The Boreal Waters Community Foundation is accepting applications for its Community Opportunity Fund.
Donor Name: Boreal Waters Community Foundation
State: Minnesota, Wisconsin
County: Selected Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/01/2026
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The Community Opportunity Fund is at the heart of work at Boreal Waters Community Foundation. It’s how they connect generosity with possibility to support bold ideas, local leadership, and long-term solutions across northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin.
The focus on these interconnected areas:
- Opportunity
- Projects empower individuals to achieve economic stability and independence.
- Examples:
- Expands access to affordable housing
- Creates jobs that pay a living wage
- Supports wealth-building opportunities
- Provides access to high-quality education
- Strengthens economic well-being through essential support services
- Resilience
- Projects must enhance the ability of organizations, families, or communities to anticipate, adapt to, and recover from challenges, creating sustainable, long-term solutions that reduce risk and promote resilience.
- Examples:
- Leveraging partnerships and resources to implement scalable, lasting solutions that strengthen community resilience.
- Expanding access to knowledge, training, and tools that improve economic, social, or environmental stability for individuals and families.
- Developing community-driven solutions that address housing stability, food security, workforce resilience, or climate adaptation.
- Applying innovative or proven strategies that increase a community’s ability to prepare for and respond to systemic challenges (e.g., disaster preparedness, economic shifts, public health crises).
- Belonging
- Creating spaces and opportunities where all people are valued, heard, and are able to thrive. Projects amplify voices, foster creative expression, and create a vibrant, inclusive culture.
- Examples:
- Elevates diverse voices and perspectives, particularly those from historically marginalized communities.
- Embraces the common humanity of all individuals.
- Implements practices that increase connection, respect, and safety.
- Strengthens community bonds and promotes equity for all.
Funding Information
Grant range $25,000- $50,000.
The Foundation Funds
The Foundation support a wide range of community-driven, equity-centered work. Funding can be used for:
- Program or Project Support: To launch, expand, or sustain work in Opportunity, Resilience, or Belonging
- General Operating Support: To build strength and stability
- Capacity Building: To grow organizational effectiveness or leadership
- Community-Led Solutions: Especially those involving lived experience and cross-sector collaboration
- Systems Change and Upstream Impact: Projects that address root causes—not just symptoms
Who Should Apply?
They welcome proposals from:
- Established nonprofits with strong infrastructure
- Grassroots or emerging groups led by and for their communities
- Collaborations or fiscally sponsored efforts
They especially interested in organizations that are led by or serve historically marginalized communities
- Demonstrate local trust and community ownership
- Show potential for lasting, scalable impact
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible to apply for funding, an organization must meet both of the following criteria:
IRS Classification
The organization must be classified by the IRS as one of the following:
- A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
- A Section 170(c)(1) public entity (e.g., governmental agencies, public schools)
- A Section 7871 Tribal government
- A church
- An organization with a fiscal sponsor that is classified under one of the above categories
Geographic Area
- The organization must serve communities within the Boreal Waters Community Foundation’s service area.
For more information, visit Boreal Waters Community Foundation
