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ASI Phillips Neighborhood Fund

Support / ASI Phillips Neighborhood Fund

Supporting our community

The American Swedish Institute’s Phillips Neighborhood Fund began in 2020, in response to the impact of both the COVID-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd. In the years since, community needs have evolved. The ASI Phillips Neighborhood Fund is now a yearly grant that provides operating support to nonprofit organizations in the Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis. This includes Phillips West, East Phillips, Midtown Phillips, and Ventura Village.

ASI is committed to welcoming neighbors onto our campus, serving as a resource for community builders and cultural keepers, and providing a gathering place for generations of families. If you represent, or know of, an organization in the Phillips neighborhood that meets the following criteria and might benefit from Neighborhood Fund support, we encourage you to apply or share this information.

The Neighborhood Fund supports:

  • One grant of $10,000 is awarded annually.
  • The grant is for operating support only (everyday costs that help an organization run).

Submit an application

Donate to the Neighborhood Fund!

Made possible by the ASI Community Fund, this mural was painted by youth leaders from the Semilla Center at St. Paul’s – San Pablo Lutheran Church | Photo: ASI Staff

Who can apply 

To be eligible, organizations must:

  • Be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
  • Be located in, and serve, the Phillips neighborhood (Phillips West, East Phillips, Midtown Phillips, or Ventura Village).
  • Agree to use funds for charitable purposes only (not for lobbying or political activities).
  • Request funds for operating support.
  • Not have received grant support from this program within the last five years.

 
Eligible organizations may apply each year.

Submit an application

Grant cycle timeline

January–February

The ASI Phillips Neighborhood Fund Committee reviews grant guidelines and the application form. 

March–June 

The grant opportunity is announced, and the application period opens. The application period is typically 6–8 weeks.  After the deadline, the committee reviews all eligible applications, selects the recipient, notifies the organization, and gathers any needed materials.  The recipient is publicly announced and invited to ASI’s Midsommar celebration in June (attendance is optional for the grantee), where the award is recognized. 

By January 31 of the following year

The recipient submits a brief summary report describing how the grant funds were used and how they helped increase the impact of their work. 

Additional information

Please review and submit an application by the end of April. The grant will be announced in June.

Submit an application

Applications are submitted through an online form. The application includes:

  • Organizational overview (up to 750 words), including your organization’s background and mission, who you serve in the Phillips neighborhood, and how your mission and ongoing work support the needs of the neighborhood.
  • How you will use the funds (up to 500 words), including how $10,000 in operating support would be used and what impact you expect it to have on your organization’s capacity and effectiveness in the next year.

Applicants are also asked to provide their nonprofit tax ID number and confirm that funds will be used only for charitable purposes.

Along with the $10,000 grant, recipients will receive:

  • 25 admission tickets to ASI.
  • Information on how to access and use ASI space at no charge (when space is available).
  • Invitations to ASI exhibition openings.

These benefits are shared with each year’s recipient and are updated and communicated annually.

There may be other ways ASI can support your organization and can offer use of our grounds and facilities on a case-by-case basis. ASI has classrooms, conference rooms, and larger halls that are well-suited for hosting meetings or public events. If your project or organization is seeking an event or meeting venue, please send inquiries to [email protected].

ASI is glad to offer guest passes redeemable for museum admission upon request and discuss possible programmatic partnerships.