Grant Guidelines
The Initiative Foundation awards grants across the 14 counties and two Native nations of Central Minnesota. Grants are provided for projects and programs that advance shared missions to empower people across Central Minnesota to build a thriving economy, vibrant communities, and a lasting culture of generosity.
The Initiative Foundation’s family of Partner Funds includes community, education and donor-advised funds. These funds also award grants based on specific priorities and typically are more localized to make investments in Central Minnesota communities.
Investing in Local Needs, Quality of Life
Grant applicants must be 501(c)(3) nonprofits, school districts, or local units of government operating within the 14-county region served by the Initiative Foundation. The service area includes Benton, Cass, Chisago, Crow Wing, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd, Wadena and Wright counties, and the Native nations of the Leech Lake and Mille Lacs Bands of Ojibwe.
Nonprofit and economic development grantmaking is augmented by the Initiative Foundation’s family of Partner Funds. From donor-advised funds to field-of-interest projects, grants awarded by the Foundation and its Partner Funds work together to build strong and vibrant communities and economies. Each fund and its advisors are guided by a binding agreement and are supported by Initiative Foundation staff to ensure grant recommendations make a meaningful difference in the region and align with the Foundation’s mission, vision and values.
Focus Areas
Initiative Foundation grant awards focus on the following areas:
- Localism: We support local organizations and projects with local leadership and local financial support.
- Geographic equity: We strive to create a meaningful difference annually in the counties and Native nations we serve.
- Economic roots: We focus on grants that improve economies, build economic opportunity, and create community vibrancy rooted in economic success.
- Leverage: We believe in being the first dollars in for innovative new projects, and we believe in building the capacity of nonprofits and economic development entities so that our initial investment acts as a catalyst to attract larger and ongoing support from the community, businesses, and philanthropic organizations.
Priority Considerations
Proposals that focus on at least one of the following areas will be given priority consideration:
- Capacity-building support for nonprofits addressing the urgent needs of historically disadvantaged populations. This includes support for business planning, fund development, training or other capacity-building initiatives.
- Cost share for projects intended to create behavioral change associated with combating racism, and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.
- Advancement of strategies to address workforce shortages.
- Support for local and regional community and economic development entities advancing early-stage feasibility or pilot projects.
2025 Deadlines
Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis, with quarterly awards made through a competitive review process. Tentative application deadlines for 2025:
- February
- May
- October
- November
Grants seldom exceed $10,000 and are not intended to provide ongoing support. The grant process is highly competitive. Applicants will typically be notified within two weeks of application deadline.
Nonprofit, Economic Development Grants
The application process is open year-round for nonprofit and economic development/workforce grants. We strive for geographic equity by annually delivering grants to each of the 14 counties and two Native nations we serve. This intentional approach to equitable grantmaking means we can deliver a limited number of grants in a given community, regardless of the number of applications received from that community.
Nonprofit Grants
We support Central Minnesota nonprofits with budgets of $1 million or less. Capacity-building grants are designed to strengthen organizations that lift up local economies, build a strong workforce, and add to the vibrancy of the region’s economy. We strive for geographic equity by annually delivering grants to each of the 14 counties and two Native nations we serve.
We fund capacity-building initiatives that provide …
- basic needs such as food or housing
- improve economic conditions such as jobs training, career education, life skills, and apprenticeships
- support for victims of crime or discrimination
- non-clinical mental health services and supports related to suicide prevention and substance abuse.
Capacity building can include strategic planning; training to grow staff skills; board and governance training; process-improvement initiatives; and staff time that supports capacity-building activities.
NOTE: Healthcare, arts and historic preservation are not focus areas for Initiative Foundation grants. Potential applicants are encouraged to speak with staff before beginning an application associated with one of these areas.
Economic Development, Workforce
Initiative Foundation grants support local units of government, Tribal governments and economic development nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status. We have strong interest in early-stage or pilot projects, or new strategies that encourage economic development that includes workforce development and initiatives that attract and retain workers in the region.
We fund projects that …
- create new partnerships that support sector-specific apprenticeships, internships or mentoring programs
- encourage building affordable housing
- incentivize business growth that provides family sustaining wages to employees
- encourage entrepreneurial activity
- complete feasibility analysis or other preliminary design or business model assessment.
We don’t fund community marketing, billboard campaigns or general marketing programs. We also don’t fund single-company or organization-focused projects such as marketing and recruitment campaigns, human resources costs such as onboarding or training, or other expenses that are routine costs of operation.
Nonprofit Academy Grants
We support 501(c)(3) organizations operating in Central Minnesota that are implementing projects or programs directly related to Nonprofit Academy training participation. Invitation-only applications are accepted on a rolling basis from participants who complete training programs.
Grant awards support …
- basic needs such as food or housing
- those aspiring to improve their economic condition through job training, career education, life skills, and apprenticeships
- victims of crime or discrimination
- community-based mental health services and supports
- youth enrichment programming.
These grants follow the same guidelines and restrictions as the capacity-building grants for nonprofits.
Partner Fund Grants
A significant share of grantmaking comes from the Initiative Foundation’s family of community-based Partner Funds, a robust source of generosity for the region. Each of these funds has specific priority areas and varying grant schedules. We encourage you to explore our Partner Funds and their grantmaking parameters to see if they’re a fit for your project.
Current Grantees: Financial Reports
The Financial Report Form is for organizations currently receiving a grant. Refer to the provided instructions for next steps.
Grant Questions
Staff support typically is available from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday.
Initiative Foundation staff members respect that there are varying levels of experience in completing grant applications. We encourage you to reach out if you should have eligibility questions or need additional assistance. Send an email to grants@ifound.org or contact Nicole for nonprofit and Nonprofit Academy questions; Zach or Donniel for economic development and workforce questions; or Jessy for procedural questions.
