OVERVIEW: The Otto Bremer Trust supports programs that contribute to the increased health, safety and well-being of the people in its target areas of Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and Wisconsin.
IP TAKE: The Otto Bremer Trust is a regional powerhouse that has invested more than $1 billion in the Upper Midwest region of the U.S., working closely and collaboratively with hundreds of grantee partners. The trust recently transformed approaches towards giving in response to a successful pilot program that involved intermediary partners in the selection of grantees to effectively address pressing community needs. While this is a clearly community-minded funder, most of its grantees have budgets of over $2 million and have been in operation for at least five years.
Bremer does not currently accept unsolicited grant applications. Some of Bremer’s grants result from an internal selection process, with funding dispersed directly from Bremer to its grantee partners. Bremer also contributes to major intermediary organizations in the Upper Midwest, including the North Dakota Community Foundation and United Way of Wisconsin.
PROFILE: The Otto Bremer Trust (formerly known as the Otto Bremer Foundation), was founded in 1944 by Otto Bremer, who came to the U.S. from Germany in 1886 and rose to the position of chairman of the American National Bank. Based in Minnesota, the trust’s mission involves “investing in people, places, and opportunities in our region.” Grantmaking supports communities in Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and Wisconsin. The trust does not organize its grantmaking thematically, but supports a broad range of community needs including health, housing, basic needs and civic engagement through its Strategic Grants and Community Responsive Fund.
Grants for Community Development, Health, Mental Health, Education, Children and Youth
Though the Otto Bremer Trust has two main giving streams.
- Strategic Grants are intended for local and regional nonprofits that “have demonstrated an impact that will be sustained and enhanced through further investments.” This program does not name specific goals, but targets organizations working to support “healthy, vibrant communities where basic needs are met and opportunities for economic, civic, and social participation are within everyone’s reach.” May grantees receive ongoing support.
Past strategic grant recipients include Minneapolis’s African Development Center, the Northwest Side Community Development Corporation of Milwaukee, Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota Montana’s Billings Clinic Foundation, and many others.
- The trust’s newer Community Responsive Fund aims to support intermediary re-granters with deep knowledge of the communities they serve. This program names specific areas of funding interest based on community needs each year. Recent areas of interest have included literacy, mental health and the well-being of vulnerable children.
An early round of grantmaking from this new fund has supported grantmaking intermediaries including the Greater Twin Cities United Way, the Community Foundation of the Fox Valley Region in Wisconsin, the North Dakota Community Foundation and the Initiative Foundation, which works to support “thriving communities” in Central Minnesota.
- This funder also makes a limited number of Program Related Investments for “qualified organizations” whose work is in keeping with the fund’s mission. Investments are conducted via the fund’s subsidiary, the Community Benefit Financial Company. Past recipients include Minneapolis’s Native American Community Clinic, Montana’s Great Falls Development Authority and St. David’s Center, which provides early intervention services for children in the Minnetonka and Twin Cities metro areas.
Important Grant Details:
The Otto Bremer Trust’s grants range anywhere from $5,000 to $5 million.
- While this funder typically makes established organizations, its Community Response Fund extends the trust’s support to many smaller community groups via support to grantmaking intermediaries.
- Giving is limited to Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and Wisconsin, with a significant portion of funding staying in the Twin Cities area, where the foundation is based.
- Bremer is not accepting unsolicited proposals at this time.
- For information about past giving, see the trust’s searchable Grants Database.
Submit general questions to the Otto Bremer Trust via its contact page or by phone at (651) 227-8036.
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