Racial and Economic Justice Grants
The Minneapolis Foundation announces a call for proposals for efforts that advance racial and economic justice by:
- Advancing structural and systems change through policy advocacy, organizing, and movement building.
- Investing in economic systems and practices that build wealth and stabilize communities.
- Advancing narrative strategies focused on racial and economic justice.
BACKGROUND AND WHAT WE WILL FUND
This funding opportunity was influenced by the voices of many key stakeholders we have talked to in the past two years. Our Strategic Framework, which we launched late last year, pushes us to get closer to those most impacted by issues, and to invest in community-driven solutions.
As such, we are specifically interested in funding organizations, efforts, and initiatives with a proven record of:
- Promoting civic participation and leadership.
- Fostering belonging and inclusion.
- Actualizing access to opportunities that advance upward mobility.
- Seeing and dismantling barriers that hold inequities in place.
We will fund projects or provide general operating support to applicants that meet the guidelines. We are intentionally not providing examples because we are interested in investing in organizations that can make the case for how their work advances racial and economic justice.
We also heard that our application process was overly complicated, so we have streamlined it, simplified our application questions, and embedded grantee-identified goals into our final reporting process.
APPLICATION PROCESS
We will begin accepting applications online on Feb. 8, 2021. All applications must be submitted by the deadline of 1 p.m. on Feb. 22, 2021. The average grant will be $25,000 to $55,000. Funding decisions will be announced in mid-March 2021.
We recommend downloading this preview document to prepare to apply online. Once the application portal opens, we encourage you to log in to ensure that you have access and that your organization’s contact information is current. We strongly urge applicants to begin their online application well in advance of the deadline so that any technical challenges are resolved by the deadline.
The grant period for this opportunity will be from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022. Grantees will be required to submit a final report 60 days after the conclusion of the grant period.
ELIGIBILITY
Funding will be awarded to 501(c)(3)s, 501(c)(4)s, government entities and religious institutions, or others with a fiscal agent. We will prioritize applications from groups that are led by Black, Indigenous and people of color and those engaged in efforts that are grounded in the needs of diverse Minneapolis communities. In addition to Minneapolis, we will consider applications from first-ring suburbs such as Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Robbinsdale and Richfield.
We will also prioritize applications focused on investing in economic systems and practices that build wealth and stabilize communities located in the Minneapolis Cultural Districts.
Current and past grantees may apply as long as they are up to date with any reporting requirements due to the Minneapolis Foundation.
FURTHER ASSISTANCE
As you consider applying for this funding opportunity, Catherine Gray or Jo-Anne Stately are available to answer questions about the content of your proposal. If you have technical questions about this process, please contact Grants Administration or call 612-672-8665.
