OVERVIEW: The C.K. Blandin Foundation supports rural Minnesota nonprofits through programs for Itasca County vibrancy, rural community leadership, and opportunities for every community member.
IP TAKE: Blandin is a large, rural community development funder in Minnesota, open to new and existing multi-year partnerships with nonprofits working in its areas of interest. Nonprofit grantseekers in small Minnesota towns of less than 35,000 should get to know this funder for their leadership needs and equal opportunity program endeavors. Although the foundation focuses much of its attention in its home of Itasca County, it has significant assets and funds rural communities all over Minnesota. Additionally, Indigenous grantseekers working in rural areas may find success with this funder.
While this funder doesn’t accept unsolicited applications, it does accept unsolicited letters of inquiry as a first step. Don’t hesitate to call them first before submitting. Previous grantseekers have stated that Blandin offers “transformative support” for rural organizations, but grantseekers are advised to “build personal relationships” with Blandin grant officers who are highly “accessible.” According to Blandin, the foundation invests in “leaders who happen to still be working with their original Blandin Community Leadership Program cohort members on community projects that include and benefit everyone” and “if you are someone whose organization works in the intersection of economic innovation, educational attainment, and equity in rural Minnesota,” let Blandin know. While grantees do have to submit reports here, Blandin is with you every step of the way.
PROFILE: Established in 1941, the Blandin Foundation is a private foundation based in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Charles K. Blandin, a local teacher, newspaperman, and industrialist, created this foundation to promote the town of Grand Rapids and the surrounding region. The Blandin Foundation aims “to be a trusted partner and advocate to strengthen rural Minnesota communities, especially the Grand Rapids area,” and its vision is “healthy, inclusive rural communities.”
The COVID-19 pandemic caused the Blandin Foundation to update aspects of its mission and to especially “advocate for changing the outdated funding structures holding back rural communities.” In doing so, it has identified community wealth-building, rural placemaking, and small communities as its three central areas of funding. In the past, tax records indicate that Blandin pursued more diverse funding areas, but for now the foundation remains laser-focused on rural community development.
Grants for Community and Economic Development
The Blandin Foundation is a responsive and strategic grantmaker that focuses its attention on rural regions and communities of the state. The Blandin Foundation runs two grant programs: Small Communities, Rural Placemaking Grants and Community Wealth Building Grants.
- Small Communities Grants “identify and support projects focused on capital needs and planning for community, organizational, and program development” in rural cities with populations below 5,000. Winning applications tend to be directed toward the smallest, lowest income, most diverse, and remote communities.
- Typical grant awards will be between $25,000 and $150,000.
- Blandin Foundation recently announced that $4 million in total grants had been delivered to 72 grantees in a year, backed up by their tax records.
- Rural Placemaking Grants “maintain and improve the quality of rural places, to help people feel connected, invested, and proud of where they live.” Applicants should propose projects that increase visibility of the arts, respect the local landscape, people, and culture, as well as build capacity for community development. Applications often open in March and decisions are made in mid-May.
- Community Wealth Buildings Grants, which “connect, fund and advocate for ideas and people to inspire resourcefulness and move rural places forward,” are by invitation only. Based on tax records, recent recipients of this grant include the Grand Rapids Economic Development Authority, who received $350,000 to support downtown improvement in Itasca County.
- From 2003 through the present, Blandin Foundation also runs a broadband internet adoption program, seeking to “connect rural communities to the world with essential infrastructure for the future.”
Grants for K-12 Education
Blandin’s education grants focus on K-12 grants to public schools, as well as through scholarships for students in the same demographic.
- The foundation runs a robust scholarship program in the Itasca County area and Hill City, Remer, Blackduck, Northome and Bug O Nay Ge Shig schools, for students under the age of 25. The program recently received a significant boost in total budget.
- Tax records indicate the foundation has given big to a swath of local school systems and advocacy groups, including Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School, Independent School District No. 2 in Hill City, and the Invest Early initiative of Itasca Area Schools Collaborative.
Important Grant Details:
Grants range between about $1,000 and $500,000, but can be even higher for certain funding partners. The foundation gave away $15 million in total charitable disbursement in a recent year, and has around $500 million in total assets.
- Assess your organization’s grant eligibility first before reaching out.
- Grantmaking focuses on rural communities in Minnesota. The funder provides a partner directory to show where it has awarded grants in the various regions of the state. It also provides a grant listings page, where grantseekers can view the breakdown between Itasca County grants and grants given elsewhere in the state.
- For open grants, the foundation accepts unsolicited letters of inquiry from nonprofits as a pre-screening. Selected organizations are invited to submit full proposals.
- Certain grants are available to towns of even smaller populations, 5,000 or less in certain cases.
- See the Small Communities and Rural Placemaking grants FAQ for more information on deadlines and procedure.
Direct general questions to the staff at info@blandinfoundation.org or (218) 326-0523.
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