The Community Foundation brings together organizations in need of financial assistance and people who are interested in charitable giving. Foundation assets are comprised of many funds with an array of missions, goals, guidelines, and application deadlines. Therefore, each application for funding requires an inquiry and interaction with Foundation staff to guide the process, including requests from organizations that have received prior funding. To determine appropriate funding opportunities for your organization and/or project, visit the competitive grant funds list. To review previous grants made, visit the list of historic grants included in the Annual Report Archive, or access the list of recent grants. For a downloadable copy of How to Apply for a Competitive Grant, click here.

Inquiry Process
The process begins with an inquiry to the Foundation staff. E-mail communication is preferred. Click here to submit an inquiry for additional information by e-mail or send a one-page letter by mail to the Foundation. Please describe your organization and the proposed project including a timeline. The inquiry will be reviewed and then you will be contacted regarding eligibility and possibilities for funding consideration. Specific criteria/guidelines for each appropriate Fund will be provided during the inquiry process. Once an inquiry is submitted, and an application has been invited, the next step is the application process.

Proposal Application Process
With the understanding of the work that goes into proposal preparation, we encourage using the Minnesota Common Grant Application Form. Grant requests of $3000 or less should use the DSACF Short Form. Also, all Minnesota Common Grant Applications are to be accompanied by all the information from our Self-Certification Checklist which can be downloaded by clicking on the “Self-Certification Checklist” link, as well as a copy of the signed Self-Certification Checklist confirming proposal completeness. Since this Foundation checklist includes information beyond what is requested on the Minnesota Common Grant Application Form, please use our checklist to determine proposal completeness.

Minnesota Common Grant Application Form (pdf)

Minnesota Common Grant Application Form (Word)

DSACF Short Form Application (pdf)

Deadlines & Proposal Delivery
Complete applications are to be received in the Foundation office by 5:00p.m. on the deadline date. When deadlines fall on weekends or holidays, proposals are due in the Foundation office by 5:00 p.m. on the next business day following the deadline. The Foundation does not accept proposals via fax or electronic transmission. Please do not submit bound proposals. Click here to view the application deadline calendar. Submit complete proposals to:

Duluth-Superior Area Community Foundation
Holly C. Sampson, President
324 West Superior Street, Suite 212
Duluth, Minnesota 55802

Eligibility
The Community Foundation welcomes grant requests from organizations that are:

• Classified as a charitable organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; or classified as an organization under Section 170(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code.
• Located in or provide services to residents within the seven counties of Northeastern Minnesota (Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, and St. Louis) and/or Douglas and Bayfield counties in Northwestern Wisconsin.

The Community Foundation does not provide funding for:

• Endowments
• Religious organizations for religious activities
• Medical research
• Debt retirement
• Requests from re-granting organizations for funding that will be used for their grant making
• Individuals (except for scholarships initiated or managed by the Foundation)
• Political organizations or campaigns
• Fundraising drives or activities, tickets for benefits
• Organizations that have as substantial part of their purpose the influencing of legislation
• Activities which occur before funding is awarded.