2025 Community Responsive Fund

The Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF), in partnership with the Otto Bremer Trust (OBT), is offering the Otto Bremer Trust Community Responsive Fund Grant to support nonprofits addressing urgent needs in their communities. This capacity-building program is specifically designed for large, well-established organizations that align with one or more of OBT’s priority areas: literacy, adoption and foster care, children’s health, children’s disability services, and mental health. Grants of up to $75,000 per organization are available. These funds are intended to strengthen organizational capacity and amplify impact for programs directly targeting community challenges within SMIF’s 20-county service area or within the Prairie Island Indian Community. Funding decisions will prioritize organizations that have a history of delivering effective services in these key focus areas. To be eligible, applicants must be 501(c)(3) nonprofits with at least five years of operational history and a minimum of $2 million in actual expenses for their most recently completed fiscal year. Government entities, including public schools, are not eligible to apply. Additionally, organizations with an active strategic grant from the Otto Bremer Trust are ineligible to receive this grant until the prior grant is closed. Applications are due by 3:00 PM on May 6, 2025. Award notifications will be sent out in August 2025. Grantees will be required to submit an end-of-year report to the Initiative Foundation one year after receiving the funds. This grant opportunity is part of a broader collaboration among six Minnesota Initiative Foundations serving Greater Minnesota. Each foundation establishes its own regional guidelines and timelines in accordance with Otto Bremer Trust’s community support objectives. Interested applicants may contact Chelsie Hansen-Stratton, Business Analyst, at chelsieh@smifoundation.org for questions regarding eligibility or application procedures.