Community Responsive Fund

The Initiative Foundation is partnering with its Minnesota Initiative Foundation peers and the Otto Bremer Trust (OBT) in 2025 to deliver Community Responsive Fund grants across Greater Minnesota.

Nonprofits located in the Initiative Foundation’s service area—the 14 counties and two Native nations of Central Minnesota—will apply through the Initiative Foundation’s website. The service area includes Benton, Cass, Chisago, Crow Wing, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd, Wadena and Wright counties and portions of the Native nations of the Leech Lake and Mille Lacs Bands of Ojibwe.

The Initiative Foundation’s Community Responsive Fund grant application is available through May 22. Learn more. 

Other nonprofits based in Greater Minnesota will apply directly through their local Minnesota Initiative Foundation:

• Northland Foundation
• Northwest Minnesota Foundation
• Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation
• Southwest Initiative Foundation
• West Central Initiative

Nonprofits based in the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area will apply through Greater Twin Cities United Way.

Application processes will vary by location. Check with your regionally identified Community Responsive Fund partner for details.

Program Eligibility

In 2024, the Initiative Foundation partnered with Otto Bremer Trust for the first time to serve as the administrative hub for the Minnesota Initiative Foundations to award grants across four funding priority areas in Greater Minnesota. For 2025, the Otto Bremer Trust has updated eligibility requirements and funding criteria. If you are interested in applying, it is essential to carefully review the revised guidelines to ensure you meet the new qualifications.

2025 Funding Priorities

• Literacy: Organization and programs advancing literacy.
• Adoption and foster care services: Organizations and programs that support adoption and foster care.
• Children’s health: Organizations and programs that provide health-related access and services for children.
• Children’s disability services: Organizations and programs focused on supporting children with physical/cognitive disabilities.
• Mental health: Organizations and programs that support access to and delivery of mental health services, with preference given to work that addresses the needs of children aged 5-15.
• Capital projects for hospitals and clinics: Activities supporting the maintenance of hospitals, construction of facilities, and purchase of medical equipment.

Eligible 501(c)(3) organizations may apply for grants of $10,000 to $75,000 to support operations, programming or capital projects.

Eligibility Criteria

Organizations that apply for a Community Responsive Fund grant must have 501(c)(3) status. Government entities and public schools are not eligible; non-public schools are eligible. Other eligibility criteria include:

• Must have physical operations in the granting organization’s service area.
• Must have at least five years of operations.
• Must have had actual expenses of $2 million or more in the last fiscal year.
• May not have an open OBT strategic grant. NOTE: This is a grant directly through Otto Bremer Trust and does not include a 2024 Community Responsive Fund grant distributed through an intermediary partner such as the Initiative Foundation or one if its Minnesota Initiative Foundation peer organizations.

Funding Guidelines

• Grant requests may not exceed 10 percent of your organization’s previous fiscal year’s public philanthropic support.
• No more than 10 percent of grant funds may be used for administrative expenses.
• Funds may not be used for policy advocacy, sponsorships or annual events.
• No fiscal sponsorships.