The Best Buy Foundation Twin Cities Fund provides program grants to organizations serving teens through out of school time technical education and career training.
Donor Name: Best Buy Foundation
State: Minnesota
County: Anoka County (MN), Carver County (MN), Dakota County (MN), Hennepin County (MN), Ramsey County (MN), Scott County (MN), Washington County (MN)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 04/01/2025
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
Funding is available in two areas of focus: Teens & Tech grants encourage technological exploration for teens and young people; Career Pathways grants focused on career development, including and especially in fields related to technology.
Areas of Interest
- Audio production (including music mixing & recording)
- Website development
- Computer maintenance and repair
- UX/UI (user experience/user interface)
- Digital arts, such as graphic design and photography
- Cybersecurity
- Mobile & game app development
- 3D Animation
- Programing & coding
- Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality
- Robotics
- Green technology.
Types of Grants
- Teens & Tech Grant
- The Teens & Tech program grant supports organizations with programs that encourage teens ages 13-18 to learn, experiment and collaborate with the latest technologies and develop skills and experiences to help them succeed in future careers.
- The goal of the Twin Cities Fund Teens & Tech grant program is to expose teens from underserved communities to hands-on learning opportunities that encourage technological exploration. Programs should support teens in building tech skills by utilizing cutting-edge technology such as computers, digital cameras, video cameras and professional software in a wide range of areas.
- Career Pathways Grant
- The Career Pathways Grant supports organizations with programs that offer outside of school time programming for teens ages 13-21 from underserved communities that generates interest and awareness in tech-related careers, improves access to training, credentialing and employment and supports tech career progression.
- The goal of the Career Pathways Grant is to support teens from underserved communities in obtaining tech skills training and career development needed to be prepared for a successful career. Programs should incorporate technology and/or tech-related curriculum to support teens in developing skills and interest in a wide range of areas.
Funding Information
- Program grants (no general operating) typically range from $5,000 to $50,000.
- The median award for Teens & Tech is $25,000.
- The median award for Career Pathways is $30,000.
Grant Period
Up to one year of funding.
Eligibility Criteria
Organizations must meet the following criteria to be eligible for Teens & Tech program and Career Pathways program support:
- Qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofit or tax-exempt public charity with a valid IRS Tax ID.
- Organization is based in and provides program offerings within the Twin Cities seven-county metro area.
- Program requested serves teens ages 13-18 from underserved communities within the Twin Cities seven-county metro.
- Program requested must be delivered outside of school time.
- Organization has a demonstrated track record of engaging youth at the local level who have been disconnected from education and careers.
- Organization has conducted programming for at least two years.
- Request amount must not exceed 49% of the program budget.
For more information, visit Best Buy Foundation.
