Community Opportunity Fund

The Community Opportunity Fund is a core philanthropic initiative administered by the Boreal Waters Community Foundation. With a mission rooted in supporting community-led development, the fund empowers nonprofit and grassroots organizations to implement bold, locally-informed solutions across northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin. This grantmaking program aims to elevate equity, leadership, and sustainable impact by prioritizing projects that align with three key focus areas: Opportunity, Resilience, and Belonging. The fund has evolved in recent years to provide larger, more flexible grants designed not only to support direct service programs but also to drive systemic change. In 2023, the Foundation restructured the fund to allow applicants to pursue transformative, long-term visions. Though the Transformation track will not be funded in 2025, the fund continues to support robust proposals in its three primary focus areas. These include projects that enhance economic independence, improve access to basic needs and services, foster inclusive community culture, and build infrastructure for resilience. Eligible applicants include a wide array of organizations and collaborations. Acceptable entities are IRS-designated 501(c)(3) nonprofits, public entities under Section 170(c)(1), Section 7871 Tribal governments, churches, or fiscally sponsored projects operating under one of the aforementioned categories. All applicants must serve communities within Boreal Waters’ regional service area. The Foundation prioritizes applications from groups that reflect community ownership and leadership, especially those that serve historically marginalized populations or demonstrate the capacity for scalable impact. The grant process begins with the submission of a Letter of Intent (LOI), which must be received by July 11, 2025. Only selected applicants will be invited to submit a full application, with that phase running from July 17 to August 20. Proposals are reviewed by a community-based committee that emphasizes alignment with the program’s focus areas, depth of community engagement, potential for long-term impact, and organizational readiness. Applicants will be notified of their status on September 22, and grant awards will be distributed by September 30. The funded grant period runs from October 1, 2025 through December 31, 2026. Grants range from $25,000 to $50,000 and may be used for project/program support, general operating expenses, capacity building, and systems-change initiatives. However, the Foundation does not fund individuals, personal aid, capital campaigns, major equipment purchases without context, lobbying, religious activities, medical research, debt retirement, regranting, or initiatives not clearly aligned with the fund's three focus areas. The Letter of Intent must address several key topics: the applicant organization’s mission, the communities served, the identified need or challenge, alignment with Opportunity, Resilience, or Belonging, incorporation of community voices, recent operational challenges, and—if applicable—progress on prior grants. Evaluation criteria for both the LOI and full application phases include alignment with program focus areas, urgency, inclusivity, community engagement, and sustainable impact. For questions or additional support, applicants are encouraged to contact Kursula Harris, Senior Community Impact Associate, at kursula@borealwaters.org or 218-726-0232.

Guidance, examples, and info sessions are provided; applicants are encouraged to ask questions.