PFund Foundation
OVERVIEW: The PFund awards grants and scholarships to LGBTQ nonprofits, businesses and individuals. Grantmaking is limited to the upper Midwest region.
IP TAKE: PFund current grantmaking prioritizes LGBTQIA organizations and businesses in communities of color in the upper Midwest. The foundation also awards scholarships to LGBTQIA students who demonstrate exceptional leadership and commitment to their communities.
PROFILE: In 1987, four friends decided to form the PFund Foundation in response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in the United States. The foundation acts as a “vital resource and community builder for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and allied communities by providing scholarships, developing leaders, and inspiring giving” through an intersectional lens. PFund focuses its LGBTQ grantmaking on the upper Midwestern states of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
PFund’s current grantmaking programs include the Minneapolis LGBTQ BIPOC Business Capacity Fund, the COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund and the PFund Scholarships for LGBTQIA Individuals. The Minneapolis program is conducted in collaboration with Quorum, Minneapolis’s “LGBTQ+ and Allied chamber of commerce,” and supports “queer business owners of color” who have experienced difficulty as a result of the pandemic and the unrest surrounding the murder of George Floyd. Recipient business include Oleb Media, JikaCleans, Tough Cookies Art and Sammy’s Avenue Eatery. The average grant size for this program is $6,000. Applications for this program are currently closed, but grantseekers should check the foundation’s website periodically for updates.
PFund’s COVID-19 Rapid Response grants aim to support “LGBTQIA individuals, small businesses, and nonprofits from the Upper Midwest who have been impacted by COVID-19. Grants for individuals range from $250 to $1000, while grants for organizations and businesses range from $1,000 to $2,000.
The foundation’s scholarships are awarded to LGBTQIA students atttending two- and four-year colleges in Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota or Wisconsin who demonstrate “commitment to leadership within their communities. Schoarships are awarded in amounts between $1,000 and $10,000. Application is open between March 1 and June 15 of each year.
PFund’s grantmaking and scholarships totaled $380,000 in a recent year. Grant size and geographic priorities varies by program. It is worth noting that this funder’s grantmaking programs tend to evolve and change from year to year; grantseekers are advised to check PFund’s website periodically for new opportunities. The foundation accepts applications for its rapid response and scholarship programs and provides application guidelines on its individual program pages. General inquiries may be emailed to the foundation’s Interim Executive Director, Aaron Zimmerman.
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