Grant Process

Making Effective Grants in the Twin Cities

Overview

Each year GIVING WoMN members contribute to the annual grant pool and operational costs of our organization and holding educational events. All contributions are 100% tax-deductible.

Our members can be as involved as much or as little they wish. Some just make donations and attend events. Others serve on committees, or our Board, or help at events. We say, “What works for you works for us.”

BUT where we all come together is Grants! Our grants cycle takes about six months from start to finish and is a highlight of our GW year. Do you have questions about our grantmaking program? Email us at GWMNgrants@gmail.com.

Here’s How It Works:

  • One of the biggest perks of GW membership is the ability to nominate a non-profit working in the areas of education, health, or human services to be invited to enter our grant process.

    Nomination by a member is the ONLY WAY this can happen. Nominations are made by members in the month of June each year and sent to the Grants Co-Chairs. Please email GWMNgrants@gmail.com with your nomination including Nonprofit Name, Website, Contact and Contact Information.

    Each member may nominate one nonprofit organization per grant cycle. Members may also submit a second nonprofit nomination and indicate which organization is their first choice. If fewer than 30 nonprofits are nominated through first-choice nominations, second-choice nominations will be entered into a lottery to reach the minimum of 30 nonprofits for the grant cycle.

    Requirements for Nomination

    Our Nominees Must:

    • Deliver services in one or more of the following areas: health, education, human services.

    • Qualify as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code.

    • Serve the greater Saint Paul/Minneapolis seven-county area: Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington counties.

    • Have not received a grant from GIVING WoMN for the past four grant cycles.

  • After nomination, our grants committee gets to work. About two dozen of our members volunteer to serve on our Grants Team. They are stewards of the funds pooled from member contributions, and this Team is empowered to make the final decision regarding organizations’ eligibility for funding consideration.

    They review letters and proposals at every stage of the grant review process. They conduct careful due diligence on every organization being considered for funding. They make in-person site visits to every organization in the grant review process too. After all this is complete (it takes about five months), they recommend a slate of organizations for consideration.

    Grant Values

    We particularly value proposals which demonstrate one or more of the following:

    • A significant impact on the community (deep or broad impact)

    • Urgency or immediacy and address a critical need

    • Introduction of an exciting new venture and/or a creative and effective solution to a time-worn problem

    • The proposal offers opportunities to leverage volunteers, other funds and/or forge partnerships with other organizations that will increase the impact of GW funds.

    • The organization has not previously been funded and has multiple GW nominations.

  • But here’s the best part: The Grants Team doesn’t make the final funding decisions: our members do! We do this by a ranked-choice ballot that is e-mailed to every member in late January of each year. This system ultimately decides which organizations will be funded and how large their grants will be.

    Our process is structured, transparent, and follows best practices in philanthropy.

  • In late February every year, the years’ grants are announced at GW’s “spring” gathering. (If you know, you know … it’s Minnesota, right?) This event is usually held at a former grantee’s office.

    The membership learns about what that grantee has been doing and how their work is going in addition to experiencing the announcement of the new year’s grants.

  • Our grantees help us understand community needs! At our Annual Meeting in May, our yearly grantees come together to introduce themselves to our members, teach about their funding initiatives, and to be met with applause and kudos for their work in our communities.

    After the grantees have gone through a funding year, we invite them back to report out.

  • Grantees are required to Report Out on their grant’s use to the membership either virtually or at small group gatherings throughout the year. Report Out is both a way to learn about grant impacts but also to consider how funds are utilized by different nonprofits and to assess their effectiveness. See a few of those virtual Report Out programs here.