Blandin Foundation Announces 2025 Local Grant Opportunities Open March 7, 2025

New Grant Portfolios Designed to Strengthen Community Wealth Building, Small Communities and Rural Placemaking

Grand Rapids, Minn. – March 6, 2025 – The Blandin Foundation announced applications for its 2025 grant programs open on March 7, 2025 for prospective grantees in its local giving area of Itasca County, Blackduck, Hill City, Northome and Remer. The three grant programs are: Small Communities Grants, Rural Placemaking Grants, and Community Wealth Building Grants.

“Our home community is at the heart of our mission to support rural resilience, creativity and prosperity in the midst of great change,” said Tuleah Palmer, President and CEO of the Blandin Foundation. “These grant programs are tailored to support communities and organizations as they meet the most pressing needs of our county, our region and our state.”

The Foundation created these grant programs after several years of strategic planning with grantees and rural leadership across the state to better align Foundation work with urgent rural challenges and Charles Blandin’s original mission to build a strong Itasca County area. The Foundation held an Open House last month for Itasca County area grantees to deepen relationships, forge new ones and discuss opportunities in the upcoming grant round.

“We know that our home area’s nonprofits are already doing incredible work to strengthen their communities,” said Director of Rural Grantmaking Kyle Erickson. “These grants are an opportunity to start and grow projects that make a difference in communities of all sizes, and bring innovative ideas to life. We’re excited to partner with local leaders to create the positive change we all want to see.”

2025 Local Grant Programs

1. Community Wealth Building Grants

Community Wealth Building Grants aim to build on rural bases of knowledge, money, workforce, entrepreneurship, and investment – and keep those powerful resources close to home. Its goal is to reduce disparities in community outcomes that too often force people to do more with less. Grantees in the Itasca County area are welcome to apply.

Priority Areas:

• Affordable Housing and Stability: Supporting initiatives that increase access to affordable housing and housing stability.
• Local Economic Development: Encouraging community-based economic development, workforce and talent development, and equitable access to capital, with an emphasis on creating living-wage jobs.
• Cross-Cutting Outcomes: Using multiple wealth-building approaches in the same project to create opportunities for low-income families to build assets that will provide wealth now and for future generations.

2. Small Communities Grants

The Small Communities Grant Program is dedicated to supporting rural Minnesota’s smallest and often overlooked communities by providing resources, skills and system changes needed to address local challenges. This program is designed for communities with a population under 5,000, fostering pride, trust, ownership and collaboration to drive positive economic, physical and social change.

Priority Areas:

• Visible Community Change: Projects that enhance community aesthetics, increase participation in local decision making on key issues, and nurture community pride through initiatives like new construction, beautification or revitalization efforts.
• Civic Discourse: Encouraging productive conversations around issues affecting rural communities to build connection.
• Preparing for the Future: Supports efforts to enhance community amenities, cooperate with neighboring communities and lay the groundwork for future development.

3. Rural Placemaking Grants

Rural Placemaking Grants focus on maintaining and improving the quality of rural places to help residents feel connected, invested and proud of where they live. Placemaking is a comprehensive approach to community development that encourages residents to contribute to a shared vision for their community, fostering trust, connection and well-being.

Priority Areas:

• Community-Centered Design: Projects that create or enhance public spaces, such as parks, community centers, or cultural installations, to promote connection and pride.
• Inclusive Engagement: Ensuring that placemaking efforts involve underrepresented populations, including lower-income residents, young people, and Native and cultural communities.
• Creative Economy: Supporting local arts, cultural activities, and organizations to boost the creative economy and community attachment.
  For more information about the 2025 grant programs, eligibility criteria, and application resources, visit Blandin Foundation Grants.

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Blandin Foundation is a private foundation based in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. One of a handful of rural-based, rural-serving foundations in the country, Blandin Foundation serves rural Minnesota, focusing resources in north-central Minnesota. Our grants, opportunities that connect rural leaders, and policy work build up financial and human capital, so rural Minnesota places can welcome diversity, address injustice, and embrace change to create a sustainable and equitable future.