Otto Bremer Foundation | Assist people in achieving full economic, civic and social participation in and for the betterment of their communities.

Metro Area Funding

Otto Bremer Foundation funding in North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Minnesota communities outside the metro area will continue to respond to a broad range of proposals to meet community opportunities and needs, including needs related to poverty.

Questions and Answers
About Otto Bremer Foundation Metro Area Funding

METRO AREA FUNDING OVERVIEW

1. What is your metro area funding focus?
2. Why are you focusing on poverty alleviation?
3. Does this focus on poverty alleviation affect funding beyond the metro area?
4. How much money are you allocating to metro area funding?

APPLYING FOR A GRANT

5. Who is eligible to apply for a grant under this metro area focus?
6. Can we apply for a grant under the metro area focus if we currently have another Otto Bremer Foundation grant?
7. Are you accepting metro area proposals now? When will decisions be made?
8. Is there a special application form for this focus? What information do you want to review as part of a grant proposal?
9. Can we apply for more than one year of support under the metro area focus?
10. Does the metro area focus apply to program-related investments (PRIs) as well as grants?
11. Will you provide metro area grants outside this poverty alleviation focus? For example, can we apply for general operations, civic engagement, and/or organizational capacity building?
12. Our organization is in the middle of a multiyear grant. Will our payouts still be honored?
13. If you change the focus of your metro area grantmaking in the future, how can I find out about that?
14. Who can I contact with additional questions?

METRO AREA FUNDING OVERVIEW

1. What is your metro area funding focus?

As part of our ongoing response to the current economic challenges, the Otto Bremer Foundation is focusing Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area funding on programs and initiatives to relieve poverty, including emergency assistance and longer-term poverty reduction. We are especially interested in proposals that help families and individuals meet immediate basic needs--such as food, warm and stable housing, health care, and reliable transportation--as well as programs and initiatives that address the underlying conditions that can help people achieve long-term economic stability.

2. Why are you focusing on poverty alleviation?

We want to help communities address the needs of families and individuals struggling in the midst of these economic challenges. We recognize that timely assistance can sometimes make the difference between instability and security. Once families and individuals are able to meet their basic needs, they are in a better position to access community programs that can help them achieve long-term economic stability.

Our focus on poverty relief honors the legacy and vision of our founder, Otto Bremer, who believed that people could survive and flourish if they had help at critical times.

3. Does this focus on poverty alleviation affect funding beyond the metro area?

We understand that many regional communities have limited access to funding sources to respond to the full spectrum of community priorities. Foundation funding in North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Minnesota communities outside the Twin Cities metro area will continue to respond to a broad range of proposals to meet community opportunities and needs, including needs related to poverty. (Foundation funding in the Twin Cities will focus on relieving poverty, as described above.) Our Guide to Grantmaking provides a general overview of funding purposes, process, and eligibility.

4. How much money are you allocating to metro area funding?

The Foundation directs about twenty percent of its annual grantmaking to the Twin Cities metro area.

APPLYING FOR A GRANT

5. Who is eligible to apply for a grant under this metro area focus?

Grants will be made to organizations whose beneficiaries are residents of Minneapolis and St. Paul metro area communities. Grants are restricted to private nonprofit or public tax-exempt organizations for purposes defined under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

6. Can we apply for a grant under the metro area focus if we currently have another Otto Bremer Foundation grant?

The Foundation generally does not consider a new grant until an organization has completed work under an existing Otto Bremer Foundation grant. More about this policy.

7. Are you accepting Metro Area proposals now? When will decisions be made?

Proposals from the Twin Cities metro area are considered in two of the Foundation's six grant rounds a year. The following schedule applies for Metro Area funding for the remainder of 2011 through 2012:

Complete Metro proposals must be received by:	For consideration on:
Friday, December 2, 2011	Thursday, March 22, 2012
Friday, June 1, 2012	Thursday, September 27, 2012
Friday, November 30, 2012	Thursday, March 21, 2013

Requests from all other Bremer communities are considered during the other four grant cycles. See full schedule.

8. Is there a special application form for this focus? What information do you want to review as part of a grant proposal?

There is no special application form or procedure for the metro area focus. Applicants may use our Grantmaking Overview, which includes an overview of process, a proposal cover sheet, a description of information to include in the proposal narrative, and a proposal checklist.

9. Can we apply for more than one year of support under the metro area focus?

As in our other funding areas, most grants are awarded for a one-year period; however we will consider multi-year funding as well.

10. Does the metro area focus apply to program-related investments (PRIs) as well as grants?

Yes.

11. Will you provide metro area grants outside this poverty alleviation focus? For example, can we apply for general operations, civic engagement, and/or organizational capacity building?

In 2011 we will accept metro area proposals to provide emergency assistance and/or longer-term poverty reduction. If this focus changes, we will announce the change here on our website.

12. Our organization is in the middle of a multiyear grant. Will our payouts still be honored?

Yes.

13. If you change the focus of your metro area grantmaking in the future, how can I find out about that?

Any future changes in our metro area or other funding will be announced here on our website.

14. Who can I contact with additional questions?

Please contact us at 651-227-8036 or toll free at 1-888-291-1123.