals to thrive and reach their full potential. Our goal is to create a brighter future for under-resourced youth in our local communities.

May Family Foundation Mentoring Grant

Our foundation strives to be engaged in our local communities beyond grant funding. We support select programs that align with our goals and form a connection through potential volunteering opportunities, site visits, and recognition of successes.

We welcome grant applications for financial support in mentoring:

• Programs that pair students with adult mentors who provide guidance and support to help students succeed academically and develop important life skills.
• These can go beyond the classroom, such as sports and recreation enrichment programs.

May Family Foundation

Eleanor Jean May established the May Family Foundation in 2000, as a gesture of gratitude to the communities that shaped her life. The May Family Foundation is dedicated to identifying programs that strongly resonate with our mission and values as we work together to empower and uplift lives within our communities.

Our foundation provides resources and opportunities that empower young individuals to thrive and reach their full potential. Our goal is to create a brighter future for under-resourced youth in our local communities.

May Family Foundation Community Outreach Grant

Our foundation strives to be engaged in our local communities beyond grant funding. We support select programs that align with our goals and form a connection through potential volunteering opportunities, site visits, and recognition of successes.

We welcome grant applications for financial support in community outreach:

• Programs that provide professional services to under-resourced families who may not otherwise have access.
• We support programs that help to identify existing problems or challenges in our local communities and provide the means and resources to solve them.

May Family Foundation

Eleanor Jean May established the May Family Foundation in 2000, as a gesture of gratitude to the communities that shaped her life. The May Family Foundation is dedicated to identifying programs that strongly resonate with our mission and values as we work together to empower and uplift lives within our communities.

Our foundation provides resources and opportunities that empower young individuals to thrive and reach their full potential. Our goal is to create a brighter future for under-resourced youth in our local communities.

May Family Foundation Social Services Grant

Our foundation strives to be engaged in our local communities beyond grant funding. We support select programs that align with our goals and form a connection through potential volunteering opportunities, site visits, and recognition of successes.

We welcome grant applications for financial support in social services:

• Programs that protect vulnerable children and support families in need of assistance.
• We also support projects that improve community safety and guide youth to become productive and engaged adults.

Livable Communities - Development Projects Grants

Livable Communities development grants primarily support projects that plan to build new, rehabilitate, or preserve affordable housing (rental and ownership) and community-driven commercial spaces. Development grants support projects at all stages of development including:

• Pre-development
• Acquisition
• Environmental site investigation and cleanup
• Site preparation
• Construction or rehabilitation.

$26.9 million is available for development projects in 2026. Funding will be designated to the following outcomes:

• Early Stage Development: Environmental Site Investigation $500,000
• Early Stage Development: Pre-Development $1,500,000
• Construction Stage Development: Environmental Cleanup $5,500,000
• Construction Stage Development: Homeownership $3,500,000
• Construction Stage Development: Rental, Mixed-Use, Commercial $12,400,000
• Construction Stage Development: Multi-Family Rental Housing funded through the Minnesota Housing Consolidated Request for Proposals $3,500,000

May Family Foundation

Eleanor Jean May established the May Family Foundation in 2000, as a gesture of gratitude to the communities that shaped her life. The May Family Foundation is dedicated to identifying programs that strongly resonate with our mission and values as we work together to empower and uplift lives within our communities.

Our foundation provides resources and opportunities that empower young individuals to thrive and reach their full potential. Our goal is to create a brighter future for under-resourced youth in our local communities.

May Family Foundation Education Grant

Our foundation strives to be engaged in our local communities beyond grant funding. We support select programs that align with our goals and form a connection through potential volunteering opportunities, site visits, and recognition of successes.

We welcome grant applications for financial support in education:

• Programs and services that offer a range of activities and academic support, such as
  • homework help,
  • tutoring, and
  • extracurricular activities.
• Scholarships and financial support that help students meet their required expenses while in school.

The Boston Scientific Foundation aims to enhance health and educational opportunities for economically disadvantaged individuals, particularly in STEM fields. Their grant program focuses on K-12 students, requiring at least 50% of participants to be at or below 185% of the poverty line. The foundation seeks evidence-based proposals that can measure improvements in STEM learning, and it prioritizes applications serving communities near Boston Scientific locations, ensuring inclusivity and non-discrimination in service.

Livable Communities - Policy & Affordable Housing Program Development Grants

he Council awards grants to cities, counties and their development authorities through the Livability Communities program. These grants, funded by property taxes and the Council's general fund, help clean up polluted sites for redevelopment, expand affordable housing opportunities and build pedestrian-friendly and transit-oriented developments.

The program is a voluntary, incentive-based approach to help communities grow and redevelop, and to address the region’s affordable and lifecycle housing needs. The program was established in 1995 by the state Livable Communities Act (LCA).

Up to $639,000 is available to policy and affordable housing program development projects in 2026.

The McNeely Foundation, established in the 1960s, focuses on enhancing youth development through enrichment programs aimed at middle-grade youth in East Side St. Paul, Minnesota. The foundation supports organizations that provide community-based life skills and enrichment activities, ensuring that youth can realize their potential and transition successfully into adulthood. It also considers innovative projects from outside the area that can be replicated locally, promoting a vibrant and sustainable community.

About F. R. Bigelow Foundation

F. R. Bigelow Foundation funds programs and helps shape initiatives that strengthen neighborhoods and downtown Saint Paul, while enhancing the quality of life in the East Metro area.

Since its founding in 1946, F. R. Bigelow Foundation remains committed to its founding principle of making the Saint Paul community a better place to live, learn and grow. From 1946 through today, the Foundation has invested deeply into neighborhoods across the East Metro, with an emphasis on Saint Paul.

Systems Change Grant Program 

Our Systems Change Grant Program supports efforts to help systems adapt, transform and/or be disrupted to achieve more equitable results.

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.

The goal of our Systems Change Grant Program is to support efforts to help systems adapt, transform and/or be disrupted to achieve more equitable results.

To do this, we support organizations, programs or initiatives in or serving the East Metro working to address root causes of issues impacting the East Metro.

General operating support will be awarded to organizations, programs or initiatives in or serving the East Metro working to address root causes of any issue impacting the East Metro (including, but not limited to, the five funding priorities of our Community Solutions Grant Program). 

In 2026, up to $1,200,000 is available for this grant program, and we anticipate awarding approximately two to three grants.

The Foundation’s Systems Change Grant Program seeks to address root causes of any issue impacting the East Metro, including, but not limited to, the five funding priorities of our Community Solutions Grant Program:

• Arts & Culture
• Community & Economic Development
• Health
• Human Services
• Youth & Education

The Farmers Market Grant Program by Compeer Financial supports farmers by enhancing their marketing and technology capabilities. Grants can be utilized for branding, website creation, and payment technologies, as well as essential equipment like scales and tents. This initiative aims to promote direct consumer engagement and strengthen local food systems, ensuring fresh produce accessibility while fostering economic growth in rural communities. Eligible applicants must be Compeer clients actively participating in verified farmers markets.

The Memorial Lutheran Church Endowment Fund in Afton aims to enrich community life through charitable, educational, and religious grants. Overseen by a dedicated committee, it welcomes applications from both members and non-members to support innovative projects that extend beyond regular ministry needs. The fund encourages initiatives that foster faith, support local and international charities, and assist individuals pursuing theological education, thereby promoting the church's mission of sharing God's love globally.

The Colon Cancer Coalition offers the Get Your Rear in Gear Grants to support local programs aimed at improving colon cancer screening and awareness. Open year-round, applications are reviewed biannually in February and August. Grants fund initiatives that educate the public about colon cancer and alleviate the financial burden on patients. By applying, organizations commit to promoting local events that raise funds for these important community programs.

Compeer Financial's Emergency Response Equipment Grant Program aims to enhance collaboration among rural fire, rescue, and ambulance departments by providing funding for specialized equipment. Grants of up to $10,000 support projects that improve emergency response capabilities, encouraging teamwork among departments serving adjacent jurisdictions. Eligible applicants must operate within Compeer's 144-county territory and demonstrate a clear plan for equipment use. This initiative underscores the importance of community cooperation in ensuring effective emergency services in rural areas.

The NFL Foundation Grassroots Program, in partnership with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), aims to enhance the quality, safety, and accessibility of community football fields. With grants up to $250,000, this initiative addresses the critical lack of safe recreation spaces in low-income neighborhoods, ensuring children and adults have access to well-maintained facilities for gathering and exercise, ultimately fostering community health and well-being.

Project Lead the Way inc.

School and district leaders need a solution that cultivates confidence and career readiness—and PLTW checks all the boxes. As a nonprofit organization founded by educators and driven by education leaders, we've spent more than 28 years equipping students with the technical knowledge, transferable skills, and career confidence they need to thrive—through programs that integrate real-world industry partnerships, best-in-class teacher training, and our proven activity-, project-, problem-based (APB) instructional model. At PLTW, we're on a mission to create a transformative learning environment and empower students to develop in-demand knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in an evolving world. 

PLTW Engineering

PLTW Engineering students adopt a problem-solving mindset, are engaged in compelling, real-world challenges that help them become better collaborators and thinkers, and are prepared with skills to step into any career path they take. Each PLTW Engineering course engages students in interdisciplinary activities like working with a client to design a home, programming electronic devices or robotic arms, or exploring algae as a biofuel source. These activities not only build knowledge and skills in engineering, but also empower students to develop essential skills such as problem solving, critical and creative thinking, communication, collaboration, and perseverance.

PLTW Engineering - New Program (3M) 

3M forms lasting partnerships with communities and provides resources to help them succeed and grow – ensuring a more interconnected and thriving world. 3M inspires the next generation of science leaders through the following goals:

• Increasing STEM exposure in K-12 classrooms
• Supporting experiential learning opportunities
• Enhancing the quality of STEM teaching
• Providing professional development opportunities for students

3M has partnered with PLTW to ensure students and teachers have the tools, resources and knowledge they need to succeed in STEM.

Project Lead the Way inc.

School and district leaders need a solution that cultivates confidence and career readiness—and PLTW checks all the boxes. As a nonprofit organization founded by educators and driven by education leaders, we've spent more than 28 years equipping students with the technical knowledge, transferable skills, and career confidence they need to thrive—through programs that integrate real-world industry partnerships, best-in-class teacher training, and our proven activity-, project-, problem-based (APB) instructional model. At PLTW, we're on a mission to create a transformative learning environment and empower students to develop in-demand knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in an evolving world. 

PLTW Launch (PreK-5)

Young learners are naturally wired for discovery. PLTW Launch is designed with activities that let them see what they can be and build skills to discover what they can do. Students are immersed in hands-on activities, projects, and problems that build upon each other and relate to the real world. They experience integrated learning that blends computer science, engineering, biomedical science, and more. Throughout the modules, even the youngest learners apply their math and English Language Arts (ELA) skills, learn science to standards, and adopt skills that are foundational across disciplines.

PLTW Launch - Program Expansion (3M)

3M forms lasting partnerships with communities and provides resources to help them succeed and grow – ensuring a more interconnected and thriving world. 3M inspires the next generation of science leaders through the following goals:

• Increasing STEM exposure in K-12 classrooms
• Supporting experiential learning opportunities
• Enhancing the quality of STEM teaching
• Providing professional development opportunities for students

3M has partnered with PLTW to ensure students and teachers have the tools, resources and knowledge they need to succeed in STEM.

The Butler Family Foundation's Community Grants Program offers two-year grants focusing on arts accessibility in the Twin Cities. It supports 501(c)(3) organizations that provide musical instruction and access to visual arts for low-income residents. With minimum grant sizes of $30,000 for general support or $20,000 for specific projects, this initiative aims to enhance community engagement in the arts, ensuring that diverse audiences can participate in cultural experiences.

The FINNOVATION Fellowship Program is evolving in 2025 to better support social entrepreneurs, particularly those at the early stages of their business ideas. The program will now consist of two phases: a Discovery Module and a Fellows Module, allowing for more participants and tailored resources. This initiative is ideal for passionate individuals aiming to create positive community impacts. Eligible candidates must be 18 years or older, authorized to work in the U.S., and committed to addressing social or environmental challenges.

Project Lead the Way inc.

School and district leaders need a solution that cultivates confidence and career readiness—and PLTW checks all the boxes. As a nonprofit organization founded by educators and driven by education leaders, we've spent more than 28 years equipping students with the technical knowledge, transferable skills, and career confidence they need to thrive—through programs that integrate real-world industry partnerships, best-in-class teacher training, and our proven activity-, project-, problem-based (APB) instructional model. At PLTW, we're on a mission to create a transformative learning environment and empower students to develop in-demand knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in an evolving world. 

PLTW Computer Science

PLTW Computer Science students are technology trailblazers who are empowered through transportable skills and prepared to start their career, whether that is in computer science or not. Empower your students to become creators of the technology all around them. PLTW Computer Science engages students in collaborative projects that help them develop in-demand computer science knowledge as well as transportable skills like creative thinking and communication. And whether they’re creating an online art gallery or using automation to process and analyze DNA-sequence data, PLTW Computer Science students are seeing how their learning connects to the real world.

PLTW Computer Science - New Program (3M)

3M forms lasting partnerships with communities and provides resources to help them succeed and grow – ensuring a more interconnected and thriving world. 3M inspires the next generation of science leaders through the following goals:

• Increasing STEM exposure in K-12 classrooms
• Supporting experiential learning opportunities
• Enhancing the quality of STEM teaching
• Providing professional development opportunities for students

3M has partnered with PLTW to ensure students and teachers have the tools, resources and knowledge they need to succeed in STEM.

Project Lead the Way inc.

School and district leaders need a solution that cultivates confidence and career readiness—and PLTW checks all the boxes. As a nonprofit organization founded by educators and driven by education leaders, we've spent more than 28 years equipping students with the technical knowledge, transferable skills, and career confidence they need to thrive—through programs that integrate real-world industry partnerships, best-in-class teacher training, and our proven activity-, project-, problem-based (APB) instructional model. At PLTW, we're on a mission to create a transformative learning environment and empower students to develop in-demand knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in an evolving world. 

PLTW Gateway

PLTW Gateway (6-8) opens paths that create meaningful futures. It connects students to careers in areas they can, and can't, imagine. Through explorations of skilled trades, coding and robotics, flight and space, human body systems, and more, PLTW Gateway fuels students’ passion for discovery. As they engage in hands-on, collaborative problem solving focused on real-world challenges, students use and stretch their imaginations in brand-new ways that connect their learning to life. All the while, students step into roles spanning the career landscape—a crucial experience during this transitional time in their lives, long before they enter their degreed or skilled trade professions. 

PLTW Gateway - Program Expansion (3M)

3M forms lasting partnerships with communities and provides resources to help them succeed and grow – ensuring a more interconnected and thriving world. 3M inspires the next generation of science leaders through the following goals:

• Increasing STEM exposure in K-12 classrooms
• Supporting experiential learning opportunities
• Enhancing the quality of STEM teaching
• Providing professional development opportunities for students

3M has partnered with PLTW to ensure students and teachers have the tools, resources and knowledge they need to succeed in STEM.

Project Lead the Way (PLTW) provides innovative, hands-on learning experiences for students in PreK-5, fostering confidence and career readiness. With support from 3M, PLTW Launch aims to enhance STEM education by increasing exposure, supporting experiential learning, and improving teaching quality. This partnership ensures that students and teachers have the necessary tools and resources to thrive in a rapidly evolving world, empowering the next generation of leaders in science and technology.

University of Minnesota

As one of the nation’s leading public research universities, the University of Minnesota has for nearly two centuries been in the business of finding solutions to complex challenges by developing remarkable, determined and engaged problem solvers. Our five distinct campuses — Crookston, Duluth, Morris, Rochester, and Twin Cities — each have unique strengths, enriched by their surrounding communities to serve all regions of the state. Across Minnesota, from Extension offices in all 87 counties to community clinics, research and outreach centers, and local industry partnerships, we show up where it matters most. 

Across all campuses, this is above all a place where the extraordinary endures. This is a place where students live with purpose, learning from professors who are leaders in their fields, striving together to ensure our communities thrive while making discoveries that heal, grow and sustain our people, economies and environment. The University of Minnesota is driven by a singular vision of excellence. We are proud of our land-grant mission of world-class education, groundbreaking research, and community-engaged outreach, and we are unified in our drive to serve Minnesota.

Good Neighbor Fund

The Good Neighbor Fund (GNF) was founded in 2007 and is held and managed in an endowment by the University of Minnesota. The Stadium Area Advisory Group serves as the fund's board with representatives from local governments and neighborhood and business associations adjacent to the Twin Cities campus. Formed with the purpose of enhancing and protecting the beauty, serenity, and security of the community we are part of, the University of Minnesota has awarded more than seven hundred thousand dollars of Good Neighbor Fund grants to community and local government partners for 128 projects. 

The Stadium Area Advisory Group board approved $120,000 available in total grant funds for the year 2026 from the Good Neighbor Fund endowment. We encourage applications for projects that reflect the long-term purpose of the U of M Good Neighbor Fund, which is to promote the beauty, stability, vitality, and security of the communities adjacent to the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus. 

The Site-Based Clinical Training Grant Program, administered by the Minnesota Department of Health, aims to enhance clinical healthcare training throughout Minnesota. With a funding estimate of $4,657,000 for FY 2026, this grant prioritizes rural primary care and oral health training. Eligible applicants include clinical training sites actively enrolled in the Minnesota Health Care Program, which must demonstrate their commitment to addressing healthcare shortages in underserved areas. This initiative supports the development of a skilled healthcare workforce.