Our Home State Ecosystem Grant Program

Our Home State Ecosystem Grant Program is sponsored by Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation. Aims to increase access to affordable housing and emergency shelter in Minnesota through grants to nonprofits.

Our Home State Grant Program Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation Our Home State Grant Program | Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation Our Home State Grant Program Our Home State works to ensure Minnesota’s housing ecosystem has the power and resources to create an equitable future where all Minnesotans have a stable home they can afford. *]:tw-leading-[1. 1] [&>p]:tw-leading-[1.

48] "> A collaborative effort by the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, F. R. Bigelow Foundation and Mardag Foundation, with additional support from businesses, peer foundations and individual donors, the Our Home State Grant Program seeks to increase access to housing across Minnesota.

Our Home State North Star: Minnesota’s housing ecosystem has the power and resources to create an equitable future where all Minnesotans have a stable home they can afford. The grants prioritize organizations and programs that provide pathways to affordable, quality, housing supports, focusing on organizations and programs that ensure access to affordable housing or emergency shelter.

Our ecosystem program is currently open and accepting Letters of Inquiry from affordable housing and emergency shelter organizations. Other programs will open at a later date. Complete a Letter of Inquiry OHS Ecosystem Grant Program Guidelines The Our Home State Ecosystem Grant Program supports organizations and programs that ensure access to affordable housing or emergency shelter.

Ecosystem Grants will be offered for general operating support. For shelter: grant amounts will be $100,000 per year for a five-year grant period, for total grant amounts of $500,000 per grantee. For affordable housing: grant amounts will be up to $150,000 per year for a five-year grant period, for total grant amounts of $750,000 per grantee.

In 2026, we plan to select ten shelter and ten affordable housing grantees. Seven East Metro and three Greater MN/Tribal grantees in each focus area.

Our Ecosystem Grant program will consider proposals that address one of the following: Increase nonprofit developer, provider and system actors’ ability to be responsive and creative to meet current community needs including: Staffing and security, Case management, and Development planning Grow shelter capacity to provide consistent, responsive and increasingly complex services to meet the needs of individuals experiencing homelessness including: Shelter facility/equipment improvements Case management & after care Our Home State will not consider grant requests for support of organizations exclusively serving Minneapolis and the surrounding West Metro.

If your organization does not fit the funding criteria for the OHS Ecosystem Grant Program, we encourage you to explore other Grant Opportunities , as well as Resources Beyond the Grant on the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation website. Download the Grant Guidelines View the Information Session Download OHS Programs Overview Organizations based in Minnesota with a demonstrated commitment to the geography served.

Grants can be made to 501(c)3 nonprofits, tribal governments, and groups working through an eligible fiscal sponsor. Our Home State makes grants to entities located within and serving residents of Minnesota. The geographic focus of our grantmaking is the East Metro area of Dakota, Ramsey and Washington counties, as well as Greater Minnesota and Tribal Communities.

Letter of Inquiry Preview [PDF] Letter of Inquiry Scoring Rubric [PDF] Application Preview [PDF] Application Scoring Rubric [PDF] Applications for the Our Home State begin with a letter of inquiry and invitation to apply. Communications on Letter of Inquiry decisions to go out by September 17 . Letters of Inquiry Accepted July 13 to 1:00 p.

m. August 3 Invitation to Apply for Select Organizations opens September 18 - October 9 (noon) Site Visits will take place October 14 - November 9 Decisions will be made by December 2 Grants Awarded by mid-December Step 1: Review Grant Guidelines Familiarize yourself with the eligibility criteria and funding priorities for this grant program.

Step 2: Talk to the Grants Team All interested applicants are encouraged to contact Linda Garrett-Johnson, a member of our Grants Team, before applying to ensure that the grant program fits your needs. Our Grants Team is always excited to connect with community partners. Step 3: Review Application Materials Review required application materials and instructions on how to apply.

Note: Applications for the Our Home State Ecosystem Grant Program begin with a letter of inquiry and initial screening. View Grant Application Resources Complete a letter of inquiry, accepted from 10 a. m.

July 13 to 1 p. m. August 3, 2026.

Step 4: Register and Apply This grant program requires applicants to register for GranteeView to apply for a grant. Registration is open now. Note: Only select organizations will be invited to submit a full application.

Foundations Launch Our Home State Initiative The Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, in partnership with F. R. Bigelow Foundation and Mardag Foundation, announced Our Home State, a five-year, $20 million philanthropic initiative focused on expanding access to safe, stable and affordable housing across Minnesota.

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