Foundation Frequently Asked Questions

The C.H. Robinson Foundation Twin Cities Grants Program is focused on strengthening our local communities and supporting basic needs of hunger, shelter, education and workforce development. To be considered for a Twin Cities grant from the C.H. Robinson Foundation, your charitable organization must meet one of our giving priorities:

Hunger

• Serving the local community through food shelves/pantries/banks
• Providing meal service or food programs targeted to specific needs of senior citizens, youth, people living with life threatening illnesses, etc.

Shelter

• Providing transitional housing, permanent supportive housing and efforts to end chronic homelessness
• Offering emergency shelter for those facing homelessness or domestic violence
• Supplying essential household items and furniture for those in need

Education

• Improving educational opportunities for K-12 for students facing barriers to success
• Developing youth to become successful, productive adults through core educational programming
• Supporting systemic improvements to advance education outcomes for students, schools and educators
• Cultivating talent for successful careers in supply chain and technology

Workforce Development—new in 2023

• Strengthening pathways to quality jobs for low-income workers
• Supporting strategies that move low-wage workers into higher wage jobs including bridge, upskilling, and credentialing
• Improving the quality of low-wage occupations
• Building the capacity of workforce and education organizations to prepare for the future needs of the labor market
• Additional consideration may be given for:
• Workforce development and talent pipeline initiatives for supply chain and logistics
• Workforce development and talent pipeline initiatives for technology

In addition to alignment with the focus areas listed above, your organization must meet the following criteria:

• Be a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization, war veterans post or organization, cemetery company, or governmental unit
• Should not be political or religious in nature—grants to organizations with religious affiliation may be considered on an exception basis, but only if the grant will be used for non-religious purposes¹
• Not be a K-12 school (public, private, or charter)²
• Serve the seven-county metropolitan area of Minneapolis-St. Paul

Please apply on the Grants Connect portal. Create a profile to get started.

If your organization did not receive a grant in the year prior, a letter of inquiry must be submitted through your Grants Connect profile. Applicants eligible for grant support will be notified if they are invited to submit a complete grant application.

The Foundation will review requests on a yearly basis.

While grant amounts vary, the range of support for Twin Cities grants is $5,000—$30,000 USD. The average amount is $11,500 USD.

Current grantees will receive an invitation to reapply for support. The application requires confirmation that the current grantee continues to meet the eligibility requirements and includes a brief report on the use of funds from the previous grant, including:

• Status update of program or organizational outcomes
• Program or organizational outputs, outcomes and impact
• Key learnings

Established in 2005, the C.H. Robinson Foundation is a Minnesota nonprofit corporation as described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Foundation is funded by C.H. Robinson and creates a long-term resource for giving back to our communities through the support of other Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. The budget is determined and approved by the Foundation board of directors, led by Rachel Schwalbach, Vice President, Environmental, Social & Governance and President of the C.H. Robinson Foundation. We work with a trust company that provides support to charitable organizations to provides checks and balances while ensuring compliance with Internal Revenue Service guidelines and corporate tax law.