TST Grants
Transforming Systems Together - a shared decision-making initiative designed to rethink how the county delivers services and invests in the community - has three grant opportunities available to the community.
These opportunities are centered on child protection and foster care:
- Innovation: Grants between $50,000 - $100,000.
- Micro: Grants between $10,000 - $35,000.
- Individual: Grants up to $10,000.
Click on the grant opportunity type below for more information.
See the first-round grant awards
Applications are no longer being accepted.
Applications closed Sept. 30, 2022 at 5 p.m., Central Standard Time.
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- Innovation (selected)
- Micro
- Individual
Innovation
Funding amounts
$50,000-$100,000
Program focus
Applicants will propose programs or services that will serve families or individuals vulnerable to involvement in the child protection system or who have been involved in the child protection system. Beneficiaries of the program or services must be living or residing in Ramsey County or placed by Ramsey County into foster care.
Criteria and expectations
- Focus on community-led transformational change in the child protection system and those impacted by the system. Your application should demonstrate how this will improve the lives and improve the delivery of services.
- Utilize funds to address unmet needs, with new and/or innovative initiatives not already provided by other organizations.
- Invest in community stability.
- Reflective of the Transforming Systems Together values of equity, accountability, community/lived experience centered, data-driven, love, integrity and trust.
Eligibility
Applicants must be a registered organization with the Minnesota Secretary of State or have a relationship with a fiscal agent. If you are using a fiscal agent, you need to include the fiscal agent’s name, information and a letter of support from the fiscal agent.
Micro
Funding amounts
$10,000 - $35,000
Program focus
Applicants will propose programs or services that will serve families or individuals vulnerable to involvement in the child protection system or who have been involved in the child protection system. Beneficiaries of the program or services must be living or residing in Ramsey County or placed by Ramsey County into foster care. Program and services applications should address these criteria and expectations.
Criteria and expectations
- Focus on community-led transformational change in the child protection system and those impacted by the system. Your application will demonstrate how this will improve the lives of those being served and improve the delivery of services.
- Utilize funds to address unmet needs.
- Invest in community stability.
- Demonstrate ability and willingness to ensure a final narrative and financial report will be provided to the county to document the impacts and outcomes from the programs or services.
- Reflective of the Transforming Systems Together values of equity, accountability, community/lived experience centered, data-driven, love, integrity and trust.
Eligibility
Applicants must be a registered organization with the Minnesota Secretary of State or have a relationship with a fiscal agent. If you are using a fiscal agent, you should include the name, information and a letter of support from the fiscal agent.
Individual
Funding amounts
Up to $10,000
Program focus
Applicants will propose programs or services that will serve families or individuals vulnerable to involvement in the child protection system or who have been involved in the child protection system. Beneficiaries of the program or services must be living or residing in Ramsey County or placed by Ramsey County into foster care. Program and services applications should address these criteria and expectations.
Criteria and expectations
- Focus on community-led transformational change in the child protection system and those impacted by the system. Your application will demonstrate how this will improve the lives of those being served and improve the delivery of services.
- Utilize funds to address unmet needs.
- Invest in community stability.
- Demonstrates ability and willingness to ensure a final narrative and financial report will be provided to the county to document the impacts and outcomes from the programs or services.
Eligibility
Individuals, including elders 55 and older, and youth 16 to 24, who do not have a nonprofit or business, who provide services unique to the community aligned with the program focus. Examples include but are not limited to: elders who read to students, tell stories, teach culture, oversee cultural events/ceremonies.
Background
In 2019 the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners dedicated efforts to rebuild and reshape how the county works with its community to build a stronger future. The board unanimously approved the slate of nominees developed by the Transforming Systems Together catalysts, an independent group of community members that facilitated outreach and community forums to identify individuals to join the county’s shared decision-making initiative.
In the fall of 2021, community members led a process for determining how Ramsey County can provide support and invest resources for children and families in the child protection and foster care systems. The community members involved acknowledged the need for additional resources that would be distributed with greater flexibility to meet the needs of individuals and community organizations. Community members working closely with county system leaders, Finance and the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office identified the opportunity to leverage a grant process.
Mutual benefits
Innovative and community-led resources are needed in order to transform outcomes for disproportionately impacted Black, American Indian and other racially and ethnically diverse communities. The county is committed to transformational system change, which is why it worked intentionally with the community to co-design a structure to address these systemic inequities.
In partnership with the community, these grants should reduce the number of families involved in the child protection and foster care systems, reduce the harm of involvement in the systems and ensure that adequate resources are being provided to individuals and community organizations supporting families in need. Grants create opportunities for mutual benefit for the government and community.
Values
The Transforming Systems Together initiative is centered on values that are based on equity rather than fear to promote well-being for Ramsey County residents. All funded Transforming Systems Together grants should embody the following values:
- Equity - We are committed to making all decisions and policies through a racial/ethnic lens; to priority-based investments in communities most impacted by systemic barriers; and, to ensuring an equitable and respected voice and place at the table.
- Accountability - We commit to holding ourselves accountable to and for the well-being of communities impacted by harmful systemic policies; and, to own and acknowledge the harm that has been done and commit to change, from transactional to transformational.
- Community/lived experience centered - We commit to adopting policies and practices that are informed by youth, families and communities most impacted by systems and to sharing power with people with lived experience, including the development of human and material resources as essential to decision-making.
- Data-driven - We commit to utilizing all forms of data to improve our decision-making. Our use of data is to mitigate assumptions and bias while increasing knowledge. We commit to data being transparent and assisting in developing accountability metrics.
- Love - We commit to transform systems by leading with love and acknowledging the dignity of everyone’s humanity and value which includes recognition of individual and historical trauma.
- Integrity - We commit to a process of integrity that requires members to be present authentically with grace, honesty and respect.
- Trust - We commit to building unity and relationships to foster an understanding and appreciation for differences in perspectives and truths; to transparency; to reliability and dependability.
Contact Us
Kyle Dean
Principal Procurement Specialist
651-266-8078