by Dennis Dalman
Multiple monetary grants to help bring more mental-health care and racial equity in central Minnesota are now being offered by the Central Minnesota Community Foundation.
The application deadline for a “Difference Maker Grant” is April 30. Those eligible to apply must be 501c3 nonprofits, schools or government entities. The grant honorees will be notified within 60 days of the application deadline. Those programs or groups that apply must serve the residents of Stearns, Benton and/or Sherburne counties.
The funding amount of each grant is between $10,000 and $20,000.
The three areas of focus for the grants are mental health, racial equity and community engagement. Examples of mental health are programs that support K-12 learning and after-school programs that promote self-esteem and mental-health efforts. For racial-equity, examples include programs that support and/or address racial equity and racial disparities. The community-engagement focus includes programs that build and promote social capital that is, building trust and connectedness among people and groups within the area.
“We are once again pleased to offer the Central Minnesota Difference Maker grant,” said Greta Stark-Kraker, the executive director of CMCF. “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. These focus areas enhance our mission of engaging people, connecting resources and building communities in the greater St. Cloud area.”
The following goals are all considered from grant applicants:
Collaborative efforts that involved other partners, such as nonprofits, government entities and/or citizen groups.
Create innovative solutions to challenges and capitalize on emerging opportunities.
Make a sustainable, visible and positive impact on communities.
Build social capital across generations, culture and diverse segments of people.
Offer a potential to inspire more investments in such goals.
The following entities are not eligible for the grants: individuals, religious organizations for religious purposes, multi-year requests, political organizations or political campaigns, annual funding drives, endowments, debt retirement or deficit financing, projects that are already completed, scholarships or medical research, grants for travel or conferences, government funding that has been reduced or eliminated.
To apply for a grant, visit communitygiving.org/central-minnesota-difference-maker-grants/29. Then scroll down to “Central Minnesota Difference Maker Grants. Open that, and scroll down until you see “Click Here to Begin Application Process.”
The Central Minnesota Community Foundation attracts and administers charitable funds for the benefit of people living in this area. Since 1985, the CMCF has accrued more than $143 million in assets and has awarded in excess of $148 million in grants to nonprofit organizations. It is governed by a local board of directors and is a partner of CommunityGiving, which is a collaborative of foundations to maximize the impact of donors to the CMCF. CommunityGiving administers more than 1,000 funds totaling almost $200 million.
