Your United Way

Venture Grant Information

Funds are set aside annually to be used for grants to local organizations to try new approaches to solving community issues or to provide community or volunteer education programs.  Some examples of venture grants follow:

• • Development of a Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team to be able to respond to school crises in this region.   Funding will cover costs of books and materials for training of 38 people at the Southwest/West Central Service Cooperative.
  • Development of a Youth housing Careers Camp this summer for 25 high school students in this area.
  • Expansion of Western Mental Health Center's One-to-One Transition program to help individuals delay entering nursing homes.  This program will coordinate volunteers who are able to provide basic chore services, housekeeping and meal preparation, etc. which will enable participants to remain in their homes longer.
  • Development of a marketing plan for Prairie Home Hospice to strengthen the overall market position of the organization.
  • Funding to more effectively market and build capacity of Advance Opportunities' Wear It's At social enterprise/retail venture that creates viable employment opportunities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities living in the Marshall area.
  • Start up costs for the YME Community Education and Senior Advocacy Programs of Granite Falls to begin a new monthly support group for widows/widowers in the area that will offer education to deal with grief, loneliness/depression, self-care, cooking for one, legal issues and other topics of interest for the group.
  • Funding for advertising and marketing of a new one-day Project Community Connect event, which will be a one-stop shop where people in need of services can conveniently make connects, get signed up for various types of assistance, and take advantage of on-site services.
  • Purchase of equipment by Canby Development Achievement Center to start a new recycling program that collects and bales plastic shrink film from local manufacturing and wholesaling industries.  The program will provide rewarding and innovative employment opportunities for their clients, as well as reduce waste and landfill costs. 

   

Venture Grant Applications

The purpose of the United Way of Southwest Minnesota Venture Grant program is to provide support to networks or projects of non-profit and/or charitable organizations that meet one of the following:  1) Strengthen our commitment to new activities or programs that are directed at development and support for area residents; or 2) Support programs that provide non-profit organizations' board and staff development of leadership skills, management skills; technical assistance; and/or training of volunteers.

To get more information regarding the eligibility requirements, operating guidelines and the application/funding procedure, please click here.  If you have additional questions on the Venture Grant application or process, please contact us at 507-929-2273.

If you have been awarded a Venture Grant, please make certain to turn in your Final Report Form (available by clicking here).  This report form is due within 30 days after the completion of the project for which funds were awarded. 

This year, there are two deadlines to apply for Venture Grant funds.  Please note that funds are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, so it is possible that there would be only one Venture Grant cycle if all funds are awarded in the first round.

Venture Grant application deadlines for the 2011-12 fiscal year are at 5:00 p.m. on August 31, 2011 and 5:00 p.m. on January 31, 2012.

A venture grant helps House of Hope Minnesota build resistance to relational aggression

and bullying among young girls. 

Music and dance opportunities expand cultural experiences of young children

at the Cyril Paul residency at an ECFE program.

The venture grant program provided support for the pilot 9th grade academy

of Marshall High School.