Fostering Resilience Grant

The Fostering Resilience Grant by The Minneapolis Foundation invites applications to support community-driven initiatives aimed at preventing violence and fostering resilience among youth aged 11 to 30 in Minneapolis. This grant focuses on funding programs that promote wellness, aid in the re-entry of justice-involved individuals, and enhance community healing efforts. With funding amounts ranging from $15,000 to $30,000, the foundation seeks to address systemic inequities while empowering local organizations.

NOTE: This opportunity was invite-only for 2025.
The Minneapolis Foundation
The Minneapolis Foundation drives collective action to realize strong, vibrant communities. We cultivate generosity by taking action on the greatest civic, social, and economic needs—partnering with nonprofits, facilitating grantmaking, driving research and advocacy, and providing services to donors seeking to make a difference in their communities.
Fund for Safe Communities
We prioritize efforts that are led and influenced by Black, Indigenous, and people of color, and which are grounded in the needs of diverse Minneapolis neighborhoods.
Prevention: This fund aims to prevent community violence.Systemic Issues: This fund supports organizations and efforts focused on addressing systemic inequities and reforming the criminal justice system.Outreach: This fund supports efforts to heal individuals and communities affected by horrific tragedies, including the murder of George Floyd.
The CDC defines community violence as violence that happens between unrelated individuals, who may or may not know each other, generally outside the home. Examples include assaults or fights among groups and shootings in public places, such as schools and on the streets. Research indicates that youth and young adults (ages 10-34), particularly those in communities of color, are disproportionately impacted.
We are pleased to announce that the Fund for Safe Communities is now accepting applications for grants that foster resilience.
The Fund for Safe Communities supports tangible, specific, and meaningful actions to address and prevent community violence. Our Spring grant round was designed with the insight and recommendations of the fund’s advisory committee, a group composed of emerging leaders who have personal experience with community violence. Through this funding opportunity, we will support programs and activities that offer prevention, intervention, restoration, and resilience oriented services to people in Minneapolis, with a focus on youth and young adults between the ages of 11 and 30.
What We Will Fund
Activities that promote wellness and help manage stress and trauma.Programs and initiatives that ease the re-entry process for those who are justice-involved.Services that address the diverse needs of individuals most proximate to violence.Sports or physical activity programming that offers fitness and other coaching-based opportunities.Mentor-mentee programming that exposes young people to meaningful and productive relationships outside of school and their homes.Art, poetry, writing, design, and other creative media that foster meaningful actions to create safer communities.
We also welcome additional ideas about what is needed to prevent community violence and promote wellbeing. It’s important to note that we want to support organizations that are already deeply connected in the community, while investing in new efforts that approach violence prevention using innovative strategies.
Funding Amount and Duration
The fund will issue between $300,000 and $500,000 for this opportunity. Grants will range from $15,000 to $30,000, and we plan to award 20 to 25 grants.
The grant period for this award will be up to 12 months.

Eligibility

Funding will be awarded to 501(c)(3) nonprofits, public schools and districts, government entities, churches, and organizations with a fiscal agent or sponsor.New applicants and current and past grantees of the Minneapolis Foundation are eligible for this opportunity.Applicants may request general operating or project support.