Since 1953, the Foundation has invested more than $800 million to improve the quality of life for people living in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Until 2007, most of those funds came to the community through grants to nonprofit organizations who shared a commitment to the Foundation's mission.

But since 2007, the Foundation has been operating in a new way. Now we focus on creating partnerships with many types of organizations, including units of government, for-profit companies and sovereign tribal nations, as well as some nonprofits. We also partner with communities by offering fellowships to courageous individual leaders who are willing to take the bold steps needed to inspire and organize their communities to solve the tough problems they face.

Given this partnership model, we do not accept unsolicited proposals for traditional grantmaking. If your organization's mission coincides with ours, and if you have resources to commit toward a shared goal, then let us know. And if you are a person passionate about and committed to making change, consider applying to one of our several programs to develop individual leadership capacity.