Minnesota Microgrant Partnership

Achieve Your Goals

A microgrant is a small amount of money that the Arc Minnesota can spend on items to help someone with their housing or employment goal.

You may be able to get a microgrant if you are a person with a disability living in Minnesota. This includes physical disabilities like spinal cord injury, sensory disabilities like Blindness or Deafness, and developmental disabilities like autism or Down Syndrome. These are not the only disabilities that mean you can get a microgrant, but are some examples. You may need to show us proof of your disability, like a doctor’s note.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services funds the Microgrant Program. The program only helps people with projects or goals related to housing or employment. Microgrant staff purchase items up to $2,000. We accept applications from people with disabilities or their staff, family, friends, or supporters. We can only give one microgrant per year to each person.

Thank you for your interest in the microgrant program. Because this program is very popular and we have limited funding available, we have already reached the limit that we can accept for this month.

We are no longer able to accept bed requests. Please connect with these organizations for bed help:

• Bridging.org
• MyVeryOwnBed.org
• Beds4Vets.org
• Freecycle.org
• ShpBeds.org
• AHopeToDream.com

What is your employment or housing goal?

Do you have a goal to get a job in the community? Would you like to live as independently as possible, maybe even in your own home or apartment?

• Could a job coach, training, or a uniform help you reach your employment goal?
• Would a rental deposit or home furnishings help you achieve your ideal housing situation?

When you apply, tell us how $100-$2,000 could help you reach your goals. Microgrant money may not be used for monthly rent, bills, vacations, gift cards, online mattresses, or cars. Other exceptions may apply—please read the guidelines on the application for more information.

How do I apply?

Click one of the application links above (beginning April 15, 2024) or call us at 952.234.3883 if you need help or want a paper application mailed to you.

When will I know if my application has been approved?

This program is popular so the review and grant award process may take 45-60 days. Because of this timeframe, the program is not intended for emergency situations. Additionally, we do not have enough funding to award every application.

A volunteer panel reviews each application. They make recommendations to ask for more information, and approve, or deny applications.

Microgrant staff makes all purchases and cannot reimburse for items already purchased.

We look forward to your proposal. Please contact us with questions at Microgrants@ArcMinnesota.org or 952.234.3883. Good luck!

Microgrant Success Stories

Joshua was already a DJ but he needed a laptop to expand his music selection and gain a broader clientele.	Suzy is standing in her bright yellow commercial kitchen with her line of “Sunshine Suzy” corn snacks made possible by a Microgrant.	Andrew needed reliable transportation for his job at McDonald’s so he applied for a new bike and helmet.