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

Should I Apply?
The Otto Bremer Foundation provides funding for projects and programs that fit the trust agreement as written by Otto Bremer for communities in Minnesota, North Dakota, and northwestern Wisconsin.

The Otto Bremer Foundation, inspired by our founder’s own personal pursuits and beliefs, emphasizes two programmatic strategies: Civic Engagement and Organizational Effectiveness. These programmatic strategies, combined with program related investments and community connections, ultimately help the Foundation achieve its mission, not only fitting the trust agreement and reflecting Otto Bremer’s own interests, but also helping to ensure that nonprofit organizations can best serve the communities with and in which they work. We encourage you to explore the Grant Guidelines for more detailed information, and the Grant Recipients for examples of past projects and programs.

Direct Grants for Projects and Programs
As we consider various proposals, we look for those whose work helps us meet our mission to, in accordance with the principles set forth by Otto Bremer in his trust agreement, assist people in achieving full economic, civic and social participation in and for the betterment of their communities.

Economic Participation Economic Participation
Various nonprofits take different approaches in assisting specific segments of the population to obtain equal access to economic opportunities. The Foundation’s grants include those to immigrant, disabled, women’s, youth, and farm groups.

The Jobs Now Coalition in St. Paul and the Putting the Pieces Together project in Bismarck advocated on behalf of underpaid and under-represented workers.

The Land Stewardship Project expanded a program to support and offer apprenticeships to new farmers while the Wisconsin Citizen Action Fund offered a family farm stewardship project in northwestern Wisconsin.

In greater Minnesota, girls were given tools for economic success through the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota’s “Girl’s Best” program offered in Sauk Rapids and the Works in Progress “Girl Biz” entrepreneurial program in Alexandria. In St. Paul, Youth Express runs a bicycle repair business with young people managing the operation and supplying the service. The Summit-University Teen Center’s “Paradigm for Success” program prepares teens for the workforce as well as develop leadership skills.

The Foundation funded several economic programs for women with a variety of needs including a seminar on economic justice for women organized by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ Committee on Women. In St. Paul, Career Solutions was given support for training displaced homemakers, Women in the Trades, for training women for careers in construction and other related fields. Women Venture used Foundation funds to continue work to help women and girls of diverse ethnic, educational, and economic backgrounds find personal success and economic prosperity as they strive to diminish the gender wage gap.

In the Minneapolis area, the African Assistance Program was funded to offer job assistance for immigrants while the African Credit Education and Financial Counseling Agency and the Whittier Community Development Corporation offer financial education for immigrants starting businesses.

Employment training and job support programs for disabled individuals were supported through grants to Kaposia in St. Paul as well as the Aitkin County Daytime Activity Center.

Civic Participation
Individuals have a right to participate in the public arena, and good public policy is shaped by comprehensive and balanced information. As money becomes scarce, nonprofits need to find ways to inform the public and policy makers on the ramifications of issues and proposed solutions, identify and provide viable recommendations, and distinguish what role nonprofits can play. The Foundation supports nonprofits in advocating on issues and giving voice to community groups.

The Foundation has supported the Organizing Apprenticeship Project over several years as it works to expand and strengthen a large network of community groups formed to give them power to address a variety of social justice issues. Some common demographics such as ethnicity or age defines a ‘community group.’ Once formed, the groups collectively determine which issues to take on.

As the extent of Minnesota’s recent financial crisis became evident, the Foundation searched for a quick response in assisting nonprofits to make the public and state officials aware of the impact of state funding cuts. The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits received a grant to conduct statewide nonprofit workshops to address both the legal parameters of advocacy work by nonprofits and provide tools to nonprofits to become effective advocates on public policy from their own organizational perspectives.

In response to the corollary education crisis a grant was given to The Minneapolis Foundation to support Save Our Schools collaboration. Concerned parent groups from around the state joined together to have a greater impact and develop statewide strategies in rebuilding the public education system.

Social Participation
The Foundation funds projects that strengthen the network of organizations that also work to promote a broad spectrum of rights.

The People Escaping Poverty Project in Moorhead was funded to develop grassroots leadership that will address root causes of social injustices.

In Wisconsin, public education and advocacy was supported through grants to The Progressive Fund in Luck for a Revisioning Conference and the Wisconsin Humanities Council that uses the humanities as a vehicle to engage the public. The Pangea World Theater in Minneapolis uses the stage to conduct “Voices in Exile,” a series of interactive dramatic events addressing human rights, including racism and civil liberties.

The Foundation has funded organizations concerned with providing culturally appropriate services as well as those that educate the larger community on issues of discrimination and exclusion.

The Early Childhood Resource Center in Minneapolis received funds to invest in methods that will ensure that their staff fosters a bias-free and culturally appropriate child care delivery system. The Minnesota Independent School Forum and the Minneapolis Special School District #1 both were funded to work to create climates of inclusiveness, equity, and safety for all students within their schools. In International Falls Public School District 361 worked cooperatively with people both inside and outside the educational system who are working on the issues of discrimination. The Minnesota Inclusiveness Program trains teachers and community leaders about multicultural issues through the “Seeking Equity in Education and Diversity” (SEED) Project. At the post-secondary level the Foundation gave grants to Minnesota State University in Moorhead for the TOCAR multi-campus anti-racism initiative and to North Dakota State University to address ethnicism, racism, sexism, and other forms of prejudice on campus.

Other groups have been supported in their efforts to conduct research, educate, and advocate the issues that lead to bigotry in its many forms. The University of Minnesota in Minneapolis was supported to expand research on effective anti-racism strategies for communities while the Walker Community United Methodist Church developed a Welfare Rights Committee to engage women in an effort that will change the patterns of racism and classism in their community. The Tri-Council Coordinating Commission in Minneapolis created the Anti-Racism Initiative to strengthen the religious community’s ability to work collectively towards racial justice. Family Service and Ramsey Action Programs in St. Paul worked together to dismantle barriers that prevent access to a wide range of public programs.

To ensure full participation of young people in the community, the Foundation gave a grant to both the United Way of Kandiyohi County and the United Way of St. Cloud to support grant programs for youth led community projects. The funds given by these United Ways to local projects were allocated by committees that included a strong representation of young people, with the belief that those who receive services should have a voice in what good service looks like.

Several Foundation grants lent support to programs that provide legal services to segments of the population that are often not well-represented in the mainstream legal system. Programs for young people were the most numerous. The St. Cloud Legal Services Association addressed the issue of differential treatment of minority children in the schools. The Neighborhood Justice Center in St. Paul provided criminal defense to low-income juveniles while the Children’s Law Center of Minnesota provided both advocacy and direct legal support to children who lack sufficient parental oversight. The City of Marshall's Community Plus program assists adjucated youth to complete community service as well as find work to both learn life skills and pay restitution.

Both the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota and Mid-Minnesota Legal Assistance were supported to provide legal support to immigrants.

A grant to The Innocence Project was used to support work to free people who are imprisoned for crimes that they did not commit. The Foundation supported the Midwest Center on Law and the Deaf to provide advocacy on behalf of deaf residents in Minnesota and Wisconsin and the “Farm Preservation Advocacy Project” of the Farmers’ Legal Action Group to provide legal assistance to low-income farmers and ranchers.