21 survey respondents
Location: 6600 France Ave South, Suite 550, Minneapolis, 55435 MN
EIN: 46-5588406
89%
11%
5 hours
Median
90%
10%
87%
13%
2017 Deadlines:
Types of Grants Awarded:
Geographic Focus:
For Fiscal Year
Total Assets:
Total Grants:
Change in Assets FY :
Amount of Grants to Minnesota Nonprofits:
Largest Grant:
Smallest Grant:
Average Grant:
Reviewer 827 - Grant Applicant - applied in 2020
They're a direct and accessible funder. They've grown rapidly in a relatively short amount of time and have scaled up their staffing and clarified giving priorities as they've grown. They're a big fan of SMART objectives in terms of evaluation and sometimes get hyper focused on those "results" which risks losing the bigger picture. The foundation has recently made some small fixes to their online form that has made a huge difference in how you get to tell your story. The old form had a number of instances where the character limits didn't match the depth of the question asked. They've increased the character limits in a few key spots and added a place where you can upload an attachment to share any additional information you think would be helpful in making your case. Deadlines are set around their board meeting, which changes every year. They've gotten better about notifying the community about open funding rounds and giving more time in between the announcement and the deadline, but you can still find yourself scrambling with short notice if you're not checking their website constantly. I recommend signing up for the Minnesota Council of Nonprofit's grants alert (www.minnesotanonprofits.org/subscribe)
Positive leader in the field, Risk taker, Friendly, Builds relationships, Likes site visits
Minnesota
Current or former grantee
Funded for lesser amount
2020
Good
Good
lessen your grip on SMART objectives. current conditions that have unfolded since March 2020 have put nonprofits in unprecedented places of operational disruption, financial loss, and low staff morale. It's hard to be people-centered when our funders push us to define success by numerical growth.
Listens to their grantees, incorporates feedback, learns and evolves with the work
15
Grant Applicant - applied in 2019
They are a great foundation to work with! Easy to communicate, application process is also very easy and straightforward.
Positive leader in the field, Friendly, Builds relationships, Likes site visits, "Gets" nonprofits and issues
Minnesota
Current or former grantee
Funded for amount requested
2019
Good
Good
Communication - they are up front about expectations in the application, easy to connect with with any questions, and upon receiving funding, make sure that grantees know important due dates for follow up and future applications.
Less than 5
Reviewer 2021 - Grant Applicant - applied in 2019
Unless you are a Best Buy employee, preferably living in a disaster struck area, don't apply. The foundation doesn't fund anything other than that apparently.
Doesn't "get" nonprofits and issues
Minnesota
Applied and not funded
2019
Average
Bad
Information given prior to the submission of the application did not accurately reflect their actual giving focus.
Don't bother
7
Grant Applicant - applied in 2018
Check application deadlines frequently, as they change sometimes.
Minnesota
Current or former grantee
Funded for amount requested
2018
Average
Average
I agree with the other review/s that unfortunately there is some cultural incompetence...it was apparent with a Sr. Program Officer at our site visit. He didn't seem to understand the link between economic poverty and people of color or that racism contributes to poverty. It was uncomfortable. Perhaps a racism/oppression/white privilege 101 boot-camp would be helpful as he represents this wonderful foundation? Also, consider hiring POC program officers or those that don't come from a full lifetime of economic privilege.
0
Reviewer 2341 - Grant Applicant - applied in 2018
The staff is helpful with offering advice, but the family/board really is the final decision maker on grants, meaning it could go totally any direction. Make it easy for the program staff and family to know and understand what you do. Also for site visits - sometimes fewer people is better, depending on the program staff. One person in particular definitely does better with a low-key site visit.
Risk taker, Insightful, Likes site visits
Minnesota
Current or former grantee
Funded for amount requested
2018
Good
The program officer I work with gets back to me relatively quickly, and the admin staff are very helpful and a delight.
Good
The board wants to fund some really random stuff, but they all make sense in the context of the Founder's life and they do a good job aligning their funding to those priorities. The program staff was really persistent with us in trying to find the right program fit to put in front of the board.
Thank you for making salaries an allowable expense for your grants! Makes it so much easier to accomplish our goals.
It can be difficult to feel like I'm building a relationship with the program officer, but I think that's just his personality. He comes to our events and always has done his due diligence on applications for site visits.
They have a two stage LOI/proposal and I LOVE that the proposal doesn't repeat questions from the LOI. It's a really low barrier application (although the SMART format of the goals is semi-annoying).
10
Grant Applicant - applied in 2019
They have an LOI process but you can try calling before submitting the LOI to get a better feel of what they are interested in. That means if the LOI is due in October, don't wait until mid September to call if you want to talk first.
Positive leader in the field, Insightful, Friendly, Builds relationships, Likes site visits, "Gets" nonprofits and issues, Openminded, Responsive
Minnesota
Applied and not funded
Funded for amount requested
2019
Good
Totally accessible. I really like their required 'interim' progress report. Takes about 5 minutes, with drop down menu and open ended questions. Their options includes "are you having challenges in meeting stated objectives and would like to talk with the program officer?"
Good
Every program officer at the foundation conducts a great site visit. After the full proposal is submitted and you mention struggling with how you phrased an objective, they will work with you in rephrasing so you aren't set up for failure.
Keep your guidestar profile up to date, they do use it as needed.
Site visits and performance reports. They want to work on your behalf.
5
Reviewer 9284 - Grant Applicant - applied in 2018
Their process opens 2x a year, and requires an in-depth LOI. If you are selected, they then invite you to submit a short proposal. The only downside to their process is that they give very short notice to submit the proposal (but it's pretty quick), and that they have very low character limits on both online components.
Insightful, Friendly, Builds relationships, "Gets" nonprofits and issues, Responsive
Minnesota
Current or former grantee
Funded for amount requested
2018
Good
The program officer we work with at at Schulze is very responsive, and appreciates updates throughout the year if there are any organizational/program changes. She is understanding, and willing to adjust outcomes as needed. She also helped us figure out a new strategy for the next application round.
Good
They fund a variety of program areas, and when I called to see if our program (which works toward their overall goal, but wasn't a fit based on examples given online) would be eligible, the program officer was very supportive and gave helpful feedback to make our application strong.
Take away/increase the character limits in the online LOI and proposal! They are very low to try and explain program impact adequately.
Their team is responsive and helpful. Their process online is straightforward, and their website is well laid out.
15
Grant Applicant - applied in 2019
Be prepared for site visit.
Positive leader in the field, Risk taker, Insightful, Friendly, Builds relationships, Likes site visits, "Gets" nonprofits and issues, Openminded, Responsive
Minnesota
Current or former grantee
Funded for amount requested
2019
Good
Good
Took time to learn community needs and is responsive.
10
Thanks for your feedback, we are pleased to learn about your positive interactions with the Foundation. We believe that site visits with current and prospective grantees are an important component to our funding process and appreciate that you value this experience as well.
Grant Applicant - applied in 2018
Talk to a program officer first. They were super open to a cold call and we were able to establish a relationship and submit a successful proposal.
Minnesota
Current or former grantee
Funded for amount requested
2018
Good
Good
Their proposal and report process has been very easy to navigate. It's really helpful in a field where everyone wants something different and complex. They keep their question list short, want clear answers, and have an easy-to-use portal. This is so rare and so greatly appreciated.
5
Thanks for your positive review about your experiences thus far with our organization and your ability to establish a relationship with our staff. We are glad that you have found our processes easy to navigate and easy to complete!
Grant Applicant - applied in 2019
The foundation is eclectic. It helps to talk with a program officer beforehand to figure out what the foundation is interested in. This has become increasingly important as the number of years that they have been giving out grants increases and their funds are increasingly committed or relationships already established with grantees.
Positive leader in the field, Insightful, Friendly, Likes site visits, "Gets" nonprofits and issues, Openminded, Responsive
Minnesota
Current or former grantee
Funded for amount requested
2019
Good
Before submitting an LOI, there is no clear strategy on who to reach out to and talk to a program officer for feedback. It is more like knowing another grantee and finding out who the program officer is and then reaching out. But every program officer is great. Just no clear path outlined for reaching out before submitting an LOI
Good
They are flexible-gen op and project and clearly state that they do not fund new staff positions.
As with many foundations, it would be useful if they could help grantees or other nonprofit organizations to connect with similar or other organizations to help fill/address service gaps.
The LOI while straight forward in some ways is more time intensive than the full proposal. So be intentional and thoughtful on the LOI
Once you identify a program officer to talk with-before or after an LOI, they are wonderful. They are also great on site visits. They asked good questions and clearly want information in order to be your advocate and not a 'gotcha' mentality. They also have a simple 'interim' performance report that lets you have an ongoing relationship with the program officer.
5
We appreciate your positive feedback about your interactions with our Foundation staff and about your experience with our grant submission and review process. We will continue to make connections between our grantees when we can! Please know that we welcome organizations reaching out to us by calling our offices at (952) 324-8910.
