The 2025 Otto Bremer Trust Community Responsive Fund, administered through a partnership with the Southwest Initiative Foundation (SWIF), provides targeted grant support to nonprofit organizations operating in specific counties in southwest Minnesota. The Otto Bremer Trust, a private charitable foundation based in St. Paul, Minnesota, was established in 1944 and has invested over $1 billion into initiatives that support improved quality of life in Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.

For 2025, the Community Responsive Fund is allocating $400,000 in grant funding through SWIF to eligible nonprofits. Grants will range from $10,000 to $75,000 and can support general operations, programming, or capital projects. The fund emphasizes local impact and sustainability in the southwestern region of Minnesota, prioritizing organizations that align with one or more of the following issue areas: literacy, adoption and foster care, children’s health, children’s disability services, mental health (especially services for children aged 5 to 15), and capital improvements for hospitals and clinics.

Organizations interested in applying must first complete an eligibility screening questionnaire via the SWIF website. If eligibility criteria are met, applicants will be invited to submit a full application. The deadline to apply is 5:00 PM on May 22, 2025. Award notifications will be issued in August 2025. Projects funded by this program must be completed within 12 months of the grant award date, and a final report is required at the end of the grant period.

Strict eligibility requirements apply. Only 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations are eligible, and they must have been operational for at least five years and have had at least $2 million in expenses in the most recent fiscal year. The organization must also be headquartered and operating in one of the following counties: Big Stone, Chippewa, Cottonwood, Jackson, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, McLeod, Meeker, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Renville, Rock, Swift, or Yellow Medicine. Additionally, organizations from the Upper Sioux Community or Lower Sioux Indian Community are eligible. Government entities, public schools, and fiscally sponsored organizations are ineligible, as are applicants with an open Otto Bremer Trust strategic grant (excluding past Community Responsive Fund recipients).

Applicants are limited to one submission each. Grant funds may not be used for policy advocacy, sponsorships, annual events, or administrative expenses exceeding 10 percent of the award. Requested funds must not exceed 10 percent of the organization’s previous fiscal year’s public philanthropic support.

For more information or to begin the application process, applicants must start with the online screening questionnaire at https://swifoundation.tfaforms.net/wf5Wwxl.