Sponsorship Request Process

Eligible for funding

In order to be eligible for funding, events must meet the following criteria:

• Nonprofit tax-exempt organizations and schools that are based in Minnesota and operate programs in Minnesota
• Unincorporated organizations with a tax-exempt fiscal sponsor
• American Indian Nations
• Events, projects, and/or convenings located in Minnesota
• Projects that benefit Minnesota women, girls, and gender-expansive people and/or organizations serving at least 50 to 75 percent women, girls, and gender-expansive people. Our definition of a woman is anyone who identifies as a woman. The program is inclusive of transgender, gender nonconforming, gender nonbinary, and all gender-expansive people who experience gender-based structural harm.
• Projects driving innovative solutions that advance gender and racial equity and justice by increasing access in one of WFM’s impact areas: Leadership & Community Power, Safety, Holistic Well-being & Reproductive Justice, and Economic Justice
• Mission-aligned & inclusive
• Funding priorities include: Organizations who are led by or serve primarily Black, Indigenous, and women of color who live in rural areas, identify as LGBTQ+, and/or live with a disability, because philanthropic support for women and girls of color is even lower for these groups.

NOT eligible for funding

The following activities or groups are NOT eligible for a sponsorship grant:

• To increase the WFM’s impact and reach, current competitive grantee-partners are not eligible to apply for a sponsorship grant. If you received a competitive grant between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024, your organization is not eligible for a sponsorship grant. If you are currently applying for any other grants at the Foundation, your organization is not eligible for a sponsorship grant.
• Sponsorship grants are limited to one per organization in the current fiscal year. If you received a sponsorship grant from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025, you are no longer eligible for a second sponsorship grant in the same fiscal year.
• Projects within religious institutions that do not align with the mission and values of the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota
• Retroactive support of projects or activities
• Capital campaign
• Individuals
• Organizations that may be deemed as discriminatory based on race, creed, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, age, physical or mental ability, veteran status, military obligation, and marital status
• An organization that limits or opposes a woman’s right to self-determination
• Reduction of an operating deficit or to liquidate existing debt (sunsetting your organization)
• Not compliant with IRS standards

Review process

The Foundation engages in a participatory grantmaking process to make funding decisions and to trust in organizational leaders to use funds in the ways they believe are most needed. This process is informed by the Intersectional Equity Framework, centering the needs and experiences of Black women, Indigenous women, and women of color who experience the greatest harm as a result of policies, institutions, and systems.

The Community Impact team will review sponsorship inquiries weekly. Sponsorship inquiries should be submitted at least one month before the event, project, or convening to allow for review time. If the inquiry is eligible, the team will follow up with a grant application to complete in the WFM’s grant portal. The deadline for the grant application will be two weeks after it is received.