COVID-19 Support for Nonprofits
Southwest Initiative Foundation is accepting grant applications to support nonprofit organizations addressing basic needs in southwest Minnesota. The intent is to help organizations working directly with people who need more and different support during the COVID-19 crisis. SWIF is leveraging dollars from the Minnesota Disaster Recovery Fund to support this grant round.
Focus areas include food security, mental health, domestic violence and homelessness. This grant will also support continuity of business for organizations serving children living in poverty, elder residents, farmers, native communities, new immigrants, people of color and refugees.
Applicants must demonstrate a benefit within one or more of the following 18 counties in southwest Minnesota: Big Stone, Chippewa, Cottonwood, Jackson, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, McLeod, Meeker, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Renville, Rock, Swift and Yellow Medicine; or the Upper Sioux Community or Lower Sioux Indian Community.
Grants from $500 to $5,000 will be awarded as funding is available. This will be an open grant process through July 1, 2020. Grant requests received by the 1st and the 15th of the month will be reviewed within the two weeks following submission on an ongoing basis.
Apply now for COVID-19 grantFor specific guidelines and application details, download the request for proposals below.
Additional COVID-19 resources for nonprofits
- Find out about loans available to nonprofits in the CARES Act
- Minnesota Council of Nonprofits – COVID-19: What Nonprofits need to know
- SBA Disaster Assistance Loan Application – Nonprofits are eligible to apply
- Otto Bremer Trust Emergency Fund – For nonprofits and local governments
- Spring Board for the Arts Emergency Relief Fund – For artists and communities
If your nonprofit or community is experiencing a need we should know about, please contact Nancy Fasching.
Grow Our Own Responsive Grants
Southwest Initiative Foundation is offering Grow Our Own responsive grants to support nonprofits directly serving southwest Minnesota communities for work related to Grow Our Own. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the deadline to apply for this grant has been extended to July 1, 2020 at 5 p.m. For grant guidelines and application details, download the request for proposals below.
Apply now for Grow Our Own grantFor specific guidelines and application details, download the request for proposals below.
Grantmaking is a key role of community foundations like Southwest Initiative Foundation.
Most of our grants are awarded through our more than 120 fund partners, which have their own grant application guidelines. If you have a fund in your area, it may be a resource for you.
We can award grants to nonprofit organizations, schools, government agencies and projects that use one of these entities as a fiscal partner. We don’t award grants to individuals or to start a business. Instead, entrepreneurs can talk to our loan team. If the business plan seems like it could be a fit for Southwest Initiative Foundation, our loan team will help you apply for financing.
Fill out the grant pre-application questionnaire
