WCA Foundation Grant

The WCA Foundation Grant, a part of The Minneapolis Foundation, aims to empower nonprofit organizations that directly serve women, particularly those in the Twin Cities. With a focus on civic participation, inclusion, and upward mobility, the grant supports initiatives fostering strong communities. Eligible applicants must be 501(c)(3) organizations responsible for their projects, while grants can be for general operations or specific projects. This initiative reflects a commitment to dismantling barriers and promoting the welfare of women.

Who We Are - The Minneapolis Foundation
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.
Now a Signature Fund of the Minneapolis Foundation, WCA makes grants to a diverse group of nonprofit human service agencies and programs, stewarding an endowment of approximately $18 million.
The WCA Foundation values its relationships with grant applicants and views them as partners in changing the lives of women. This philosophy guides the WCA Foundation’s grantmaking and the relationships it strives to develop.

Eligibility

Grants are limited to nonprofit organizations and projects that have a 501(c)(3) tax determination in their own name. Grant applicants must maintain direct responsibility for the work for which they are requesting funds.The WCA Foundation may make both general operating and project grants for services provided to women.
General Operations are defined as support of a nonprofit organization’s mission rather than a specific project or program. In this case, the organization’s mission must meet the criteria described below.
Project Support is defined as support of a specific project, that lives within an organization providing broader services, that meets the criteria described below.The WCA Foundation supports organizations and projects meeting the following criteria:
Seven-County Metro -Organization or project has a physical location in the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area (Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington) and serves clients primarily from that area.
Age of Women -Organization or project provides direct services to women 18 years and older. The WCA Foundation recognizes that there are situations where some receiving services are under the age of 18, but funding must be used for services predominately for women over the age of 18. The Foundation also recognizes that some programs may occasionally provide services to men, but again, funding must be used for services predominately for women.
Funding Focus -Services provided must meet the fundamental needs of the clients, with priority given to education, economic stability, shelter, safety, and health.Organizations may submit only one request in each grant cycle.Organizations that have received previous grants may submit a subsequent application if it has been at least twelve months since the submission date of their funded proposal and the organization has submitted the final report for the previously awarded grant.

Ineligibility

for lobbying purposes
to religious organizations for religious purposes or for projects having religious overtones or for projects wherein religion is a component of the project
for medical research projects or to national health organizations; projects which benefit a population afflicted with a medical ailment may be considered
to cover the cost of litigation
to organizations requesting funds for either pro-life or pro-choice projects
to organizations or projects which require their employees to raise some or all of their own salaries through their individual fundraising efforts