Blandin Foundation

Blandin Foundation is a US private foundation based in Grand Rapids, MN.

Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.

Priority Areas

Blandin Foundation funds work in rural Minnesota and Native Nations, with community wealth-building, rural placemaking and small communities as its three impact areas. Its community wealth-building work develops local knowledge, money, workforce, entrepreneurship and investment; rural placemaking supports arts, culture, natural resources and opportunities to come together; and small-community grants provide resources, skills and system changes. Eligible applicants include 501(c)(3) organisations, fiscal sponsors, Tribal government entities, public agencies and other government units with charitable purposes. The Foundation favours work that addresses local needs, broadens participation, builds capacity and brings organisations together. It seeks sustainable strategies with measurable outcomes and coordinated regional impact, aiming to reduce disparities and encourage civic engagement.

Themes

• Community wealth-building
• Rural placemaking
• Small communities

Geographic Focus

Rural Minnesota. Priority: Home giving area: Itasca County, Blackduck, Hill City and 2 more places in Minnesota.

What They Don't Fund

• Rural Minnesota Grants only: Grants to organizations outside of the state of Minnesota; Grants to individuals; Grants intended to influence specific legislation, specific candidates, or lobbying; Intervene in any campaign for elective public office, or support or oppose any political party, by expenditure of any resource, including volunteered labor, or in any other way; Supplant public funding for development of infrastructure ordinarily provided by government entities such as water, sewer, roads, streets, and public safety; Religious organizations seeking funding for religious purposes; Grants for private benefit, including for-profit businesses or commercial ventures; Metro-based organizations
• Blandin Foundation Scholarships only: masters/graduate degrees or doctorates/post-doctorates

Organisations begin with an Eligibility Screen and Letter of Inquiry. Selected applicants receive instructions from grants staff to complete the full Proposal Form; full proposals require a prior invitation.

• Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 69% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 or TY2023 filing.
• Grant size: Across its TY2022, TY2023 and TY2024 filings, half of its 859 grants to organisations were about $25,000 or less.

What the foundation says:

• The Foundation favours proposals that primarily benefit small communities with populations of 1,000 or below.
• It favours proposals that significantly benefit residents living in poverty.
• It values proposals that intentionally engage a broad section of the community, including people often underrepresented in planning and implementation.
• It favours collaboration with organisations, coalitions or networks in the field or geographic area.
• It favours innovative solutions to longstanding community challenges or opportunities.
• It values projects that build lasting community or organisational capacity.
• It favours work that significantly benefits BIPOC, LGBTQIA, Non-English Speaking, Disabled and other marginalised residents.
• It values projects with the potential to continue without its funding.
• It asks for project summaries to connect proposals with grantmaking outcomes and explain where the work will take place and who will benefit.