Guidelines, Critieria & FAQ

Our mission is to improve the quality of life of Minnesota’s communities of color through building relevant and long-lasting philanthropic resources that promote social justice and cross-cultural understanding.

Request for Proposals

The SpectrumTrust Multicultural Endowment of The Saint Paul Foundation is soliciting applications from groups throughout the state of Minnesota who are pursuing or developing projects that mitigate the effects of racism – specifically in the three areas of education, housing, or employment. We are interested in programs or efforts that accomplish one or more of the following:

• Build community-based responses to the effects of racism
• Change attitudes and behaviors
• Change policies to reflect inclusion and fairness
• Offer social and economic opportunities

The Multicultural Endowment has approximately $81,000 for its grantmaking in 2010. Grants of up to $20,000 may be requested.

The submission deadline is Tuesday, August 31, 2022. Please note that this deadline has been extended. Grant recipients will be announced on Tuesday, October 5, 2022.

Before you prepare an application, please read the following Grant Guidelines carefully to make sure that your program is a good fit with our priorities.

Deadline

The deadline for submission of applications is Tuesday, August 31, 2022 for a decision in October 2010. Completed applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. on August 31.

Guidelines for Funding

• Projects must impact communities in Minnesota
• Organizations must have an annual budget of $1,000,000 or less
• The project must impact more than one community of color as defined by SpectrumTrust to be African and African-American, Latino, Native American, or Asian-Pacific
• Requests for funds must demonstrate other sources of funding to support the project. This may be in-kind or represented by other funding
• Requests must indicate that persons of color are significantly involved in the decision-making or management positions of the project
• Priority will be given to projects that involve as many communities of color as possible
• Funding for general operating expenses will be considered for organizations with annual budgets of less than $300,000
• Applicants must have a specific evaluation plan that demonstrates the impact of the program or project – a report on the use of grant funds is required at the end of the grant period
• The Minnesota Common Grant Application Form will not be accepted
• We no longer accept complementary materials such as pamphlets, brochures and newspaper articles, with your application.

We will give a strong preference to projects or programs:

• Where people of color comprise at least 50% of the organization’s board of directors
• Where the project or program involves other organizations as collaborators

We will not fund:

• Cultural celebrations or cultural performances
• Media campaigns or public service announcements
• Conferences or events
• Research projects or studies
• Short-term diversity training, study groups, or recruitment programs
• Conference and workshop attendance
• Capital expenses
• General operating support, except as identified above

Once my application is published, can I go back and edit it?

No. You may work on a draft of your proposal and save it in draft form. As a draft, it is not published or visible to the public. Once you save and publish, your proposal is considered submitted and you may not do any further editing.

Who should I contact if I need help or have questions?

Please contact Jaclyn Schroeder at The Saint Paul Foundation at 651-224-5463 or 1-800-875-6167 or jds@saintpaulfoundation.org.

Fiscal Agent

In order to receive grant funds, your organization must be recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. A tax-exempt certificate from the State of Minnesota is not the same. If your organization is not a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, you can apply through an organization that is and would act as your fiscal agent. If you are awarded a grant and use a fiscal agent, we may request additional verification before the funds are disbursed.