Other Funding Sources

Minnesota Council of Nonprofits 2022 Grants Directory is here
The 2022 Minnesota Grants Directory is designed to help grantseekers by providing an overview of the state's most active foundations and giving programs. The directory includes basic information on over 100 community foundations, corporate giving programs, and private foundations.

Upcoming Grant Deadlines

Hungry for History Marker Grant Program
March 13 -
(Deadline): William G. Pomeroy Foundation - This grant program celebrates America’s food history by telling the stories, through roadside markers, of local and regional food specialties across the United States. This program is designed to commemorate significant food dishes created prior to 1970 and the role they played in defining American culture and forging community identity. Learn more »

Preservation of Battlefields Supported
March 15 - (Deadline): The American Battlefield Protection Program: Preservation Planning Grants support planning, interpreting, and protecting battlefields and sites associated with armed conflicts. Learn more »

Native American Library Services: Enhancement Grants
April 3 - Deadline: Institute of Museum and Library Services - These grants are competitive grants available to carry out activities, described in 20 U.S.C. 9141, that advance the programs and services of eligible Native American libraries. Grant Amount: $10,000 to $150,000. Learn more »

Emerging Crises Oral History Research Fund
April 15 - Deadline: The Oral History Association announces funding of up to $4,000 to undertake oral history research in situations of crisis in the United States and internationally. These funds may be applied to travel, per diem, or transcription costs for research in places and situations in which a longer application time schedule may be problematic. Such crisis situations include but are not limited to wars, natural disasters, political and or economic/ethnic repression, or other currently emerging events of crisis proportions. Learn more »

Creative Individuals
April 21 & July 28 - (Deadlines): Minnesota State Arts Board - This pilot program provides support to help individual artists and culture bearers develop or sustain their creative practices and meaningfully engage with Minnesotans. Grantees may use funds to support their creative practice and meaningfully connect to and engage with audiences, participants, students, and/or communities during the grant period. Learn more »

Infrastructure and Capacity Building Challenge Grants
May 17 - (Deadline): National Endowment for the Humanities - The mission of this Challenge Grants program is to strengthen the institutional base of the humanities by enabling infrastructure development and capacity building. Awards aim to help institutions secure long-term support for their core activities and expand efforts to preserve and create access to outstanding humanities materials. Learn more »

Culture & Tourism
February 28 - (Deadline): MN Department of Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation - Culture & Tourism grants assist communities and nonprofits by supporting strong arts, culture, history, and recreational activities. The goal of the program is to enhance the quality of life in the region and attract visitors. Learn more »

Recordings at Risk Grants
April 19 - (Deadline): Council on Library and Information Resources - Funding is available to support the preservation of rare and unique audio, audiovisual, and other time-based media of high scholarly value through digital reformatting. Learn more »

Research and Development Grants
May 16 - (Deadline): National Endowment for the Humanities - This grant program supports projects that address major challenges in preserving or providing access to humanities collections and resources. These challenges include the need to find better ways to preserve materials of critical importance to the nation’s cultural heritage—from fragile artifacts and manuscripts to analog recordings and digital assets subject to technological obsolescence—and to develop advanced modes of organizing, searching, discovering, and using such materials. Learn more »

Digital Humanities Advancement Grants
June 15 - (Deadline): National Endowment for the Humanities - Funding supports innovative, experimental, and/or computationally challenging digital projects, and/or research that examines the history, criticism, ethics, and philosophy of digital culture or technology and its impact on society. Learn more »

National Trust Community Investment Corporation New Markets Tax Credits
National Trust Community Investment Corporation, a tax credit syndicator, operates by forming a legal partnership with a developer of historic real estate that results in NTCIC making an equity investment in the project in exchange for receiving rights to the federal tax credits generated by the rehabilitation of the property. This is similar to what can be done with state historic tax credits. Combining state and/or federal historic tax credits with the federal New Markets Tax Credit is also a possibility if the project is located in a low-income census tract. Learn more »

Laura Jane Musser Fund Rural Arts and Environmental Efforts
Rural Arts Initiative (March 8 - Deadline): General operating support program to assist nonprofit arts organizations in rural communities to develop, implement or sustain exceptional artistic opportunities for adults and children in the areas of literary, visual, music, and performing arts.
Environmental Initiative (March 15 - Deadline): Funding initiates or implements projects that enhance the ecological integrity of publicly-owned open spaces while encouraging compatible human activities. Learn more »

NAGPRA Consultation/Documentation Grants & Repatriation Grants
March 10 - (Deadline): Consultation/Documentation Grants support the efforts of museums, Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian organizations in consulting and documenting NAGPRA-related human remains and cultural items in non-Federal collections.
May 12 - (Deadline): Repatriation Grants defray costs associated with the packaging, transportation, contamination removal, and/or storage of NAGPRA-related human remains and cultural items. Learn more »

Awards Available for Native Arts Projects
March 14 - (Deadline): The Native Arts and Cultures Foundation - This funding opportunity focuses on the power of arts and collaboration to strengthen Native communities and promote positive social change in the United States. Learn more »

2023 AARP Community Challenge
March 15 - (Deadline): AARP - This program provides small grants to fund quick-action projects that can help communities become more livable for people of all ages. Learn more »

Tennant Foundation
March 25 & October 5 - (Deadlines): The Tennant Foundation provides modest operating grants to organizations serving the Minneapolis community; their typical grant range is $1,500-$10,000. Tennant is particularly interested in requests that further their commitment to creating a cleaner, safer, and healthier world. Priority areas of giving include environmental programs, social services, workforce readiness through education and vocational rehabilitation, and cultural and arts organizations. Learn more »

Research Grants in the Arts
March 27 - (Deadline): National Endowment for the Arts - This program supports research that investigates the value or impact of the arts, either as individual components of the U.S. arts ecology or as they interact with each other or with other domains of American life. Learn more »

Archives Collaboratives
February 15 - (Draft Deadline) | May 3 - (Final Deadline): National Archives and Records Administration - This program welcomes collaborations among three or more organizations that target institutional advancement for small and underserved communities. Archives Collaboratives may: be located in the same community, state, or geographic region; be "virtual" or online collaboratives; share affinities among the scope and subject matter of their collections; have similar organizational missions; serve similar types of user communities. Apply for a Planning Grant (up to $25,000) or an Implementation Grant (up to $100,000). Learn more »

Johanna Favrot Fund for Historic Preservation
March 1 - (Deadline): National Trust for Historic Preservation - Grants for planning activities and education efforts focused on preservation. Learn more »

Cultural and Community Resilience
May 16 - (Deadline): National Endowment for the Humanities - This grant supports community-based efforts to mitigate climate change and COVID-19 pandemic impacts, safeguard cultural resources, and foster cultural resilience through identifying, documenting, and/or collecting cultural heritage and community experience. Learn more »

Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund for Historic Interiors
March 1 - (Deadline): National Trust for Historic Preservation - Grants that assist in the preservation, restoration, and interpretation of historic interiors. Learn more »

Johanna Favrot Fund for Historic Preservation
March 1 - (Deadline): National Trust for Historic Preservation - Grants for planning activities and education efforts focused on preservation. Learn more »

Program Funds Arts for Underserved Communities
May 16 - (Deadline): The Challenge America program offers support primarily to small organizations for projects in all artistic disciplines that extend the reach of the arts to populations that are underserved. Learn more »

Cultural and Community Resilience Grants Program
May 16 - (deadline): National Endowment for the Humanities - This grant program supports community-based efforts to mitigate climate change and COVID-19 pandemic impacts, safeguard cultural resources, and foster cultural resilience through identifying, documenting, and/or collecting cultural heritage and community experience. Learn more »

Applications are now open for the 2023 Collections Assessment for Preservation (CAP) program
February 28 - (Deadline): Foundation for Advancement in Conservation/Institute of Museum and Library Services - The Collections Assessment for Preservation (CAP) program provides small and mid-sized museums with partial funding toward a general conservation assessment. The assessment is a study of all of the institution's collections, buildings, and building systems, as well as its policies and procedures relating to collections care. Participants who complete the program receive an assessment report with prioritized recommendations to improve collections care. CAP is often a first step for small institutions that wish to improve the condition of their collections. Learn more »

Archives Collaboratives
May 3 - (Deadline): National Archives - This program welcomes collaborations among three or more organizations that target institutional advancement for small and underserved communities. Archives Collaboratives may: be located in the same community, state, or geographic region; be "virtual" or online collaboratives; share affinities among the scope and subject matter of their collections; have similar organizational missions; serve similar types of user communities. Apply for a Planning Grant (up to $25,000) or an Implementation Grant (up to $100,000). Learn more »

Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund for Historic Interiors
March 1, 2023 - (Deadline): National Trust for Historic Preservation - Grants that assist in the preservation, restoration, and interpretation of historic interiors. Learn more »

Wells Fargo Grants
Deadlines Vary: Wells Fargo Foundation - Wells Fargo welcomes applications year-round from qualified nonprofits and educational institutions. Review the site to determine if any of the regions and priorities are a good fit. Then, check out the various program deadlines under 'How To Apply.' Deadlines and grant amounts vary greatly among programs. Learn more »

The Eric DeLony Industrial Heritage Preservation Grant Fund
March 1, 2023 - (Deadline): Society for Industrial Archeology - Grants from $1000 to $3000 for the study, documentation, recordation, and/or preservation of significant historic industrial sites, structures, and objects. Awards are made to nonprofit organizations and qualified individuals. Learn more »

Blandin Foundation Grants for Rural Minnesota
The Blandin Foundation, a private foundation based in Grand Rapids, MN, is the largest Minnesota-based foundation serving only rural communities. Start by visiting the About Grants page for details on eligibility and how to submit an inquiry if your project aligns with the Foundation’s focus areas. Learn more »

Community Grants Program
April 1, 2023 - (Deadline): The Butler Family Foundation’s Community Grants Program awards two-year grants for general operating support or for specific projects and programs. Organizations applying for grants in the arts or human services must work in the urban cores of Saint Paul or Minneapolis or in the East Metropolitan suburbs. Organizations applying for grants in the environment may work anywhere in Minnesota. Learn more »

J.M. Smucker Company Community
Ongoing - One of their primary areas of focus is Culture and the Arts – Support is focused on the visual and performing arts, libraries, museums, and cultural centers. Learn more » (select CHARITABLE REQUEST on their contact form).

CREATE ACTION Grants
Rolling deadlines on the last day of each month through March 31: Sony Alpha Universe - These grants are designed to make a long-lasting impact on local organizations and the communities they serve. Selected organizations will receive direct funding, Sony Electronics products and a custom-created promotional film, as well as many other opportunities for collaboration, partnership, and marketing support. Learn more »

Wikimedia Foundation Grants
Grant programs for groups of individuals, Wikimedia affiliates, and non-profit organizations.
Rapid Grants fund Wikimedia community members to organize projects throughout the year up to $2,000. Projects can include experiments or standard needs that don't need a broad review to get started.

National Council on Public History Awards
The 2023 awards are now open for nominations. Over $8,000 in award money is available to recognize excellence in the multitude of ways public historians apply their skills to the world around us. Nomination deadlines vary. View all award descriptions and guidelines »

Mini-Conference Funding
National Council on Public History - NCPH is accepting applications for Mini-Cons. NCPH Mini-Conferences are designed to help our members maintain the energy, conviviality, and productivity of the annual meeting year-round. Locally organized by an NCPH member or member institution, with support from the NCPH office, mini-cons (hosting one or attending one) are a great way to meet fellow public historians in your region and see what the local public history community is up to.
Learn more »

Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MNOSHA) - Workplace Safety Consultation (WSC) Safety Grant Program
The Safety Grant Program awards funds up to $10,000 to qualifying employers for projects designed to reduce the risk of injury and illness to their workers. Learn more »

Jeffris Family Foundation
The Jeffris Family Foundation assists the preservation of historic sites for nonprofit organizations in small towns and cities in the eight Midwest states (WI, MN, IA, MO, IL, IN, OH, MI) in the range of $5,000 to $50,000 through three funding categories:

  • The Jeffris Heartland Fund provides matching grants for advanced planning studies for historic preservation projects preparing for a capital campaign and a restoration project.
  • Capital Campaign Challenge Grants are made to invited projects which have completed their planning and are ready to launch a capital campaign. Unsolicited applications are not accepted. Applicants should submit an Inquiry and will be assigned a Director of the Foundation to help assess the appropriateness of an application well in advance of stated deadlines.
  • The Foundation occasionally funds special projects and initiatives it finds of interest.

Emergency/Intervention Funding
National Trust for Historic Preservation - Intervention funding from the National Trust is awarded in emergency situations when immediate and unanticipated work is needed to save a historic structure, such as when a fire or other natural disaster strikes. Funding is restricted to nonprofit organizations and public agencies. Emergency grants typically range from $1,000 to $5,000, but unlike the majority of our grant funding, a cash match is not required for intervention projects. Learn more »

TPS Regional Grant Program
The Teaching with Primary Sources Regional program promotes the widespread, sustained and effective use of primary sources from the Library of Congress in K-12 classrooms by increasing access to the TPS program. Proposals are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year. Learn more »

Peter H. Brink Leadership Fund
This fund helps to build the capacity of existing preservation organizations and encourages collaboration among these organizations by providing grants for mentoring and other peer-to-peer and direct organizational development and learning opportunities. Grants from the Peter H. Brink Leadership Fund support travel costs and mentor honoraria with a maximum reimbursement of $2,500. Learn more »

National Trust Community Investment Corporation New Markets Tax Credits
National Trust Community Investment Corporation, a tax credit syndicator, operates by forming a legal partnership with a developer of historic real estate that results in NTCIC making an equity investment in the project in exchange for receiving rights to the federal tax credits generated by the rehabilitation of the property. This is similar to what can be done with state historic tax credits. Combining state and/or federal historic tax credits with the federal New Markets Tax Credit is also a possibility if the project is located in a low-income census tract. Learn more »

Arthur C. McWatt Fellowship
The Ramsey County Historical Society, Anoka County Historical Society, Dakota County Historical Society, and Hennepin History Museum have partnered to establish the Arthur C. McWatt Fellowship Program. At least four, and as many as eight, fellows will be hired by the partners to expand their work with African American communities and advance the preservation and presentation of African American history in Minnesota. Learn more »

2022 Bank of America Art Conservation Project (ACP) Grants
ACP is a unique program that provides grants to nonprofit museums across the world to conserve historically or culturally significant works of art that are in danger of deterioration. Proposals for 2022 ACP grants are being accepted from October 1 to November 30, 2021. Nonprofit cultural institutions of all sizes with artwork requiring conservation are welcome and encouraged to apply. Learn more »

Nonprofit Infrastructure Grant Program
Propel Nonprofits is accepting applications for the Nonprofit Infrastructure Grant Program (NIGP). The NIGP is aimed at supporting the missions of small, culturally led organizations by strengthening their infrastructure. Increasing the capacity of small organizations that work with historically underserved cultural communities helps position these organizations for greater impact in their community. The NIGP will provide grants, as well as ongoing support to grow the organizational capacity of small Minnesota nonprofits. This is a government reimbursement grant, so Propel Nonprofits staff will also work with grantees to navigate the reimbursement process. Learn more »

Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program
The USDA offers a Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program for essential community facilities in rural areas, which includes museums and libraries. Learn more »

Hometown Grants
T-Mobile - Applications are open for grants of up to $50,000 each to revitalize community spaces in towns with 50,000 people or less. Applications are open on a quarterly basis. Learn more »

Scholarships
Minnesota Council for Nonprofits offers a limited number of partial scholarships for most MCN sponsored trainings and events. Learn more »
Qualifying Criteria:

  1. Employees of organizations with budgets under $1,000,000 that meet one or more of the following criteria:
    Greater Minnesota organizations from outside the seven-county Twin Cities area; Immigrant and refugee organizations; Culturally specific organizations working with communities of color, and BIPOC-led
  2. Individuals
    Full-time students; Jobseekers; Full-time volunteers (i.e., AmeriCorps, VISTA, Public Allies, etc.)

The ASALH Book Prize
The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) awards an annual prize to recognize an outstanding book in the field of African American history and culture. Books must engage archives to be eligible for consideration, however, the book prize committee invites submissions from across disciplinary and interdisciplinary boundaries. Learn more »

National Trust Community Investment Corporation New Markets Tax Credits
National Trust Community Investment Corporation, a tax credit syndicator operates by forming a legal partnership with a developer of historic real estate that results in NTCIC making an equity investment in the project in exchange for receiving rights to the federal tax credits generated by the rehabilitation of the property. This is similar to what can be done with state historic tax credits. Combining state and/or federal historic tax credits with the federal New Markets Tax Credit is also a possibility if the project is located in a low-income census tract. Learn more »

Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation
The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation - creates grant partnerships with organizations that generate transformational results in human and social services, education, and health and medicine. Grantees must serve the people and communities in the 7-county Twin Cities region. Requests to serve counties that fall outside of these are by invitation only. The Foundation seeks proposals that focus on the areas of Human and Social Services, Education, Health, and Medicine. Learn more »

Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board
IRRRB is an economic development program of the State of Minnesota, designed to advance growth on Minnesota's Iron Range. The program provides grants and other funding to local units of government and non-profits to support economic development and vibrant and prosperous communities. Learn more »

NEH on the Road
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) offers an opportunity for communities of all sizes to experience some of the best exhibitions it has funded. Each NEH on the Road exhibition has been developed for small to mid-size museums, based on a larger exhibition funded by NEH. Learn more »

Mini-Conference Funding
National Council on Public History - NCPH is accepting applications for Mini-Cons. NCPH Mini-Conferences are designed to help our members maintain the energy, conviviality, and productivity of the annual meeting year-round. Locally organized by an NCPH member or member institution, with support from the NCPH office, mini-cons (hosting one or attending one) are a great way to meet fellow public historians in your region and see what the local public history community is up to. Learn more »

Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History Fellowships
Gilder Lehrman Institute provides annual short-term research fellowships to doctoral candidates, college and university faculty at every rank, and independent scholars working in the field of American history. Learn more »

Grants for Scandinavian Folk Arts and Cultural Traditions
American-Scandinavian Foundation offers a program to support Scandinavian folk arts and cultural traditions in the Upper Midwest.

Community Impact Grants Program
The Home Depot Foundation is offering grants of up to $5,000 in its Community Impact Grants Program.

Research Grants at Presidential Libraries
Several private foundations associated with Presidential Libraries provide grants-in-aid to assist researchers studying Presidential Library holdings.

Arts Grants
Minnesota State Arts Board offers several grants for arts programs and artists.

NEH PAG Grants Available
The National Endowment for the Humanities’ Division of Preservation and Access has offered Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions to help small and mid-sized historical societies, among other repositories. Awards up to $6,000. For more information, contact via email or 202-606-8570.

Professional Awards
National Council on Public History offers several awards recognizing excellence in the many ways public historians apply their skills.

MAP-21 Information
Federal Highway Administration has provided general guidance for implementing and administering the Federal Lands Access Program (Access Program) of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21).

Source for Grant Information
Check out Fundsnet Services, a free directory with information on grants and fundraising.

Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Grants
View available Institute of Museum and Library Services grants.

Arts Funding
Willmar Area Community Foundation has funding opportunities for organizations serving Willmar and the Kandiyohi County area. Fund for the Arts program supports small and medium-sized community organizations leading arts activities conducted by community organizations.

Grants and Scholarships
Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation (FAIC) offers grants and scholarships in several categories.

Local Government Grants
Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) announces two economic development grants: Greater Minnesota Business Development Public Infrastructure Grant Program and Innovative Business Development Public Infrastructure Grant Program.

Archives.com Grants
Grants offered from Archives.com to individuals or organizations contributing to the promotion and advancement of family history research and historic preservation. Grant recipient chosen each month. Apply online.

Arrowhead Regional Arts Council Grants
Rural and Community Arts Grants available through Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and Arrowhead Regional Arts Council. Other grants also available to organizations in the Arrowhead region: Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, and St. Louis counties. See the ARAC website for more information and deadlines.

Grant Resources

LEGACY GRANTS
Find guidelines, training information, and application information online.

Grant Deadlines for Other Sources
Minnesota Council of Nonprofits upcoming grant deadlines for a variety of foundations.

Minnesota state grant website
Minnesota state grant website is the first stop for organizations interested in learning about grant opportunities at 23 state agencies.

National Endowment for the Humanities Grant Application Deadlines
Deadlines for grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

National Trust for Historic Preservation
Show Me the Money is an online guide to federal grant programs for historic properties.

Google Ad Grants
Designed for non-profit organizations, the Google Ad Grants AdWords program awards advertising on the Google.com site. Google Grant recipients use their award of free AdWords advertising on Google.com to raise awareness and increase traffic. Each organization awarded a grant receives at least three months of in-kind advertising. Deadline: Ongoing.