The Women’s Foundation of Minnesota is accepting proposals for its 2023-2026 girlsBEST (girls Building Economic Success Together) Multi-year Grant Program.
Donor Name: Women’s Foundation of Minnesota
State: Minnesota
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/01/2023
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $20,000
Grant Duration: 3 years
Details:
girlsBEST programming engages low-income girls with an emphasis on girls of color, American Indian girls, and girls in Greater/Rural Minnesota, LGBTQ+ youth, and girls with disabilities. Foundation definition of girls includes any young person that identifies as a girl; all WFM programs are inclusive of transgender, gender nonconforming, and gender nonbinary people who experience gender-based harm.
Grants will be awarded for up to three years of funding, renewable each year based on evidence of satisfactory progress toward goals and outcomes.
girlsBEST Program Tracks
The funding supports programs in four program tracks. Grant Applicants will choose one or more program track(s) that best describes their work with girls and gender-expansive people:
- Academic Programs
- Programs that help girls stay in school and pursue college and future career goals.
- Programs that build girls’ personal financial skills such as budgeting, financial planning, saving, and accounting.
- School-based programs that help girls excel in math, science, technology, and other subjects in which girls have been underrepresented or excluded.
- Entrepreneurial Programs
- Programs that teach and support girls in business planning and development.
- Programs that teach and support girls’ understanding of financial systems for business development, including loans, grants, and credit.
- Programs that teach sales, marketing, and communications for businesses.
- Employment Development and High-Paying/High-Skill Careers
- Programs that build girls’ employment skills and/or encourage them to seek high-paying and high-skill careers.
- Programs that help girls explore careers in construction and trades, math and science, healthcare, and production.
- Public Education and Advocacy Programs
- Programs in which girls organize issues that impact their economic opportunities and success, such as access to reproductive and family planning, sexual health, and ending violence.
- Programs in which girls experience arts education that impact their self-esteem and cultural awareness, such as graphic design, videography, storytelling, and music.
Funding Information
Grants are a multi-year investment ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 per year. The average award is $15,000.
Grant Period
- Year 1: June 26, 2023 through June 26, 2024
- Year 2: June 26, 2024 through June 26, 2025
- Year 3: June 26, 2025 through June 26, 2026
Funding Eligibility
- Organizations driving innovative solutions that advance gender and racial justice by increasing access to economic justice in Minnesota.
- Programs must operate in Minnesota and serve Black, Indigenous, women of color and/or gender-expansive people.
- Organizations that serve Black, Indigenous, and women of color who live in rural areas, identify as LGBTQ+, and/or live with a disability are highly encouraged to apply.
- Organization must be willing to submit a learning evaluation at the end of each grant period.
- Organization and program must align with the Women’s Foundation mission, vision, and core values of Hope, Generosity, Courage, Inclusion, and Belonging.
- Organizations should be prepared to speak to how they use a gender lens and intersectional lens in their programming and work. Organizations should apply if serving at least 50 to 75 percent women, girls, and gender-expansive people to ensure that organizations are committed to working with these groups and are advocates in the movement to create a place where all women, girls, and gender expansive people thrive.
Funding Criteria
- The organization’s financial condition is stable.
- Demonstrated ability to work in partnership with other organizations.
- Demonstrated commitment to gender and racial justice using a multi-issue, multisolution framework.
- Board members, staff, and volunteers are representative of the population served and are represented in decision-making roles in the organization.
- Inclusive organizations that value the perspectives and contributions of all people and that strive to incorporate the needs and viewpoints of diverse communities in the design and implementation of programs.
Eligible Programs Include:
- Nonprofit tax-exempt organizations and schools that operate programs in Minnesota
- Unincorporated organizations with a tax-exempt fiscal sponsor
- American Indian Nations
For more information, visit WFM.
