Deadline April 30, 2022
St. Cloud, Minn. – The Central Minnesota Community Foundation is opening its Difference Maker grant round on March 1, 2022. The goal of this grant round is to help fund projects or initiatives that will bring about a lasting, positive change in Central Minnesota. Application deadline for the grant round is April 30, 2022.
Focus areas for this grant round include education, economy and community engagement as it relates to mental health and wellbeing. Examples of education would be programs that support K-12 learning and after-school programs that promote self-esteem and mental health efforts. For the economy focus area, examples would include programs that support and/or address barriers to workplace mental health and wellbeing. Lastly, the community engagement focus area would include programs that build and promote social capital (building trust and connectedness) in our community.
“We are once again pleased to offer the Central Minnesota Difference Maker grant. Just like its title, the focus of this grant round is to make a difference within our communities. We do this by bridging and bonding together as a community. These focus areas enhance our mission of engaging people, connecting resources and building communities in the Greater St. Cloud area.” – Greta Stark-Kraker, Executive Director, CMCF
Programs and initiatives that will be highly preferred will focus their goals on making more collaborative efforts that involve other community partners such as other nonprofits, government entities, and/or citizen groups. Examples include programs or projects that:
- Address racial disparities across education, economy, and community engagement
- Address mental health and wellbeing
- Build or support collaborative efforts and involve other community partners such as other nonprofits, government entities, and/or citizen groups
- Create innovative solutions to community challenges and capitalize on emerging opportunities
- Make a sustainable, visible, and positive impact in the community
- Build social capital across generations, cultures, and other diverse segments of the community
- Have the potential to inspire additional investments in the community
Eligible organizations must be 501(c)3 nonprofits, schools or governmental entities. For more information about the grant round and specific criteria, visit www.communitygiving.org/cmcfgrants
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 $147.6 million in assets and awarded over $134.5 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 900 funds totaling nearly $201 million. Learn more at CommunityGiving.org/CentralMN.