Weekly Funding Opportunity: Securian Foundation

Information by State  Print version

Each week, Neighborhood Networks provides potential funding sources to help centers develop and improve programs and services. Featured this week is the Securian Foundation.

Headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, Securian Financial Group is one of America's largest providers of financial security for individuals and businesses in the form of insurance, retirement plans, and investments. Securian serves more than eight million clients in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

Established in 1988, the Securian Foundation ensures the constancy of the charitable giving of Securian Financial Group. The foundation's contributions reflect Securian's commitment to corporate social responsibility and the advancement of the quality of life, and the vitality of the communities in which it does business. In 2006, corporate philanthropy and gifts through the Securian Foundation totaled more than $2.5 million to arts, education, civic, health, and human services organizations.

Program Areas: The foundation will give strongest consideration to projects and programs in the following areas:

	Economic Independence. With a strong belief in the importance of self-reliance, the foundation places a high priority on programs that encourage, develop, and sustain economic independence, including job-skill training, job-placement services, and work-readiness and career development programs for unemployed, underemployed, and disadvantaged individuals.
	Education. The foundation supports higher education to contribute to the economic health and vitality of communities. Support may be provided to private colleges and universities, typically through joint federated campaigns. Contributions to tax-supported colleges and universities will be considered only if the program is unavailable through private colleges, or if it meets a particular need of the community. Priority is given to math, economics, and business, as well as youth development intervention programs that encourage the pursuit of higher education.
	Human Services and Special Community Needs. Major operating support is provided to the United Way for a wide array of human services, community support, and health organizations. In addition to foundation support, Securian organizes a sizable associate fundraising campaign each year.
	The Arts. The foundation provides support to the arts to enhance the quality of life and improve a community's cultural environment. Priority is given to major arts and cultural organizations that provide services to a broad audience and stimulate the cultural vitality of the community.

The foundation favors programs that:

	Most closely match the foundation's priorities and show demonstrated results.
	Do not duplicate or overlap programs of other agencies.
	Meet important needs not otherwise met.
	Provide services to a broad public sector.
	Address underlying causes or issues, rather than treat symptoms.
	Have generated substantial support from other sources.

Targeted Area: Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, and West.

Eligibility: Grants are generally directed to organizations that contribute directly to the health and vitality of the corporate headquarters community and the State of Minnesota. However, contributions to out-of-state or national organizations will be considered if they strongly enhance the Securian Foundation's mission and priorities.

To maintain focus and achieve greater impact, and in some areas due to federal law, the foundation does not make grants in the following areas:

	Political, lobbying, or fraternal activities.
	Start-up funding for new organizations.
	Religious organizations for denominational or religious purposes.
	Organizations that do not have tax-exempt status under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
	Fundraising events, benefits, sponsorships, or advertising support.
	Individuals or individual scholarships.
	Endowment campaigns.
	Athletic, recreation, or sports-related organizations.
	Services traditionally supported by government agencies.
	International organizations.
	Veteran and fraternal organizations.
	Trips or tours.
	Funding for hospitals or other healthcare services generally supported by third-party mechanisms (hospitals, however, are eligible for matching gifts).
	Conferences, seminars, workshops, or symposiums.
	Public and private K-12 schools (however, schools are eligible for matching gifts).

Award Amount: Award amounts vary.

Application Process: Applying for a grant from the Securian Foundation is a two-step process:

1. Provide a cover letter that introduces and briefly describes your program. Clearly state the grant amount requested and type of support (operating, capital, project) and identify the link between your proposal and the Securian Foundation's mission and priorities.
2. Submit a proposal that contains the following information:

Organization Information

	Briefly describe your organization including primary purpose and history.
	Describe the geographic area and population served.
	Describe current programs, activities, service statistics, strengths, and accomplishments.
	Describe the organization's relationships with, and differences from, other agencies working to meet the same needs or providing similar services.

Purpose of Grant

	Describe the need or problem and the community your program is designed to address.
	Briefly explain why your organization is uniquely suited to address the problem.
	Describe specific activities for which you seek funding, who will carry out those activities, and the timeframe for accomplishing them.
	Describe how the proposed activities will benefit the community. Describe the long-term strategy for sustaining this effort.

Evaluation

	Describe how you will measure the effectiveness of your organization's activities, the criteria for a successful program, and the measurable results you expect to achieve by the end of the funding period.
	Provide the actual results achieved in the past program year.

Attachments

	Financial statements from your most recently completed fiscal year.
	Organization and/or project budget.
	List corporate and foundation contributors and amounts for the previous year. For capital campaigns, list the names of corporations and foundations that you are soliciting for funding with dollar amounts indicating sources that are committed, pending, or anticipated.
	Copy of most recent IRS Form 990.
	List of board members and their affiliations.
	Copy of your current IRS determination letter indicating 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.

Application narratives should not be more than seven pages, excluding all the required attachments.

Submit proposal to:
Lori Koutsky
Manager, Community Relations and the Foundation Securian Foundation
400 Robert Street North
St. Paul, MN 55101-2098

In lieu of submitting the above information, organizations may complete the Minnesota Common Grant application and include the attachments required by the Securian Foundation.

Deadlines: The 2008 deadlines for submitting grant applications are:

	February 15
	May 15
	August 15
	November 15

Contact: For more information about the Securian Foundation, contact:

Lori Koutsky
Manager, Community Relations and the Foundation Securian Foundation
400 Robert Street North
St. Paul, MN 55101-2098