2026 Fund for Safety — Women’s Foundation of Minnesota
The Women’s Foundation of Minnesota (WFM) is accepting applications for its 2026 Fund for Safety, a one-year grant for Minnesota organizations working to prevent and address gender-based violence, support safety, healing and community leadership, and reduce barriers to health and wellbeing. This is a competitive applicant-facing charitable grant, not a purchase of goods or services by government and not a Rural Health Transformation Program award.
Individual applicant award and use of funds
Each award is $25,000 for one year. The official 2026 funding guidelines allocate $20,000 for programmatic or general operating support and require $5,000 for staff wellness and development. The document does not announce a separate applicant maximum or an overall grant pool to substitute for that $25,000 grant size. General operations within the funded Safety purpose are eligible; the guidelines do not specify a universal matching-funds requirement or mandate reimbursement-only payments. Award payments follow receipt of required payment information, and funding is not guaranteed.
Eligible organizations and priorities
Applicants must be based in and work in Minnesota. Eligible organizations include legally incorporated 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) entities, organizations with a qualifying fiscal sponsor, Tribal nations or Tribal entities, and eligible schools with Minnesota programs, subject to foundation eligibility screening. Current or prior WFM grantees and new, emerging or established organizations may apply. Programs must benefit Minnesota women, girls and gender-expansive people, align with the fund’s violence-prevention mission, and demonstrate organizational capacity and financial stability.
Priority work includes strengthening systems addressing domestic violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking and abuse; community-led responses to violence against Indigenous, Black and other women and girls; and prevention education in schools and community organizations. WFM gives priority consideration to organizations led by or serving communities facing pronounced inequities, including rural communities, people with disabilities and communities of color. Applicants select one or more applicable goals from the official Funding Priorities table.
Restrictions, application steps and deadline
Ineligible uses and applicants include individuals, capital campaigns, retroactive activities, fundraising events (outside other sponsorship programs), reduction of existing debt or operating deficits, partisan efforts, most individual higher-education scholarships, and organizations inconsistent with WFM’s eligibility and nondiscrimination rules. Applicants must apply through the WFM Foundation Cloud grant portal, first obtaining a new account approval if needed, then completing the organization eligibility review, and finally submitting the online proposal with required financial documents. The foundation warns that new account approval and eligibility approval may each require up to two business days; late or incomplete applications are ineligible.
Applications opened October 5, 2026, and close October 26, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. The official grant PDF does not expressly label a time zone for the cutoff, so applicants should verify portal timing and submit early. Notifications begin the week of November 9, with additional review/site-visit steps and final notifications in December. Successful organizations must submit the foundation’s grant report approximately one month after the one-year grant period ends.
Official documents and verification
Independently verified October 25, 2026 against the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota’s 16-page October 2026 Fund for Safety application guidelines, the official current Fund for Safety page, and the foundation’s grant-application procedures. Program inquiries: Erika Idrovo-Cuesta, WFM Senior Program Officer, at erika@wfmn.org. For portal access assistance, use hannah@wfmn.org. Always recheck the live application portal for amendments.