In our mission statement we affirm that we strive to “…assist people in achieving full economic, civic and social participation in and for the betterment of their communities.”  What exactly do we mean by this? We recognize that the definition of communities is expressed in a multitude of ways and best determined by the constituents who live within them. Likewise the actions that community members undertake to remedy specific problems or further shared concerns are equally diverse. However as much as the definitions and strategies change from year to year and decade to decade, the Foundation has maintained a steady focus on the people who live and work together to fortify and build their self-defined communities.
           
We know that we cannot take full credit for progress we make moving towards the ideal expressed in our mission statement; we have many partners who support our work. There are the Bremer affiliate employees whose hard work creates the income that funds the Foundation. Outside of work these same people are involved in the everyday life of their communities. There are other institutions, both private and public, that work towards the same goals as well. And if the Foundation’s ultimate charge is to serve people, it is the nonprofits that are the essential vessels that provide the needed services- nonprofits that are staffed and supported by those who live in the community.  

We invite you to read through this site to learn more about Otto Bremer Foundation. The Grant Guideline section provides detailed information on the grant application process, while the new added search function allows you to identify recent Grant Recipients by year, grant type and region.

We appreciate your interest in our work and welcome both your feedback and input on what we do and how we might do it better.

Sincerely,
Charlotte Johnson
William Lipschultz
Daniel C. Reardon