Reimagining Our Grant Program
Find the latest updates about our community-informed process to redesign Mardag Foundation’s grantmaking.
Grant Redesign Updates
Last updated November 18, 2024
Mardag Foundation has been exploring how, as a grantmaking organization, we can best disperse our community resources to address current issues and better realize the goals of our organization.
Along with our partners the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation and F. R. Bigelow Foundation, we engaged in a community-informed process to redesign our application-based grant program.
For more on our grant redesign approach, timing and answers to frequently asked questions, please view the grant redesign hub on the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation website.
Our Approach
Throughout 2024, this work was informed by community and supported by the Foundation’s board and staff with facilitation, design and research support from Creative Catalysts.
Beginning in 2026, each of the three Foundations will make grants using new application processes and updated funding priorities with a goal to provide more clarity, increased visibility into timelines and decision-making, and earlier insight into decisions. We anticipate posting detailed guidelines and application information late in 2025.
Clarifying our application processes and funding priorities will help our Grants Team provide more detailed instructions, earlier denials when applicable, and more specific and concrete criteria for grantseekers. It also allows our team to be more creative, flexible and responsive to community needs.
To create the capacity our staff needs to operationalize these changes, the three Foundations will each implement transitional grant rounds in 2025.
We recognize that changes in funder guidelines can be a source of anxiety for our nonprofit partners, and that you may have questions about how you fit into each Foundation’s updated funding priorities. We are committed to making this transition as transparent and smooth as possible. Please view the FAQs on the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation Grant Redesign Hub.
Community-informed Design
We engaged a nine-person Community Council and dozens of grantees of each of the three Foundations to inform the design and recommend changes to our grant programs.
Our future grant application processes are based on the input and guidance we received from community members and grantees, and supplemental research into the current and emerging issues facing our communities.
New Grant Application Processes and Updated Funding Priorities
Beginning in 2026, Mardag Foundation will offer two types of application processes for grantseekers: Responsive Grants and System-level Grants.
Responsive Grants
This rolling application process will provide grants within select funding priorities to support ongoing, urgent, emergent and timely community opportunities. We anticipate making decisions quarterly. We will share full guidelines for these grants late in 2025 and will begin making Responsive grants in 2026.
System-level Grants
The Foundation will move to making fewer, but larger, multi-year general operating grants for select funding priorities. We anticipate opening the first System-level grant round early in 2026. Given the nature and length of these grants, we will return to conducting site visits and anticipate the first set of these multi-year grants will be approved late in 2026.
Responsive Grants
The goal of our Responsive grantmaking is to support community-driven solutions to emergent needs in the East Metro and Greater Minnesota.
Funding Priorities
Food Access or Housing organizations that serve low-income children, youth, families and/or older adults from Native American/Indigenous or immigrant/refugee communities in the East Metro or Greater Minnesota, filling an unexpected emergency financial gap in response to:
- Unexpected maintenance or repairs for buildings, vehicles, technology and/or equipment
- Natural, environmental and/or civic disasters
Type of Grants Offered
Our Responsive Grants will offer one-time emergency support of $2,500 – $20,000 per grant depending on the need.
Eligibility
- An organization can only receive one Responsive emergency grant at a time from Mardag Foundation and must wait a full calendar year before being eligible for another
- Priority will be given to organizations that have not received a grant from this priority in the last 18 months
- 501(c)3 nonprofits, government entities, educational institutions, groups working through an eligible fiscal sponsor
- Demonstrated commitment to the geography served with preference for organizations based in Minnesota
Beginning in 2026, Mardag Foundation will move away from its Arts & Culture funding priority. 2025 will be the last year of funding in this priority area. Beginning in 2026 organizations serving older adults will only be eligible in Mardag’s Responsive grant process.
System-level Grants
Our Goal
- Support organizations and programs that provide pathways to affordable, quality housing and/or are addressing homelessness
- Support organizations and programs that ensure access to food and address inequities in the food system
Funding Priorities
Systems change and/or direct service work to eliminate barriers and increase access to equitable housing opportunities for low-income immigrant/refugee or Native American/Indigenous children, youth and families in the East Metro and Greater Minnesota.
Systems change and/or direct service work to eliminate barriers and increase access to culturally relevant, healthy, affordable food for low-income immigrant/refugee or Native American/Indigenous children, youth and families in the East Metro and Greater Minnesota.
Type of Grants Offered
- Grants will be offered for general operating support or program support
- Grant amounts will be up to $100,000 per year for five years
Eligibility
- Demonstrated commitment to the geography served with preference for organizations based in Minnesota
- 501(c)3 nonprofits, government entities, educational institutions, groups working through an eligible fiscal sponsor
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