Best Grants for Community Centers in Minnesota

Nonprofit and community organizations addressing basic human needs, K–12 education, or poverty services in Minnesota’s southern communities can seek support for local initiatives and critical community needs. The HickoryTech Fund from Mankato Area Foundation serves Consolidated Communications’ service area, including Mankato, North Mankato, Waseca, Faribault, and nearby towns, with applications accepted on a rolling basis starting January 1, 2026.

Historic preservation nonprofits and government agencies partnering with 501(c)(3)s in Minnesota can seek US $5,000 - US $50,000 for Historic Structure Reports through the Jeffris Heartland Fund. Grants from Jeffris Family Foundation help fund up to 50% of planning costs for nationally or statewide significant sites, which may include historic community center properties in smaller communities.

Minnesota community-based nonprofits working on watershed stewardship, freshwater conservation, or environmental resilience may be eligible for support to build long-term social and ecological health. Minnesota community centers can access funding through Laird Norton Family Foundation when their programs advance watershed stewardship or related environmental initiatives in priority regions, including Minnesota and select Western U.S. watersheds.

Minnesota 501(c)(3) organizations addressing basic needs, health care, education, civic projects, or first responder support may be eligible for Valero Energy Foundation funding in communities where it operates. Valero Energy Foundation supports nonprofits near its Welcome, Minnesota facility that strengthen local quality of life and community well-being.

Nonprofit organizations and government entities in Minnesota can receive funding to advance economic mobility, build community wealth, expand fair and affordable housing, and strengthen democratic participation. Grants from McKnight Foundation help Minnesota community-focused groups, including community centers, support workers’ rights, racial and economic justice, small business development, and equitable, wealth-building housing initiatives.

Community-based organizations and cultural groups in Minnesota can apply for Minnesota Humanities Center’s Community Identity and Heritage Grant; awards up to US $300,000 for projects that create, celebrate, or teach local art, culture, and heritage. Community centers highlighting diverse or underrepresented cultures may be eligible if proposing new or expanded heritage-focused work.

With a mission to strengthen communities, Ameriprise Financial provides Minnesota community centers and other 501(c)(3) nonprofits with funding for basic needs, community vitality, and volunteer-driven programs. U.S.-based organizations serving local clients, especially near Ameriprise employee centers like Minneapolis, that show measurable outcomes and strong Ameriprise volunteer engagement may be competitive.

Black-led 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) organizations, or those with a fiscal sponsor, working on racial and ethnic justice in Minnesota can access funding through Headwaters Foundation for Justice. The Justice and Liberation Fund offers $50,000 in unrestricted general operating support over two years to strengthen Black movement-building and organizing across the state.

Minnesota 501(c)(3) organizations and fiscally sponsored groups working on habitat preservation, restoration, or environmental education in the Duluth-Superior region can seek funding for one-year biodiversity projects from $5,000 to $50,000. Boreal Waters Community Foundation supports pilot projects, planning, community engagement, research, and early-stage restoration that strengthen ecosystems and community resilience.

The Community Opportunity Fund, managed by Boreal Waters Community Foundation, empowers local organizations in northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin by providing essential funding for transformative projects. This initiative focuses on uniting community resources to foster innovative ideas, strengthen nonprofits, and drive impactful change. With a long-standing commitment to supporting civic engagement, the Fund directs support to where it's most needed, ensuring that communities can thrive even in challenging times.

Mission

The Biodiversity Fund supports efforts to maintain and strengthen biodiversity in the Duluth-Superior region through preservation and restoration of habitat, help for particular species and ecosystems, planning for changing conditions, research and education. The purpose is to consider now the value to future generations of the species and ecosystem diversity that will remain when/if human population stabilizes.

Biodiversity Fund

The Biodiversity Fund supports projects that preserve and restore habitats, assist vulnerable species and ecosystems, plan for environmental change, and promote research and education in the Duluth-Superior region.

The fund aims to protect the region's biodiversity through conservation, preservation, and restoration of natural resources for the benefit of future generations.

Biodiversity Fund- Large & Multi-Year Grants

The Fund may also support larger initiatives of up to $50,000 per year for up to three years, for projects that require sustained investment to achieve meaningful, long-term impact. ‍

Multi-year requests should demonstrate:

• A clear long-term vision with defined milestones that allow progress to be assessed prior to subsequent years of funding each year
• How the work will scale, adapt, or deepen impact over time
• Strong partnerships, stewardship plans, or systems-level outcomes
• A plan for sustainability beyond the grant period

What We Mean by Biodiversity

‍Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth, encompassing the diversity of genes, species, and ecosystems and the complex relationships that sustain them. Biodiversity underpins ecosystem stability, climate resilience, and human well-being by providing essential services such as clean air and water, natural food systems, nature-derived medicines, and climate adaptation and regulation.

This grant recognizes that healthy natural ecosystems and sustainable native plant and animal communities are deeply interconnected — environmental degradation often exacerbates social inequities and instability of communities of habitats and ecosystems. Community-led solutions strengthen ecological outcomes.

Biodiversity Fund Priorities

Funded projects should demonstrate strength in several of the following areas. Not every project must address all principles, but competitive proposals will show clear alignment across multiple dimensions.

• Upstream & Preventative Focus
  • Projects address root causes rather than symptoms.
  • Prioritize prevention, restoration, and long-term solutions
  • Reduce risk and vulnerability for people, species, and ecosystems
  • Anticipate environmental and social change rather than reacting after harm occurs
• Collaboration & Community Voice
  • Projects are grounded in authentic partnership.
  • Build cross-sector collaboration (e.g., nonprofits, Tribal Nations, schools, governments, researchers, community groups)
  • Center the expertise and leadership of people with lived experience, including Indigenous knowledge and local ecological expertise
  • Share power in design, decision-making, and implementation
• Equity-Centered Impact
  • Projects advance equity for both people and place.
  • Prioritize historically marginalized communities and/or vulnerable species and ecosystems
  • Focus resources, decision-making power, or stewardship closer to impacted communities
  • Recognize how environmental harm and social inequity intersect
• Systems, Policy & Practice Change
  • Projects have transferability and relevance beyond a single site or program.
  • Improve institutional practices, policies, land-use decisions, or resource flows
  • Strengthen community-level systems related to housing, food security, climate adaptation, education, or conservation
  • Demonstrate potential for replication, scaling, or broader adoption
• Sustainability & Capacity Building
  • Projects plan for impact that lasts beyond the grant period.
  • Strengthen organizational, community, or ecosystem capacity
  • Build skills, infrastructure, stewardship, or long-term management plans
  • Promote ongoing care, monitoring, or adaptive management of natural systems
• Evidence of Change & Learning
  • Projects contribute to shared learning and understanding.
  • Use data, research, community knowledge, or storytelling to demonstrate impact
  • Measure ecological, social, or systems-level outcomes
  • Share lessons learned to inform future equity-, resilience-, and biodiversity-focused work

Nonprofits, government entities, tribal governments, churches, and fiscally sponsored groups serving northeastern Minnesota communities can seek up to US $300,000 for transformational projects advancing belonging, equity, and community connection. Boreal Waters Community Foundation funds community-led initiatives, collaborations, and systems-change efforts that build long-term Opportunity, Resilience, and Belonging, which may benefit Minnesota community centers focused on inclusive, upstream impact.

Nonprofits, government entities, Tribal governments, churches, and fiscally sponsored groups in Minnesota’s northeastern counties can access resilience-focused funding via Boreal Waters Community Foundation to support transformational, community-driven projects. Grants up to Up to US $300,000 back initiatives that address root causes, build cross-sector partnerships, and strengthen long-term community capacity, including work in housing, food security, workforce readiness, and climate adaptation that may benefit community centers.

Minnesota Department of Health

Mission: Protecting, maintaining and improving the health of all Minnesotans.

Vision: The vision of MDH is for health equity in Minnesota, where all communities are thriving and all people have what they need to be healthy.

Minnesota Innovations in Perinatal Health

This Request for Proposals (RFP) is focused on improving perinatal health outcomes for communities of color, American Indian communities, and rural communities. This RFP aligns with the Innovations for Maternal Health Outcomes in Minnesota (I-MOM) program, which centers perinatal health innovations within communities most impacted. This RFP will fund innovative activities in community engagement and communications focused on improving perinatal health and focused on supporting the implementation of the perinatal health strategic plan. Grant funds can be either used to support existing programming or used to create new programming.

Who We Are

The humanities help us understand ourselves, our communities, and our histories. By increasing collective understanding, we can spark positive change and create a more just society.

We curate stories, co-create engagement opportunities, increase knowledge, and produce resources in the areas of education, civic renewal, immersive experiences, and public programming to catalyze ideas. Our grantmaking allows us to strengthen the bonds between us, celebrate our past and traditions, appeal to the best within ourselves, and educate the next generation of leaders.

Ethnic Media Grants

Through the State of Minnesota’s 2025-2027 biennial legislation and the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund (Legacy), the Minnesota Humanities Center (MHC) will administer $472,500 for ethnic media grants to ethnic media organizations that work to create, celebrate, and teach the art, culture, and heritage of the many diverse cultural groups that make up Minnesota, including but not limited to Indigenous organizations, communities whose culture and heritage have been historically underrepresented, recent immigrant communities, and veterans.

The Legislature in providing this funding is seeking to fund ethnic media organizations throughout Minnesota to create video content in a language other than English.

An applicant that receives funding under this grant opportunity must do at least one of the following:

• Preserve and honor the cultural heritage of Minnesota,
• Provide education and student outreach in cultural diversity,
• Support the development of culturally diverse humanities programming, including arts programming, or
• Empower communities in building identity and culture, including preserving and honoring communities whose Indigenous cultures are endangered or disappearing.

Minnesota community centers and other organizations working to expand access to reliable health information can apply for the Health Information Outreach Award, offering US $25,000 for outreach and education projects. With a mission to improve public health, National Library of Medicine supports initiatives that boost health literacy, health equity, and effective use of biomedical information resources.

Eligible 501(c)(3) nonprofits, tribal governments, public agencies, and units of government in rural Minnesota can seek US $25,000 - US $150,000 to plan or implement projects that strengthen small communities and shared spaces. Blandin Foundation supports initiatives such as community centers, gathering places, downtown revitalization, parks, trails, and capacity-building that drive positive economic, physical, and social change.

Nonprofits, community groups, and tribal or public entities in northeastern Minnesota can apply for Boreal Waters Community Foundation’s Community Opportunity Fund, awarding US $25,000 - US $50,000 for resilience-focused projects. Funding supports community-led efforts that build long-term stability, including housing, food security, workforce resilience, and climate adaptation—work that may strengthen or expand community center programs.

Community Opportunity Fund

The Community Opportunity Fund is at the heart of our work at Boreal Waters Community Foundation. It’s how we connect generosity with possibility to support bold ideas, local leadership, and long-term solutions across northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin.

Each year, this fund helps nonprofits tackle critical challenges, strengthen communities, and ensure that everyone in our region can thrive.

A Grant Program Rooted in Community and Collective Generosity

As our region’s permanent civic endowment, the Community Opportunity Fund helps nonprofits and community groups respond to challenges, create solutions, and build a better future. In 2023, we restructured the fund to offer larger, more flexible grants—supporting not just programs, but long-term vision and systems change.

We focus on these interconnected areas:

Community Opportunity Fund: Belonging Grant Focus

Creating spaces and opportunities where all people are valued, heard, and are able to thrive. Projects amplify voices, foster creative expression, and create a vibrant, inclusive culture.

Examples:  

• Elevates diverse voices and perspectives, particularly those from historically marginalized communities.  
• Embraces the common humanity of all individuals.
• Implements practices that increase connection, respect, and safety.
• Strengthens community bonds and promotes equity for all.

Community Opportunity Fund: Opportunity Grant Focus 

Community Opportunity Fund: Resilience Grant Focus 

What We Fund

We support a wide range of community-driven, equity-centered work. Funding can be used for:

• Program or Project Support: To launch, expand, or sustain work in Opportunity, Resilience, or Belonging
• General Operating Support: To build strength and stability
• Capacity Building: To grow organizational effectiveness or leadership
• Community-Led Solutions: Especially those involving lived experience and cross-sector collaboration
• Systems Change and Upstream Impact: Projects that address root causes—not just symptoms

Minnesota community centers and other eligible 501(c)(3)s, governments, Tribal entities, churches, and fiscally sponsored groups can access funding to advance economic stability and opportunity. The Boreal Waters Community Foundation supports programs, operations, and capacity-building that expand affordable housing, living-wage jobs, education access, and essential economic support services in northeastern Minnesota and nearby Wisconsin counties, with awards of US $25,000 - US $50,000.

The Target Foundation's Hometown Racial Equity Grant aims to advance racial equity for underserved communities in the Twin Cities. With over a century of commitment to social responsibility, the Foundation addresses systemic barriers by investing in entrepreneurship, workforce development, housing, and asset building. By supporting BIPOC-led organizations, the Foundation seeks to create equitable economic opportunities, ensuring that all families can thrive and contribute to a vibrant community. Grants range from $25,000 to $200,000, focusing on sustainable impact.

With a mission to support whole-person health and wellbeing, this program provides Minnesota 501(c)(3) organizations with funding for integrative and alternative health initiatives. Community centers and other nonprofits may be supported for community-based programs, medical system transformation, healthcare choice and bodily autonomy, leadership efforts, and professional training, primarily via a selective LOI process.

Minnesota Humanities Center

The Minnesota Humanities Center (MHC), a non-profit organization, strives to create a more just society that is curious, connected, and compassionate by increasing the collective understanding of ourselves, our communities, and our histories through stories and experiences. 

Youth Literary Grant

Grant Goals

Funding will support individual authors and organizations to create, produce, and distribute books for youth in Minnesota.

An applicant that receives funding under this grant opportunity must do at least one of the following:

• Amplify arts, culture, and heritage in Minnesota,
• Increase the depth and breadth of Minnesota who will connect with arts, culture, and heritage, and
• Provide opportunities for individuals in Minnesota to enjoy arts and culture for free or at reduced cost to allow access for economically disadvantaged individuals and families in Minnesota to attend Legacy programs.

Legacy funding may only be used for new work or new additions to existing work. Funding must supplement and not substitute existing funding sources or be used as reimbursement of expenses for existing projects.

Applicants must provide books for free or at a reduced cost for youth and families.

Nonprofits, public schools, governments, tribal governments, churches, and fiscally sponsored projects in northeastern Minnesota and nearby tribal communities can seek support for global awareness, peace, justice, economic well-being, and environmental sustainability initiatives. Boreal Waters Community Foundation’s Global Awareness Fund backs projects like global education, media on international issues, conferences, and peace and justice centers that may benefit community centers.

Public bodies, community-based nonprofits, and federally recognized Tribes in rural Minnesota can use this program to build, purchase, or improve essential community facilities and related equipment. Focused on rural development, USDA Rural Development invites communities under 20,000 residents to strengthen health, public safety, community centers, and other vital local services.

The Early Care and Education Grant Program, initiated by the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, aims to provide funding for early care and education services for children from birth to age five in southern Minnesota. Eligible organizations can apply for grants up to $20,000 to support essential services, including health and training for young children. This initiative promotes community collaboration and supports diverse populations, ensuring impactful developmental resources are accessible.

Minnesota cultural, arts, and heritage organizations facing emergencies can seek funding to sustain programs that create, celebrate, and teach the diverse cultures of the state. Focused on community culture and arts participation, Minnesota Humanities Center invites Minnesota groups, including Indigenous, immigrant, underrepresented communities, and veterans’ organizations, to apply for awards up to US $50,000.