Through Central MN Arts, Difference Maker and Ritsche Youth Grant Rounds
St. Cloud, Minn. – A total of $182,695 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 18 grants to local organizations.
Greta Stark-Kraker, Executive Director of the Central Minnesota Community Foundation says, “Through the collective philanthropic efforts of many who support the Difference Maker, Central Minnesota Arts Fund and the Thomas A. Ritsche Fund for Youth we are able to support these important and positive programs for our community to create a bigger impact right now and for years to come. We thank our donors and nonprofit partners for empowering the foundation to engage people, connect resources and build community through all of our grant rounds.”
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, five organizations received grants including:
- The Yes Network received $7,500 for its Thinking Skills That I Learned Through Art program.
- GREAT Theatre received $5,000 for its Theatre Residency program.
- WACOSA received $7,000 for its WACOSA Art-Ability Resources program.
- Avon Hills Folk School received $5,500 for its Growing the Youth Hand Camp and Emerging Artists of Color apprenticeship.
- Paramount Center for the Arts received $5,000 for its Arts Underground 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 Central Minnesota. Focus areas for this grant round include education, economy and community engagement as it relates to mental health and wellbeing. Seven organizations received a Difference Maker Grant, including:
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota received $30,000 for its Boys & Girls Club Youth Mental Health Services Programs.
- Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity received $30,000 for its Central MN Habitat for Humanity – Aging in Place program.
- Central Minnesota Sustainability Project received $10,000 for its Cultivating Understanding: Bridging Cultures through Community Gardens program.
- College of Saint Benedict received $19,400 for its Open Windows Literature Project.
- Too Much Talent received $10,000 for its Debunking the Myth: Promoting Mental Health and Wellness in the Black Community program.
- Recovery Community Network received $12,600 for its Building Social Capital through Recovery program.
- Centra Sota Somali Women received $8,000 for its program that provides education and services to help people adapt to a new culture.
A grant round that focuses solely on youth-related projects and programs awarded six grants within our Central Minnesota communities. The Thomas Ritsche Youth Grant recipients are as follows:
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Minnesota received $5,000 for its Eastside, Roosevelt & Southside Boys & Girls Club Programming.
- Friends of Career Solutions received $8,695 for its CareerONE-A Vision For The Future program.
- The Village Family Service Center received $5,000 for its Pride Teens St. Cloud program.
- Junior Achievement North received $5,000 for its Equitable Junior Achievement Program Implementation through a Sequential Delivery Model in ISD 742.
- GREAT Theatre received $4,000 for its Student Matinee Field Trip Performances of Disney’s Descendants The Musical.
- Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity received $5,000 for its Habitat for Humanity Tiger Build project.
If you are looking to learn more about our grant rounds go to communitygiving.org/cmcfgrants. Up next, the Central Minnesota Women’s Fund and Julianne Williams Fund grant rounds will be opening August 1, 2022. 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 $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.