Minneapolis Foundation

14 survey respondents

Location: 80 South Eight Street, Minneapolis, 55402 MN

EIN: 41-6029402

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89%

11%

What was the overall relationship with the funder?

How many hours did the grant application process take?

11 hours

Median

75%

25%

How would you rate this funder's accessibility?

63%

38%

How successfully do you think the funder is accomplishing its current philanthropic goals?

Important Information

2017 Deadlines:

Types of Grants Awarded:

Geographic Focus:

Interests/Priorities

Key Personnel

Financial Summary

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Total Assets:

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Change in Assets FY :

Amount of Grants to Minnesota Nonprofits:

Sample Grants to Minnesota Nonprofits in

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Top descriptors for this funder

6Responsive5Builds relationships4"Gets" nonprofits and issues4Friendly4Worth the time to pitch3Positive leader in the field3Culturally sensitive2Insightful2Openminded1Difficult to work with1Inadvertently exerts negative influence in the field1Likes site visits

Advice from a Friend

Minneapolis Foundation

Dec 09, 2023

Did not apply

It is fairly easy to have a first contact with the Minneapolis Foundation (contact information is accessible on the website). I've spoken to multiple people within the organization over several different jobs at different organizations. However, I have consistently had a problem with follow-through. I have a phone conversation or an in-person meeting with staff at the foundation, sometimes they even indicate that they likely can find funding for a project. I have been invited to provide materials. And then I never hear back again, regardless of how much follow-up I do. I don't think this is the case for all program officers, but I have had this experience more than once at different organizations. The Minneapolis Foundation is a prominent philanthropic leader in our community and it is incredibly disheartening to repeatedly experience false promises, obtuse responses, or no communication at all. This is a poor example of the kind of partnership philanthropy purports to want to have with community.

Cons

Inadvertently exerts negative influence in the field, Difficult to work with

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Feb 17, 2022 1

Professional in the field

The foundation is fine - their RFPs are pretty clear about what they want, and if you connect with staff beforehand you get a good sense of whether it's worth your time to apply. Their grant portal does. not. work. This is the third time I've applied to them in the last 18 months when their portal has either been down across the board within 48 hours of a deadline or when there have been individual account issues that pop up. It is beyond frustrating and adds hours of time and stress to an already lengthy process. Plan to submit your application at least three days early to account for their terrible system.

Pros

Responsive

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Jan 23, 2019

Grant Applicant - applied in 2016

Call and talk to the program officers at the foundation before you move forward with a grant request. They are very transparent, straight shooters who will let you know if your organization or request is a good fit or not.

Pros

Insightful, Builds relationships, "Gets" nonprofits and issues, Responsive

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Response from Minneapolis Foundation

Mar 25, 2019

This is always recommended in advance of submitting an application. Each director will provide guidance and indicate whether there is strong alignment with the strategic direction or not.

Aug 29, 2017

Reviewer 742 - Did not apply

Call before you apply. It saved us a lot of time to have them tell us not to bother applying.

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Response from Minneapolis Foundation

Dec 27, 2017

We encourage all intended applicants to read the grant guidelines before they call one of the Directors of Impact Strategy. The Director will provide feedback on how well your organization, program, or idea aligns with one of our three focus areas.

Aug 02, 2017 1

Reviewer 942 - Grant Applicant - applied in 2017

Minneapolis Foundation has a large range of different funding options and partnerships, but what the funds directly administered by Foundation staff have in common in transparency. While it can be challenging to connect to individual and family funds, the Community Grants and other small grants run by Foundation staff all have an RFP process that is public and visible. The staff responsible for each area are open to questions and willing to advise you. The guidelines and goals are typically pretty clear, so if you look at the guidelines and think, "Well, I am kind of close, but not exactly on target" I would suggest talking to the staff and thinking carefully before you apply. Every time I have had that feeling. I have been turned down, whereas most of the time when I have felt like, "This is a great fit!" my request has been successful.

The only issue I have encountered is with the online system. In the past I have had issues with variances between the application questions as distributed by the foundation and the actual questions in the application. This has improved over time, but I have learned to be very careful. I have also had issues with inadvertently choosing the wrong application. if more than one RFP is open at the same time. When you decide to apply, open the online application RIGHT AWAY and carefully check the questions to be sure you have the right application and the right question set. Also check for character count limitations; those are usually (but not always) noted on the questions the foundation distributes. Nothing is worse than frantically re-writing your application at the last minute because of a disconnect between the question you carefully crafted a response to and the actual question on the online form.

Pros

Positive leader in the field, Culturally sensitive, Friendly, Builds relationships, "Gets" nonprofits and issues, Openminded, Responsive

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Response from Minneapolis Foundation

Dec 27, 2017

Thank you for your feedback on the Foundation's efforts to provide transparency across our funding opportunities. To learn more about those opportunities, you can sign up to receive grant cycle updates at http://www.minneapolisfoundation.org/grants/overview/.

We encourage all intended applicants to read the grant guidelines before they call one of the Directors of Impact Strategy. The Director will provide feedback on how well your organization, program, or idea aligns with one of our three focus areas. This will help save time and help you decide whether you wish to proceed with an application.

Thank you for expressing concerns about our online system. We encourage this feedback so that we can continue to improve the system for its functionality.

The word documents have been posted well in advance of the actual access to the online application. Changes may have been made to the online questions not reflected in the word document. We will make every effort to ensure the consistency of the word documents and online documents. Character count limitations will be visible on all text questions.

Finally, there are times when multiple applications are open for different purposes. We are continuing to address this through instructions and working with our developer for other options.

Aug 01, 2017 2

Grant Applicant - applied in 2016

Great to work with, responsive, willing to talk through your pitch with you. But prepare yourself for the Byzantine process of applying. You have to be ready to explain how your program addresses their Frameworks, "Shifts", and "Key Drivers". Because they know whats best for the community.

Pros

Positive leader in the field, Friendly, Builds relationships, Responsive

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Response from Minneapolis Foundation

Dec 27, 2017

Thank you for this feedback. Our Strategic Framework and Five Shifts of Social Change are intended to provide further insight on how we are defining our work for social, economic, and racial equity.

Our Focus Areas narrow this further to identify goals and what we will fund. We do believe that achieving equity is best for the community, and through these strategies, we are confident in achieving the intended Key Results that lead toward social, economic, and racial equity.

Jul 18, 2017 1

Reviewer 515 - Grant Applicant - applied in 2017

The Foundation has a specific strategic/equity framework applicants must address. It is important to read through their website and materials to ensure you fit. Also, could connect with the program officer, who is very helpful and accessible. Attending their annual community information meetings is also helpful. Application is online.

Pros

Positive leader in the field, Culturally sensitive, Insightful, Friendly, Builds relationships, Likes site visits, "Gets" nonprofits and issues, Openminded, Responsive

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Response from Minneapolis Foundation

Dec 27, 2017

Thank you for your feedback. We encourage all intended applicants to read the grant guidelines before they call one of the Directors of Impact Strategy. The Director will provide feedback on how well your organization, program, or idea aligns with one of our three focus areas.

Attending the community information meetings or watching an overview of the grantmaking process online is also encouraged. The advantage of attending the community information meeting is having an opportunity to connect with others and benefit from the Director's points of view regarding their individual portfolios and how performance is being measured.

Jul 12, 2017

Grant Applicant - applied in 2016

The program officers I've interacted with are good communicators, they gave us a good sense of where we stood with them and clear next steps.

Pros

Friendly, "Gets" nonprofits and issues, Responsive

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Response from Minneapolis Foundation

Dec 27, 2017

Thank you for your feedback. Our Directors of Impact Strategy strive to be available and responsive to all questions.

Jun 20, 2017 2

Reviewer 438 - Grant Applicant - applied in 2016

The Minneapolis Foundation is well-known as having an obtuse and difficult application (and reports), rife with jargon and inside-the-Foundation-speak. Be patient and attend informational meetings to help understand what they want.

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Response from Minneapolis Foundation

Dec 27, 2017

Thank you for your feedback regarding the use of jargon and inside-the-Foundation-speak. We are aware of this challenge and appreciate the need to communicate our Strategic Framework and Guidelines more clearly and thereby improving the application and reporting requirements. We also understand the complexity across all three focus areas and different applications for each Key Driver. We will continue our effort to simplify where possible, but the challenges we are addressing are complex and need depth in its review.

Jan 24, 2017

Grant Applicant - applied in 2014

Great meeting with the program officer
of the Minneapolis Foundation

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Response from Minneapolis Foundation

Dec 27, 2017

Thank you for the positive feedback! The Directors of Impact Strategy are available to meet face to face with potential applicants, but this is not always necessary. The Directors are available for telephone or other electronic communication. If the situation warrants it, a site visit may also take place.

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