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Depending upon the area of interest, we either extend a broad community invitation to submit a letter of inquiry or invite prospective partners to submit information. For 2025, the Foundation will be using the processes detailed in areas of interest below. We have one grantmaking cycle each year for all three grantmaking areas.
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Mortenson Family Foundation’s Expanding Opportunities for Children and Families 2025 grant application proposal opens February 28th, 2025, and closes March 28th, 2025 at 4:00 pm CDT. Updated guidelines for the Expanding Opportunities for Children and Families can be found on our website here.
The application can be accessed through the Foundation’s online system here on February 28th.
The Mortenson Family Foundation will host one-on-one virtual informational sessions from mid-February to mid-March to answer any questions you may have about the 2025 Expanding Opportunities for Children and Families grantmaking process.
These sessions are an opportunity for grant prospects to ask additional questions that aren’t addressed in the grant application, evaluation rubric, or FAQs available on our website.
The sessions will be hosted by Rabya Hassen and are 30 minutes long. If you’re interested, please sign up for a virtual conversation. We kindly ask that you sign up for only one session. Sign up here.
Questions? Contact:
The Foundation will open the application portal for the Sustaining Environmental Systems in Minnesota on November 17, 2025. Grantmaking decisions will be announced in March 2026. If you are interested in receiving a notification when the grant application opens, please sign up for our email list at the bottom of the Explore Partnership page. To learn more about our grant guidelines, please click here.
Questions? Contact:
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Mortenson Family Foundation’s Strengthening Developing Communities grant is accepting Letter of Inquiries (LOI) from January 6th, 2025 to February 10th, 2025 at 4:00 pm CDT.
The guidelines for the Strengthening Developing Communities grant can be found on our website here and a timeline visual here.
The application can be accessed through the Foundation’s online system here. You may access a Word document with the LOI questions only here.
In addition, you are welcome to sign up to our Grant Information Sessions on February 3rd, 2025 8:30am -10:00am CST and January 17th, 2025 1:00pm – 2:30pm CST for applicants to learn more.
FAQs for this grant round process can be accessed here.
Questions? Contact:
The Foundation considers Impact Investments in its areas of interest throughout the year. To see a list of questions we ask about investments, click here.
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For interests that are outside of its three priority areas, the Foundation invites selected nonprofit organizations to participate in a separate funding process, typically twice a year. Invited organizations will receive information on the grant process directly from the Foundation.
Grant Application Process
The Mortenson Family Foundation uses Foundant, an online grant management system, to manage our grant and investment process. Foundant is optimized for the following browsers: Internet Explorer 9+, Chrome, Firefox, or Safari 5.1+. Learn how to register by viewing a Foundant tutorial.
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Grant Report Process
Mortenson Family Foundation requests that grant partners submit a report on progress toward achieving the goals, objectives, and outcomes identified in the funded proposal. Specific due dates are outlined in the grant award letter or specific reporting communication. Reports should be accurate, complete, and submitted on time.
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Because we believe in accountability to community and grant partners, we annually measure grant process satisfaction, value of Foundation relationship, and community outcomes. For 2021, the Foundation found:
As a member of the Minnesota Council on Foundations, we embrace the grantmaking principles for Minnesota grantmakers.
If you’d like to receive emails about future funding opportunities, please complete the request form below.
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