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.
The grant process begins by completing a pre-application questionnaire.
Start the Grant Process Now More information on Grantee Resources
Open Grants
Early Care and Education
We are offering a third round of early care and education grants to support nonprofits directly serving our southwest Minnesota communities. Our goal is that all children in southwest Minnesota are ready to learn and succeed at their full potential. Deadline: 5 p.m. on April 20, 2018.
Community Assistantship Program
University of Minnesota’s Center for Urban and Regional Affairs has announced a request for proposals (RFP) in its Community Assistantship Program. This program will provide student research assistance to cities and organizations anywhere in greater Minnesota. CAP provides approximately 200 hours of student time (260 hours during summer) to work on a project defined by the community. Deadline: March 15, 2018.