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Resilient. Rural. Community.
Blandin Foundation is all about Minnesotans imagining, leading, and growing resourceful, inclusive communities.
Foundation News
Blandin Foundation Invests in Building Community Wealth and Local Journalism to Strengthen the Itasca Area and Rural MN
$2.2 million in new investments fuel rural information access, community capacity and long-term financial resilience.
Itasca Area Grant Opportunity Opens Jan 2
Watch this overview video from our recent grantee gathering.
NOTE: Applications are now closed.
Open Position: Accounting Associate
We’re hiring! Join our team as an Accounting Associate and make an impact at our organization.
In The News: Itasca Life Options
Star-Tribune’s Evan Ramstad features ILO’s approach to supportive day services that builds community and economy.
Blandin Foundation Supports Long-Term Storm Recovery in Northern Minnesota with $100,000 Grant
Recovery efforts will focus on regional coordination, community-driven rebuilding and ensuring vulnerable residents aren’t left behind.
Blandin Foundation Awards Scholarships to 380 Local Students
The total amount awarded for the 2025-26 school year is $1.7 million to students from 11 Itasca-area schools or to students who attend school from home or online.
Blandin Foundation Invests More Than $10 Million to Strengthen the Itasca Area
Blandin Foundation awarded $10.2 million to 48 organizations across Itasca County and rural northern Minnesota.
Free Range Food Co-op Closer to Becoming Reality with Blandin Foundation Grant
“This grant supports a model of economic development that puts ownership and opportunity into the hands of the community,” said Kyle Erickson, Director of Rural Grantmaking. “This is community wealth building in action.”
Spot Us
Blandin Foundation stands with communities as they design and claim their futures. That’s thousands of partnerships in hundreds of communities over more than 75 years.
Latest News
Blandin Foundation Scholarship Program Aims to Build Strong Future Rural Workforce, Applications Now Open
January 20, 2026
GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. (Jan 20, 2026) – Applications for Blandin Foundation scholarships are being accepted until March 1, 2026. The scholarships provide Itasca area students with $1,000 to $6,000 or more per student for the 2026-2027 school year. Students may reapply each year, until they are age 25 or have earned a bachelor’s degree. Students…
GroundWork Blog
Keep the History, Boost the Accessibility
January 9, 2026
When Two Harbors Public Library leaders learned their building wasn’t meeting the needs of patrons with disabilities, they took action Two Harbors Public Library, located just a few blocks from Lake Superior along Minnesota’s northern shore, was built more than 115 years ago and has been on the National Registry of Historic Places since 1986.…
Blandin Foundation is located in the Grand Rapids area to which it has a perpetual and primary responsibility.