COVID-19 Recovery Grants for Nonprofits

Propel Nonprofits is seeking proposals for COVID-19 Recovery Grants for Nonprofits. Nonprofits and fiscally sponsored organizations invited to apply are those led by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and serving BIPOC communities, with an organizational budget size between $100,000 and $2 million, and that has been in operation a minimum of 1 year. Grants awarded will be general operating funds; will benefit organizations across various fields of service; and will benefit culturally specific and historically underserved communities.

These grants are intended to support nonprofits in their response to and recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including resulting financial impacts on operations and effects on communities served.

Propel’s COVID-19 Recovery Grants for Nonprofits are made possible with funding from the Minnesota Disaster Recovery Fund (MDRF), created by the Minnesota Council on Foundations and Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation to support community needs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Jump To

Key Dates

  • Applications open: Thursday, September 17
  • Application Deadline: October 8 by 5 pm
  • Community RFP informational webinar: September 24, 2020; watch a recording of the webinar here.
  • Grantees announced: Week of October 19
  • Awards announced: Week of October 26

Organization Eligibility Criteria

The primary organization eligibility criteria are:

  • Existing Minnesota nonprofits or fiscally sponsored organizations led by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and serving BIPOC communities. Defined as:
    • Executive Director identifies as BIPOC, OR 50 percent of voting board members identify as BIPOC
  • Organizational budget size between $100,000 to $2 million
  • Organization has been in operation a minimum of 1 year

Anticipated Grant Term and Amount

Propel Nonprofits has funds available to support 15-20 organizations in their recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The anticipated grant terms and goals are:

  • Award between 15-20 grants (at least half of grants will go to organizations with a budget under $500,000)
  • Award grants up to $13,000
  • Provide post-award technical assistance to grantees in financial administration and other nonprofit finance, strategy, and governance areas for 6-month term

RFP Review Process

Propel Nonprofits staff will review and select the grant recipients. The team will ensure that applicants meet the organizational eligibility criteria. In addition to these base requirements, other priorities will guide the selection process.

  • Support both organizations in Greater Minnesota and the Twin Cities
  • Support multiple BIPOC communities
  • Support organizations that provide different types of services – arts, workforce development, education, etc.
  • Support both established and smaller, growing organizations whose work is relevant to current community needs

There will be no firm requirements for these priorities; they will guide the selection process. Knowing that different factors, such as the number of applicants, can make balancing some of these priorities difficult, our intent is to be equitable across priority areas to organizations most impacted by COVID-19.

Applying for the grant

All proposals must be submitted using the online form by Thursday, October 8, 2020, at 5 pm. No late applications will be accepted.

Note: You are not able to save your progress on the online form once you begin.

Download a word document of the application questions.

 

Questions

612.249.6700 | grants@propelnonprofits.org