The Minneapolis Foundation Seeks Proposals for New Ways to Address Budget Cuts

The Minneapolis Foundation is seeking proposals for a new grantmaking initiative that it developed in response to recent state and local government cuts impacting the most disadvantaged residents and communities in Minnesota. The goal of the initiative - entitled "Minnesota: Where Are We Going?" - is to catalyze communities to address the more than $2 billion in state budget cuts in the current biennium and the anticipated cuts that will be proposed to offset state budget deficits projected at $1 billion. 

Through the initiative the foundation hopes to encourage communities and organizations to think differently about solutions to the projected shortfalls and budget cuts, to address the overall decline in public and private funding for direct service programs, and to find new ways of assisting low-income people most impacted by the cuts and anticipated shortfall.

Proposals should define systems and policy responses that will immediately help those most affected by the cuts to state and local programs. The grants are one-time awards and cannot be used to replace lost funding or for existing services. The foundation will give preference to projects that develop creative ideas that will use foundation support to initiate new approaches and have long-term impacts. Examples might include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Developing new models and collaborative approaches of service delivery that cut across systems and eliminate redundancies in current programs.
     
• Collaborative efforts focused on improving outcomes across service delivery systems - for example, education and social services or housing and health care.
     
• Advocacy, community organizing, lobbying and public policy efforts focused on changing legislation to remove systems barriers.

Proposals must follow the foundation's Community Grantmaking guidelines and address needs within one or more of its four goal areas:

• Affordable housing.
     
• Economic opportunities.
     
• Educational achievement.
     
• Health and well-being of children, youth and families.

The deadline for submission of proposals is November 19, 2004. For more information about the initiative and the application process, visit the foundation's Web site.

top