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How to Apply



The deadlines for grant proposals for 2024 are: February 16th, May 17th, and September 27th. We fund in the state of Minnesota.

These are the steps for applying for a grant from the Sauer Family Foundation:

1. Read through the Funding page of our website and identify alignment between your organization or project and one of our funding priorities.

2. Contact the staff person whose name is associated with the funding priority that fits your work. Send an email telling them you are interested in applying and give them a brief description of the work. Be aware that funds are awarded 6 weeks after the grant deadline so plan accordingly.

3. If you and the staff person decide together that the work you are proposing is a good partnership, you will be connected to the Grants Manager. They will give you a code to connect to the online grant system to begin the application process. You will also receive a pdf of the proposal so you can preview the questions. If you have problems with the grant system technology, you will contact the Grants Manager. If you are unsure of how to answer a question in the proposal, you will contact the staff person associated with the funding priority.

4. The deadlines for proposals are listed at the top of the page. If you have started a proposal but you are not able to complete the proposal by the deadline, please contact your designated staff person.

5. Once your proposal is submitted, the staff will review the grant proposal including a financial review of the organization, to determine if it will be presented to the board of trustees for their review. A site visit or meeting may be set up to learn more about the work at any time in this process.

6. The board of trustees and staff discuss the proposals and make decisions at the board meeting, usually 4-6 weeks after the grant deadline. You will be contacted by email and informed whether the grant proposal has been approved or denied.


All applicants must comply with all Federal, State and local non-discrimination laws. The Sauer Family Foundation does not make grants to individuals, political and lobbying activities, endowments, deficit or debt reduction, fundraising activities or advertising.