How to Apply

This will be a multi-step process. Applicants are required to submit a letter of intent for consideration. The Advisory Committee will review projects and narrow the list of candidates. Those selected to move on will be asked to provide a full proposal and may be invited to give a short presentation and interview. Below is a timeline of the process. The final two stages are approximate dates.

Click Apply Here to register for the online application system (or log in if you are already registered). After you log in, look for “BisMan SuperGrant” in the Apply section. (The button will not be active before April 1, but you will be able to preview the application.)

Congratulations to Cross Training, our 2023 SuperGrant Winner!

Cross Training is a non-denominational, sports ministry based out of Bismarck, North Dakota. For over two decades, Cross Training has ministered to tens of thousands of kids through sports camps. The SuperGrant will help the organization purchase sports equipment and a van for reliable transportation.

Ministry on the Margins Nighttime Coffee House Receives 2022 SuperGrant!

Ministry on the Margins serves over 1,000 people a week through prison ministry, prison re-entry, food pantry, street outreach, behavioral health collaboration with law enforcement, second chance hiring initiatives, and a nighttime low-barrier coffee house. The SuperGrant was awarded at a gathering of Foundation donors, committee members, and community leaders at Ministry on the Margins on September 28, 2022.

The SuperGrant will be used to transition the nighttime Coffee House from a pilot project to a permanent program. Ministry on the Margins opened a pilot project on February 1, 2022, to assess the need and viability of a coffee house as a model to meet the need for a low-barrier shelter which would accept people who may be under the influence of alcohol or drugs or may be excluded from other shelters due to background issues. They hired and trained employees to serve as hospitality coordinators, ensuring that there are always a minimum of two people working, and established operating hours of 10:00 pm to 6:00 am.

During the pilot project (February to May 2022), 231 mean and women were served, with a total 2,805 nights of shelter offered. During the April 11-15, 2022, blizzard Ministry on the Margins remained open for 92 consecutive hours offering safety and food to 129 individuals caught in the shutdown of other agencies. The pilot project also highlighted the crucial need for collaboration with law enforcement, behavioral health agencies, local emergency rooms, and addiction support agencies.

The SuperGrant will help pay for renovations and updates to the Coffee House space and chapel; security and safety technology and training; staff laptop for logging intake, events, and incidents; and a stationary projector and laptop for displaying movies during Coffee House hours.

Congrats to The Banquet!

The 2021 $50,000 SuperGrant will support The Banquet’s new commercial kitchen at the Dream Center Bismarck. Construction is currently underway and expected to be completed in April 2022.

The Banquet is a non-denominational, multi-generational, family-friendly food ministry serving a variety of people including low-income individuals and families, senior citizens, single parents and their children, the homeless and disabled, veterans, the recently unemployed, and hurting and struggling people. Over the last 16 years, The Banquet has grown from serving a single meal on-site each week to now serving meals 4 days a week at two Bismarck locations. Nearly 1,000 meals are currently served every week with the help of community and corporate volunteers. 

At the Dream Center, The Banquet will occupy a 4,500 square-foot modern dining room and 1,500 square-foot commercial kitchen. This larger space will enable them to seat up to 250 people for each meal and serve meals 7 days a week as well as holidays. Once fully operational, The Banquet could serve 2,000 meals each week and more than 70,000 meals the first year.

“We are thrilled to be a part of this wonderful project,” said Gina Hruby, Chair of the BisMan Community Foundation Advisory Committee. “Out of 17 applications, The Banquet rose to the top for the long lasting impact it will have in our communities of Bismarck and Mandan.”

BisMan Community Foundation is a component of the North Dakota Community Foundation, a permanent endowment fund that makes annual grants to nonprofit organizations in Bismarck-Mandan and the surrounding communities in Burleigh and Morton counties. Since 2011, the Foundation has awarded more than $360,000 to area nonprofits. The first SuperGrant of $50,000 was awarded in 2018 to Dreams In Motion, and the second in 2019 to the Soup Café.

In addition to the 2021 SuperGrant, the Advisory Committee awarded six Mini Grants of $4,000 each to Volunteer Caregivers for the Elderly, Rebuilding Together, Aid Inc., Sacred Pipe Resource Center, Almont Community Fitness Center, and Dakota Children’s Advocacy Center.

Dreams in Motion Receives First SuperGrant!

October 16, 2018 The BisMan Community Foundation awarded its inaugural SuperGrant of $50,000 to Dreams in Motion, a local nonprofit organization that provides competitive and recreational adaptive sports programs critical to the health and well-being of youth and adults with mobility challenges or visual impairments. The grant was awarded at a gathering of Foundation donors, committee members, and community leaders at the Bismarck Mandan Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, October 16.

The grant will be used to expand parasports opportunities for adults with physical and visual impairments, particularly disabled North Dakota veterans. The initial focus will be on three sports: wheelchair basketball, track and field, and sled hockey. To launch the program, Dreams in Motion will need to generate awareness throughout the state, as well as purchase specialized equipment for the athletes to use. Dreams in Motion is the only certified Paralympic club in North Dakota.

“The grant from the BisMan Community Foundation will make it possible for Dreams in Motion to take big steps toward building an adaptive sports community in the Bismarck Mandan area, as well as across the state and region,” said Michael Kaip, Dreams in Motion founder and coach. “These types of opportunities were truly life changing for me, and I am so excited about giving those opportunities to more people. We are thankful for the gift and eager to put it to good use.”

Other representatives from Dreams in Motion included: Carol Beechie, Agatha Geitzen, Nicole Eckroth, Annette Kaip, Hope Magelky, Dawn Seay, and Bruce Klootwyk,

The BisMan Community Foundation Advisory Committee reviewed 33 letters of intent for the SuperGrant and selected 3 for an in-person interview to learn more about the organizations and projects. Advisory Committee members are volunteers who lead fundraising efforts and determine grant awards. Current members include Gina Hruby, Michael Schaff, Doug Herzog, Vicki Kunz, Katie Ash, Ken Hedge, David Mason, and Dot Frank.

“It was a difficult decision,” said Gina Hruby, Chair of the Advisory Committee for the BisMan Community Foundation. “It truly came down to the impact this grant would make for the organization to grow and prosper.”

2019 SuperGrant: Heaven’s Helpers Soup Cafe

November 4, 2019 The BisMan Community Foundation awarded its second annual SuperGrant of $50,000 to Heaven’s Helpers Soup Café, a local nonprofit organization that provides meals and other basic human services to homeless and low-income persons and families in the area. The grant was awarded at a gathering of Foundation donors, committee members, and community leaders at the Soup Café on November 4, 2019.

The grant will be used to support the new Life Skills Program to help low-income and homeless individuals overcome the various barriers to securing and maintaining employment or obtaining other basic life essentials. The new program will employ a Crisis Coordinator on-site at the Soup Café along with the purchase of a van to provide transportation to training, job interviews, and to job sites if no other transportation is available. 

“This SuperGrant will allow the Soup Café to have a greater hands-on opportunity to help people in crisis”, replied Mark Meier, Heavens Helpers Soup Café Executive Director replied. “Up until now, we could give people a document with a list of services in the community regarding where they could go for help, but how do they get there? How do they best know which agencies or organizations will be there best starting point to help start moving forward? We can now have a staff person be a support for them during very tough times and help get them from A to Z."

The BisMan Community Foundation Advisory Committee reviewed 12 letters of intent for the SuperGrant and selected 5 for an in-person interview to learn more about the organizations and projects. Advisory Committee members are volunteers who lead fundraising efforts and determine grant awards. Current members include Gina Hruby, Michael Schaff, Doug Herzog, Vicki Kunz, Katie Ash, Ken Hedge, David Mason, Dot Frank, and Stacy Gangl.