Through Central MN Arts, Difference Maker and Ritsche Youth Grant Rounds
St. Cloud, Minn. – A total of $129,400 has been granted out through three competitive grant rounds offered through the Central Minnesota Community Foundation (CMCF). The Central Minnesota Arts, Central Minnesota Difference Maker and Thomas Ritsche Youth Grant Round have awarded a total of 15 grants to local organizations.
The Central Minnesota Community Foundation Arts Fund is designed to support small to medium sized arts organizations in Central Minnesota and arts activities conducted by other organizations. The goal is to make the arts more accessible to area residents. Through the Central Minnesota Arts Grant round, four organizations received grants for $7,500 each.
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota for their Youth Arts Initiative: 2022 Spring Showcase
- WACOSA for their WACOSA’s Got Talent Variety Show
- The Yes Network for their Building Intercultural Harmony Through the Arts program
- Avon Hills Folk School for their Growing Youth Hand Camp program
For the organizations that received a Central Minnesota Difference Maker Grant, they’ve demonstrated that their programs encourage bringing about a positive change in racial equity for Central Minnesota. Seven organizations received a Difference Maker Grant, including:
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota received $20,000 for their CareerSTART Workforce Development Program expansion;
- United Way of Central Minnesota received $15,000 to help support their Black Leaders for Student Success program;
- ServeMinnesota received $10,000 to support a Total Learning Classroom at Madison Elementary School;
- St. Cloud Area Crisis Nursey – Lutheran Social Services received $10,000 to help provide emergency childcare services to the most vulnerable populations;
- Centra Sota Somali Women received $8,000 to help with educational programing for those in a new culture;
- Jugaad Leadership Program received $7,000 to support their Core-Cohort Leadership Training program;
- St. Cloud Area Family YMCA received $5,000 to support their Safety Around Water Program.
A grant round that focuses solely on youth-related projects and programs awarded four grants within our Central Minnesota communities. The Thomas Ritsche Youth Grant recipients are as follows:
- Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud received $10,000 to provide services for homeless youth at the Youth House;
- St. Cloud Rotary Foundation received $7,300 to help fund their Preschool 4 Success program;
- Anna Marie’s Alliance received $5,000 to support their Youth Learning Lab and Engagement Activities program;
- St. Cloud Area Family YMCA received $2,100 for their YCMA Summer Day Camp program.
If you are looking to learn more about our available grant rounds go to communitygiving.org/grants. Up next, the Central Minnesota Women’s Fund and Julianne Williams Fund grant rounds will be opening August 1, 2021. More details to come.
The Central Minnesota Community Foundation (CMCF) attracts and administers charitable funds for the benefit of the local community. Since 1985, CMCF has grown to over $110.5 million in assets and awarded over $122.5 million in grants to non-profits. The CMCF is governed by a local board of directors and is a partner of CommunityGiving, which is a collaborative of community foundations united under a single framework to create efficiencies that maximize the impact of our donors. Collectively, CommunityGiving administers over 880 funds totaling more than $200 million. Learn more at CommunityGiving.org/CentralMN.