The ongoing social and economic impacts of the pandemic and structural racism have created new, or amplified existing, issues within our community. To respond to these needs, the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, F. R. Bigelow Foundation and Mardag Foundation are exploring how, as grantmaking organizations, we can best disperse our community resources to address these issues and better realize the goals of each of our organizations.

Throughout 2024, this work was informed by community and supported by the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation board, F. R. Bigelow Foundation board, Mardag Foundation board and our staff with facilitation, design and research support from Creative Catalysts.

We engaged a nine-person Community Council and dozens of grantees of each of the three Foundations to inform the design and recommend changes. Our new grant programs are based on the guidance we received from community members and grantees, and supplemental research into the current and emerging issues facing our communities.

The grantmaking redesign impacts funding priorities and processes for:

• Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation's Building Community Capacity grant program
• F. R. Bigelow Foundation’s application-based grant program
• Mardag Foundation’s application-based grant program

This redesign is focused only on our application-based grantmaking for the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation (formerly known as the Building Community Capacity grant program), F. R. Bigelow Foundation and Mardag Foundation.

Other Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation grant programs such as Community Sharing Fund, Management Improvement Fund and Bush Foundation grants will continue using their guidelines and processes as stated on the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation website.

The grant redesign will not affect current grantees with multi-year grants. Those grants will continue to be paid out according to the terms in your terms of grant agreement.

As many organizations know, in 2025 the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation partnered with 3M for its local grantmaking in Arts, Housing, Food and Youth. We know that organizations that have recently received funding from the Foundation and/or 3M have questions about eligibility and overlap of grant terms. We will communicate eligibility and instructions in early 2026.

Beginning in 2026, the funding priorities for each Foundation's new grant programs will be:

Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation’s Community Solutions Grant Program

These grants will focus on organizations, programs or initiatives serving the East Metro doing work in:

• Community & Economic Development
• Health & Human Services
• Youth & Education

Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation's Arts & Culture Grant Program

These grants will focus on strengthening the quality of life in the East Metro and Greater Minnesota through supporting a sustainable, thriving and resilient arts ecosystem.

Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation's Democracy Grant Program

These grants will focus on resourcing organizing that builds power to strengthen democratic participation and expand civic voice for long-term change in Minnesota.

F. R. Bigelow Foundation's Community Solutions Grant Program

These grants will focus on organizations, programs or initiatives in or serving the East Metro doing work in:

• Arts & Culture
• Community & Economic Development
• Health
• Human Services
• Youth & Education 

F. R. Bigelow Foundation’s BIPOC Leadership Grant Program

F. R. Bigelow Foundation’s BIPOC Leadership Grant Program provides multi-year grant support to organizations, programs and initiatives focused on advancing the leadership of Black, Indigenous and/or People of Color (BIPOC) in the region.

F. R. Bigelow Foundation’s Systems Change Grant Program (invite-only)

These grants will focus on organizations, programs, or initiatives working to adapt, transform and/or disrupt systems to achieve more equitable results by addressing root causes of any issue impacting the East Metro (including, but not limited to, the five categories in the Community Solutions Grant Program).

Mardag Foundation’s Community Emergency Grant Program

Our Community Emergency grants will be for Food Access or Housing organizations that serve low-income children, youth, families and/or older adults in the East Metro or Greater Minnesota. Grants will support unexpected expenses related to:

• Natural, environmental and/or civic disasters
• Unexpected maintenance or repairs for buildings, vehicles, technology and/or equipment

One-third of Mardag’s emergency grant funding will go to the East Metro and two-thirds will go to Greater Minnesota each calendar year.

Mardag Foundation’s Food Access Grant Program

• Systems change and/or direct service work to eliminate barriers and increase access to culturally relevant, healthy, affordable food for low-income immigrant/refugee or Native American/Indigenous children, youth and families in the East Metro (one-third of funding) and Greater Minnesota (two-thirds of funding)

Beginning in 2026, Mardag Foundation will move away from its Arts & Culture priority. For more information, please reach out to Sharon DeMark at Sharon.DeMark@spmcf.org.

Our Home State Grant Program

All three Foundations will support systems change and/or direct service work to eliminate barriers and increase access to equitable housing opportunities through a collaborative grant program. More information on this program will be available in summer 2026.

Detailed guidelines and application information were made available in November 2025. Some grant programs will begin accepting applications in January 2026, while the Our Home State Grant Program and F. R. Bigelow Foundation BIPOC Leadership Grant Program will open later in 2026.

Detailed guidelines and application information, including application questions, are now available. Visit each Foundation’s Grant Opportunities webpage to see grant guidelines, eligibility and timing information.

Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation Grant Opportunities

F. R. Bigelow Foundation Grant Opportunities

Mardag Foundation Grant Opportunities

This work was informed by a nine-person Community Council. In addition to the guidance provided by the Community Council, we also sourced input from five community feedback sessions held in September 2024. The input and guidance we received from the Community Council and grantees, and supplemental research into the current and emerging issues facing our sector, informed each Foundation’s updated processes and funding priorities.

We’d like to thank our Community Council, made up of representatives from our local and statewide community, for their insights and guidance in this work.

• Bryan Boyce - Cow Tipping Press
• Janssen Hang - Hmong American Farmers Association
• Erin Heelan - East Side Funders Group
• Caroline Hood - RS Eden
• Lulete Mola - Minnesota Black Collective Foundation
• Dan Rodriguez - Merrick Community Services
• Kristine Shelstad - The Madison Art & Innovation Center
• Bharti Wahi - Minnesota Department of Human Services
• Alfred Walking Bull - Tending the Soil

Throughout 2024

The Community Council, grantees, Foundation boards and staff were focused on informing, designing and testing any new grant concepts. Our new grant processes and updated funding priorities were announced in November 2024.

2025

Detailed guidelines and application information for the new grant processes were made available in November 2025.

To create the capacity our staff needed to operationalize these changes, the three Foundations implemented transitional grant rounds in 2025. In our first transitional grant round of 2025, the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation and our partners F. R. Bigelow Foundation and Mardag Foundation awarded a combined $14 million through 456 grants.

2026

The new grant programs and updated funding priorities will be implemented, with the first applications due and grants made in the first half of 2026.

We will provide updates as we have them via our enewsletter and on this page. For any immediate questions not addressed on the website or in the FAQs, you can email CommunityImpact@spmcf.org.