Reimagine Education
Grant Guidelines

The Minneapolis Foundation announces a call for proposals from schools, school districts, and nonprofit organizations seeking grants for work that advances equity in our local K-12 schools by:

• Elevating student and community voices and power to build bridges between schools, families, and communities and improve school climates and academic outcomes.
• Providing opportunities for educators to build their understanding of race and equity and implement strategies that create culturally responsive and inclusive schools.
• Advocating for policies at the school, local, and state level to address systemic barriers to racial equity in Minnesota’s education system.

WHY ARE WE MAKING THESE GRANTS?

These grant guidelines reflect our Reimagine Education strategy, which uses a community–centered lens to ensure that the wisdom and experiences of students, parents, principals, teachers, administrators, and community members guide efforts to disrupt inequities in our schools. In developing this initiative, we were influenced by the perspectives of more than 1,500  young people and educators who attended the Student Conference, as well as the researchers and educators who contributed to our recent Reimagine Education reports.

APPLICATION PROCESS

We expect to award up to $1.2 million in funding with grants ranging from $10,000 to $75,000. All applications must be submitted online by the deadline of 1 p.m. on Dec. 10.

The typical grant period for this opportunity will be 12 months. However, we strive to be flexible as our community navigates the pandemic.

We recommend downloading this Word document to preview the application questions and prepare for the online application.

WHAT WE WILL FUND

Here’s a non-exhaustive list of examples of the types of work we plan to support:

• student leadership and power building
• recruitment and retention of diverse educators with equity-focused mindsets
• parent/family/community organizing
• principal and teacher leadership and collaboration
• equity and climate frameworks
• local or state policy advocacy

ELIGIBILITY

Funding will be awarded to schools/school districts and 501(c)(3) nonprofits that organize students, parents, and community members, engage in education policy advocacy to advance equity and eliminate disparities, and help educators collaborate to build their understanding of race, equity, culture, and create positive school climates. We will prioritize proposals that impact Minneapolis; however, we will consider organizations in the inner–ring suburbs (Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, Robbinsdale, St. Louis Park, etc.).

Current and past grantees may apply as long as the organization is up to date with any reporting requirements due to the Minneapolis Foundation.

FURTHER ASSISTANCE

Please email Patrice Relerford at prelerford@mplsfoundation.org if you have questions about the content of your proposal or the timeline for this RFP. If you have technical questions about this process, please contact our Grant Administration team at grantsupport@mplsfoundation.org or 612-672-8665.

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