Special Grant
Opportunities

Housing Technical Assistance Program

The Northland Foundation is offering a three-year program starting July 1, 2025, to support rural communities and the Native nations within our service area to develop or advance their local housing plans. No-charge technical assistance is being provided through a partnership with North Shore Development Co. (NSDC) to help rural communities within our region to develop or advance their local housing plans.

Funding for this opportunity is being administered by the Foundation as allocated through the 2023 session of the Minnesota Legislature, authored by former Representative Dave Lislegard and Senator Grant Hauschild, and is governed by the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency.

Download a program flyer HERE

Examples of services include: advising and providing education to municipal leadership and communities on different types of housing and corresponding financial implications; how to effectively address community buy-in; development and use of housing studies; identification of appropriate development sites; zoning practices; financial resources like local housing trust funds and development incentives; and strategies to connect with potential developers. Note that this technical assistance does not include grant writing.

Information Session Recording

A virtual information session was held July 9, 2025, to explain more about the program. Access the recording HERE.

Apply to NSDC starting July 1, 2025

NSDC will begin accepting applications for technical assistance starting July 1, 2025, on their website at www.northshoredevelopmentco.com/assistance. Please direct any questions to NSDC. Entities eligible to apply include:

• A city, county, housing and redevelopment authority, or economic development authority within in Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, or St. Louis counties.
• A governing body within one of the following Tribal nations: the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe (District I), and Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe (District II).

Promise Act Grants for Businesses Round 2

The period to apply is January 19, 2026, through February 20, 2026.

This is the second round of Promise Act Grants. Businesses may only receive a total of one grant. Businesses that received a grant in the first round, held in 2024, cannot reapply in Round 2.

The Promise Act Grant Program offers grants from $10,000 to $50,000 to Northeast Minnesota businesses.* Funding and eligibility guidelines for this competitive grant program were established in law during the 2023 Minnesota legislative session.

*Nonprofit organizations may apply provided they meet specific criteria. Please carefully review the Grant Information Sheet also linked below for eligibility details.

Purpose and Eligible Uses of Grant Funds

Competitive grants of up to $50,000 from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) are available to businesses in communities that have been adversely affected by lack of access to capital, loss of population or an aging population, structural racial discrimination, civil unrest, and/or lack of regional economic diversification.

The most competitive applicants have experienced economic hardship, did not receive significant COVID-19 relief funding of more than $10,000 from the State of Minnesota, and were already established in 2021 or before.

Awarded grants may be used for working capital to support payroll expenses, rent or mortgage payments, utility bills, equipment, and other similar expenses that occur in the regular course of business.

Funding Amounts

Award amounts will be based on the applicant’s 2024 tax year revenues. Revenues of:

• At least $10,000 but less than $100,000 may receive a $10,000 grant.
• At least $100,000 but less than $350,000 may receive a $25,000 grant.
• At least $350,000 but less than $750,000 may receive a $50,000 grant.

Eligibility and Preparing to Apply

Please carefully review the Grant Information Sheet also linked below. Not all who are eligible and who apply may receive a grant. If qualified applications exceed available funds, a randomized sample may be used to select grantees.

To apply through the Northland Foundation, businesses or nonprofits must have their primary location in the Minnesota counties of Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, or St. Louis, or the Tribal nations of Bois Forte, Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, Leech Lake (District I), and Mille Lacs (District II), in addition to meeting all other eligibility criteria outlined on the Grant Information Sheet.

• As your first step, carefully go over the Grant Information Sheet available as a pdf and a Word doc. You can also review a helpful recorded webinar and answers to FAQs.
• You can preview the application questions as a pdf or Word doc to help you prepare before beginning the online application.

If you still have questions after reviewing these materials, you can sign up for one-on-one technical assistance, below.

Technical Assistance Available

Confidential and no-cost technical assistance will be provided by the Northland Foundation in partnership with Northland SBDC (Small Business Development Center) to help organizations with the application process as needed. Schedule a no-cost virtual or in-person session and find other helpful Promise Act Grant Program resources on the Northland SBDC web page: https://northlandsbdc.org/promise-act/. There, you can:

• Request to meet with a technical assistance provider to answer any remaining questions about the application process.
• Review a recorded webinar that will walk you through each application question in detail.
• Find responses to Frequently Asked Questions about the program.

Apply

Eligible small businesses and nonprofits located within the Northland Foundation’s service area may apply starting January 19, 2026, until February 20, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. If qualified applications exceed available funds, a randomized sample may be used to select grantees.

Decisions will be made by the end of May 2026, and applicants will be notified by email.

Grants for Child Care Businesses