WCA Foundation 2026 Project Investments Grant Round

The WCA Foundation, a Signature Fund of the Minneapolis Foundation, is pleased to announce its 2026 Project Investments grant round. WCA will accept grant applications from Thursday, November 13 through 1 p.m. on Tuesday, December 16.

The WCA Foundation is a volunteer-led grantmaking organization whose mission is “women changing the lives of women.” Its members, all local women, are committed to learning about and responding to the most urgent needs of women in communities across the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. They contribute their time, talent, and care to advance the foundation’s mission and engage in participatory grantmaking.

The WCA Foundation seeks proposals from nonprofit organizations based in the Twin Cities metro area for projects or programs that advance its members’ shared commitment to a world where all women thrive.

WCA will consider requests for initiatives delivering direct services that address the fundamental needs of adult women (ages 18+) in these areas:

• Health
• Economic stability
• Shelter
• Safety

Our members prioritize initiatives that:

• Are led by women, designed by and for women, and primarily serving women.
• Take a holistic approach to supporting women, recognizing the interconnectedness of their needs.
• Center women’s voices and lived experiences in program development.
• Challenge barriers that prevent women from thriving, including by providing education and training that empowers women to advocate for themselves and their communities.
• Demonstrate clear impact, showing how programs build women’s knowledge and skills in ways that create meaningful and lasting change.

These grant guidelines, which you can also download as a PDF, reflect the WCA Foundation’s Strategic Framework and its dedication to partnering with nonprofits to facilitate community-directed solutions. WCA members updated these guidelines in 2025 to reflect what they have learned from grant partners, and to describe more clearly the kinds of initiatives they aim to support. Learn more about what changed and why >

In this grant round, the WCA Foundation will invest between $550,000 and $595,000. Grants will range from $10,000 to $30,000 and will be awarded to roughly 17 to 22 organizations.

This funding opportunity is open to 501(c)(3) nonprofits with public charity tax determinations. Note these additional eligibility guidelines:

• Grant applicants must maintain direct responsibility for the work for which they are requesting funds. (Requests from fiscal agents or fiscal sponsors will not be considered.)
• Applicant organizations must be based in the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area—Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington counties—and primarily serve clients from this area.
• WCA will not fund charitable activities that promote a religion or require participation in a religion as a condition for receiving services. However, grants may be made to faith-based organizations for non-religious purposes, if other eligibility criteria are met.
• WCA will not make grants to organizations requesting funds for either pro-life or pro-choice projects.
• Organizations may submit only one request per grant cycle.
• Note to current grantees: Organizations that received 2025 Project Investments grants may submit requests for funding. Recipients of 2024-2026 Multi-Year General Operating Pilot Program grants are not eligible to request funding.

The WCA Foundation has supported a diverse range of organizations in recent years. More information about previous grant rounds is available here: Projects 2025, Projects 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022, and Fall 2021.

We will begin accepting applications on November 13, 2025. All applications must be submitted by 1 p.m CST on December 16, 2025. We do not accept late or emailed applications. Incomplete applications, including those with missing or incorrect required documents, will not move forward for funding consideration. All applicants will be notified of funding decisions by June 2026.

The Minneapolis Foundation is using a new online application portal for this grant round. Even if you have received funding from the Minneapolis Foundation in the past, you will need to set up a new account. Please note each individual grant writer should have their own account. Your credentials should be your own; do not share you user ID or password with others. If you work with more than one organization that is applying for a grant, you can affiliate yourself with multiple organizations once you have created an individual account in the portal. We encourage all prospective applicants to get a head start and create your account today. Register >

Before completing the online application, we recommend that you download the Grant Guidelines and Application Preview Worksheet and use it to draft responses.

Watch this recorded info session for helpful details about this grant opportunity, including the guidelines and eligibility criteria, the application review process and timeline, and tips for using our online application and uploading required documents.

If you experience technical problems or need help accessing our online portal, please contact our Grants Administration team at impactgrants@mplsfoundation.org or 612-672-8665. For questions related to eligibility criteria or the content of your proposal, please contact Julia Ruther: Email jruther@mplsfoundation.org or schedule a call with her. Please allow one to two business days for responses from our staff.