We unite changemakers, advocate for social good and develop solutions to address the challenges no one can solve alone to create a community where all people thrive regardless of income, race or place.
Greater Twin Cities United Way’s grantmaking is built around program support for organizations working on housing stability, food security, early childhood education, workforce development, and crisis response across the Twin Cities metro. Its recent awards show a strong reliance on repeat partnerships and multi-year funding, with large program-cost grants flowing to community nonprofits that serve children, families, youth, and neighborhood-based economic opportunity efforts. Among the larger recent awards are grants to Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio Inc in St. Paul and Pillsbury United Communities in Minneapolis, both funded at scale across multiple years. The foundation also backs direct service organizations such as YWCA of Minneapolis, Project for Pride in Living Inc, and The Family Partnership, reflecting a preference for operating support and project-level expense coverage rather than one-time event funding. It serves as a central administrator for Early Learning Scholarships and runs targeted initiatives such as Career Academies, Full Lives, Pathways Home, and Community Investments, tying its grantmaking to specific service systems and local community infrastructure.
In early childhood education, Greater Twin Cities United Way serves as the Central Payment Administrator for Early Learning Scholarships in FY25, executing statewide payments to centers with approved scholarship awards under Minnesota statutes and direction from the Department of Children, Youth and Families. For workforce and career pathways, it supports school-business partnerships through Career Academies, including Purpose Driven Paychecks, to prepare students for high-wage, high-demand careers. Its food-security work appears through Full Lives, a food-security and economic-equity initiative that backs local farmers, small businesses, nonprofits, food producers, distributors, and entrepreneurs. The foundation also funds housing stability through Pathways Home, which awards grants to nonprofit organizations preventing homelessness for youth exiting foster care or incarceration.
Typical grant size sits at a p25 of $37,144, a median of $75,000, and a p75 of $125,274. The recent grants list shows repeated awards to the same organizations across 2023, 2024, and 2025, pointing to ongoing relationships rather than isolated one-off gifts. The foundation is a regular funder, not a DAF, and it does not fund individuals or make program-related investments. Grant support is largely program-cost oriented, with restricted program funding and coverage of operating and project expenses appearing in the grant descriptions and philosophy tags. Community Investments is explicitly competitive and accepts unsolicited applications.
$16.4M
$136.3M
$45.3M
$52M
Most grants fall between $37K and $125K, with a median of $75K.
25th Percentile
$37K
Median
$75K
75th Percentile
$125K
JOHN WILGERS
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Giving is entirely local and lands in Minnesota, with 100% of grants going to recipients in the HQ state. Recent awards cluster in Minneapolis and St. Paul, with additional grants to Brooklyn Center. The recipient map also includes the broader Greater Twin Cities nine-county metro area, including Anoka, Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Isanti, Ramsey, Scott, and western Washington counties. The pattern shows a Metro-centered funder with grantmaking concentrated in the Twin Cities region rather than beyond it.
It funds nonprofits and community organizations working on housing and homelessness prevention, food security and regional food systems, early childhood and K-12 education, workforce development and economic opportunity, and crisis and referral services such as 211 and 988. Recent grants also show support for community centers, youth-serving organizations, and economic opportunity groups.
Typical awards cluster around a median of $75,000, with a lower quartile of $37,144 and an upper quartile of $125,274. The recent grant list also shows much larger program-cost awards, including several in the several-hundred-thousand-dollar range.
Yes, for some programs. Community Investments 2025-2028 is listed as accepting unsolicited applications, and Pathways Home is also marked as accepting unsolicited applications. Other active programs, including Early Learning Scholarships, Career Academies, Full Lives, and Core Support for Communities, are marked as not accepting unsolicited applications.
It is local. All grants in the recipient country distribution go to U.S. recipients, and 100% of grants are shown for recipients in Minnesota. Recent grantees are concentrated in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Brooklyn Center, with the broader Twin Cities metro included in the active program geography.
Yes. Several organizations appear multiple times across 2023, 2024, and 2025 in the recent grants list, including Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio Inc, Pillsbury United Communities, Project for Pride in Living Inc, YWCA of Minneapolis, Merrick Community Services, Youthlink, and Avivo. That pattern suggests recurring support and multi-year relationships.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES | ST PAUL, MN | $1,225,000 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| COMUNIDADES LATINAS UNIDAS EN SERVICIO INC | ST PAUL, MN | $675,184 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| PILLSBURY UNITED COMMUNITIES | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $533,269 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| YWCA OF MINNEAPOLIS | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $430,116 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| PROJECT FOR PRIDE IN LIVING INC | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $427,599 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| YOUTHLINK | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $277,857 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| AMHERST H WILDER FOUNDATION | ST PAUL, MN | $273,586 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| CENTRO TYRONE GUZMAN | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $270,139 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| MERRICK COMMUNITY SERVICES | ST PAUL, MN | $258,001 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| AVIVO | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $256,571 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| THE FAMILY PARTNERSHIP | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $215,153 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| SCOTT-CARVER-DAKOTA CAP AGENCY INC | SHAKOPEE, MN | $208,402 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MINNESOTA | ST PAUL, MN | $206,289 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| AMERICAN INDIAN OIC INC | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $184,172 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| THE LINK | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $182,569 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| WELLSHARE INTERNATIONAL | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $167,062 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| THE BRIDGE FOR YOUTH | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $165,637 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| DIVISION OF INDIAN WORK | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $162,551 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| KAREN ORGANIZATION OF MN | ROSEVILLE, MN | $157,971 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| CAPI USA | BROOKLYN CENTER, MN | $156,729 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| YWCA OF ST PAUL | ST PAUL, MN | $149,943 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| AL-MAA'UUN | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $144,744 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| MODEL CITIES OF ST PAUL INC | ST PAUL, MN | $144,707 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| UJAMAA PLACE | ST PAUL, MN | $142,707 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| ISUROON | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $138,051 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| AIN DAH YUNG OUR HOME CENTER | ST PAUL, MN | $137,190 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| CONNECTIONS TO INDEPENDENCE | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $134,357 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| WAY TO GROW | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $131,810 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| AVENUES FOR YOUTH | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $126,219 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| SOLID GROUND | WHITE BEAR LAKE, MN | $124,828 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| ESPERANZA UNITED FKA CASA DE ESPERANZA | ST PAUL, MN | $124,652 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| NONLOCAL PARTNERS (PCB PROJECTS) | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $124,650In-kind: food supplies | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| HALLIE Q BROWN COMMUNITY CENTER INC | ST PAUL, MN | $123,930 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| BABY'S SPACE A PLACE TO GROW | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $119,932 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| FAMILYWISE | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $117,793 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| ST PAUL LABOR STUDIES & RESOURCE CENTER | ST PAUL, MN | $117,549 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| MINNESOTA INDIAN WOMEN'S RESOURCE CENTER | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $113,072 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| ST PAUL AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | ST PAUL, MN | $112,840 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE | ST PAUL, MN | $112,537 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| SIMPSON HOUSING SERVICES INC | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $110,750 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| EMMA NORTON SERVICES | ST PAUL, MN | $109,971 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| PHYLLIS WHEATLEY COMMUNITY CENTER | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $105,335 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| 30000 FEET | ROSEVILLE, MN | $105,250 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| AMERICAN INDIAN FAMILY CENTER | ST PAUL, MN | $103,950 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| SOUTHSIDE FAMILY NURTURING CENTER | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $103,930 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| SOMALI SUCCESS SCHOOL | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $103,750 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| INTERFAITH ACTION OF GREATER SAINT PAUL | ST PAUL, MN | $102,808 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| DREAM OF WILD HEALTH | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $101,767 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| NORTHSIDE ACHIEVEMENT ZONE | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $100,848 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
| HOPE COMMUNITY INC | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $100,750 | 2026 | PROGRAM COSTS |
PROJECT FOR PRIDE IN LIVING INC
$427,599PROGRAM COSTS
MERRICK COMMUNITY SERVICES
$258,001PROGRAM COSTS
NONLOCAL PARTNERS (PCB PROJECTS)
$124,650In-kind: food suppliesPROGRAM COSTS
ST PAUL LABOR STUDIES & RESOURCE CENTER
$117,549PROGRAM COSTS
ST PAUL AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
$112,840PROGRAM COSTS
SOMALI SUCCESS SCHOOL
$103,750PROGRAM COSTS
INTERFAITH ACTION OF GREATER SAINT PAUL
$102,808PROGRAM COSTS
Current and upcoming funding from Greater Twin Cities United Way that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
Who can apply: Organizations serving local needs in the seven-county metro area, especially those with high referral volume from 211 and 988 and direct response to immediate community challenges.
Deadline: Full application opens May 1, 2026; no closing deadline was provided.
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