The Northwest Minnesota Foundation is now accepting grant applications from small businesses and nonprofits to invest in existing operations or planned growth.
Donor Name: Northwest Minnesota Foundation
State: Minnesota
County: Selected Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 01/30/2026
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
This program drives fair economic recovery by boosting small, rural, and minority-owned businesses, which face the largest barriers to accessing capital and resources.
Businesses and nonprofits can use funds for working capital to support payroll expenses, rent or mortgage payments, utility bills, equipment, and other similar expenses that occur in the regular course of business.
Funding Information
Award amounts will be based on the tax year and will not exceed the following amounts:
- Current available funding: $1.3 million
- Up to $10,000 for applicants with a gross revenue of $100,000 or less
- Up to $25,000 for applicants with a gross revenue of more than $100,000 but no more than $350,000
- Up to $50,000 for applicants with a gross revenue of more than $350,000 but no more than $750,000
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible to be considered to receive a PROMISE Act grant, an applicant must meet all the following minimum requirements:
- Be a for-profit business or a nonprofit organization that earns revenue in ways similar to a business.
- Eligible nonprofits: To be eligible, nonprofits must meet at least one of the two definitions of an eligible nonprofit:
- A nonprofit organization that earns 30% or more of their revenue on an ongoing basis through non-tax-deductible sales or dues in a fee-for service model like for-profit businesses.
- A nonprofit organization that earns 10% or more of their revenue on an ongoing basis through a non-tax-deductible sales or dues in a fee for-service model like for-profit businesses AND demonstrate they maintain ongoing customer-facing operations at a permanent physical location at which some of those sales take place.
- Have primary business operations located in the state of Minnesota.
- The business must have a physical presence, including home-based businesses, in Minnesota, and at least 50% of employees are based in Minnesota.
- Eligible applications through NMF will be businesses with primary business operation located in the Northwest Minnesota Foundation’s service area, which includes Red Lake Nation, White Earth Nation, and 12 counties (Beltrami, Clearwater, Hubbard, Kittson, Lake of the Woods, Mahnomen, Marshall, Norman, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake, and Roseau).
- If the business location is the taxpayer’s residence (home), the applicant must have claimed and been allowed the deduction for the home office expense on the most recent tax year tax return.
- All locations in Greater Minnesota are presumed to meet one or more of the definitions of “adversely impacted”.
- Be in a community that has been adversely affected by structural racial discrimination, civil unrest, lack of access to capital, a loss of population or an aging population, or a lack of regional economic diversification.
- “Community” refers to a physical location defined by boundaries such as census tract, neighborhood, city, or county.
- Have a gross annual revenue of $750,000 or less based on 2024 taxes.
- The legal entity applying for the grant must meet these criteria.
- Sole proprietors will need to demonstrate business income sources separately from other sources of income.
- Have a gross annual revenue of $10,000 or more based on 2024 taxes.
- The legal entity applying for the grant must meet these criteria.
- Sole proprietors will need to demonstrate business income sources separately from other sources of income.
- Maintain ongoing operations as of the date of the application for the grant.
- Evidence of ongoing operations may include recent invoices, payroll records, current lease, other business activity (advertising, open hours, etc.).
For more information, visit Northwest Minnesota Foundation.
