FOR EVERY KID READY TO BE AN UPSTANDER

Safe School Initiatives —Bullying Prevention & Conflict Resolution Grants for Minnesota Schools

We know money's tight. Not every school has a thousand dollars lying around for a Kindness Retreat — and the kids who need it most can't wait for next year's budget.

That's why PeaceMaker Minnesota covers the cost. Bring in bullying prevention training, a social-emotional learning curriculum, or a retreat that builds students’ conflict resolution skills, or another activity that helps your students grow in kindness and connection to one another, and we'll reimburse your school — $1,000 to $5,000, sometimes more. Do the work, get paid back. Kids get the help they need, right when they need it.

Complete the Application

Fund a Grant

"If you are an upstander, you can really help someone who is hurting. If you don't, you're part of the problem."
— Leo, a student at a PeaceMaker Minnesota partner school

26%

of Minnesota 5th graders say they're bullied every week — and 1 in 4 say they rarely or sometimes resolve conflicts without anyone getting hurt.

Minnesota Student Survey, 2025

A grant can’t fix a culture. It can start one.

11

partner schools

2,466

students reached

$21,839

paid to partner schools

Numbers reflect the 2025–26 academic year.

Small Step. Big spark.

Safe School Initiatives works like most reimbursement grants for anti-bullying curriculum: a school picks the training, curriculum, or event it wants — a Kindness Retreat for fourth and fifth graders, a Social Emotional Learning curriculum, staff training like what Minnesota's Safe and Supportive Schools Act already requires every three years. Bring in your choice, and PeaceMaker Minnesota reimburses the school $1,000 to $5,000 of the cost afterward. There's no PeaceMaker-branded curriculum requirement; see what actually qualifies below.

Three districts go further still. In Lake Park Audubon, Monticello, and Moorhead, employees give to PeaceMaker through payroll deduction, and their schools can request up to double what was contributed, beyond the typical range.

WHAT QUALIFIES

If a school's staff or parents are ready to learn and teach these tools, the grant is built for them.

01
Real conflict-resolution skillsKids who learn to name their feelings, see another person's side, think through consequences, and consider multiple ways to solve a problem.
"Some people in the class are being called names. I think I could try hard not to participate in meanness."
— Amos
02
Empathy that holds up under pressureKindness, self-esteem, and the resilience to get through bullying without it defining them.
"If we think someone feels bad we can check on people, but if they don't want to talk give them space."
— Ivy
03
A community worth belonging toApologizing, forgiving, standing up for someone else, and choosing peace even when it's the harder option.
"I am going to sit with new people and try my hardest to make new friends."
— Ryan

How a school gets funded

01

Join the network

Any Minnesota elementary or K-8 school can apply for funding. Once your application is approved, and you have joined PeaceMaker Minnesota’s partner network, we can move forward and award your school their grant. We will collect a 10% service fee when we send your award check.

02

Pick what your school needs

A Kindness Retreat, a new Social-Emotional Learning curriculum, staff or parent training, a classroom presentation — whatever fits your school. PeaceMaker's funding request suggestions are a good first stop if you're not sure where to start.

03

Do the work, then report back

Your school runs the program on its own timeline. PeaceMaker doesn't have to deliver it. Once it's done, you show how the grant was spent:

2 letters from school staff on the program's value and its impact on students, the school, and the community
7+ notes from students describing how the program affected them
2+ photos

04

Apply any time of year

PeaceMaker accepts applications year-round through its online form; it reimburses schools, not individuals.

The service fee, in real numbers

10% of an approved grant

$3,000 grant$300 fee

$2,000 grant$200 fee

$1,000 grant$100 fee

Due once your application is approved.

Statewide, one school at a time

Eleven schools received Safe School Initiatives funding in the 2025 report year. Eight are in the Twin Cities' seven-county metro. Three are well outside it — proof that this isn't only a metro program.

TWIN CITIES METRO

Glacier Hills Elementary

Eagan

Oak Crest Elementary

Belle Plaine

Highland Catholic School

St Paul

St. Pascal Regional Catholic School

St Paul

St. John the Baptist Catholic School

Vermillion

Level Up Academy

White Bear Lake

St. John Paul II Catholic School

Minneapolis

Eagle View Elementary

Elko New Market

GREATER MINNESOTA

S.G. Reinertsen Elementary

Moorhead

Isanti Intermediate & C-I STEAM School

Cambridge-Isanti

Monticello Middle School

Monticello

PeaceMaker also made a direct gift to Annunciation Catholic School (Minneapolis) following a 2025 crisis — outside the standard grant process, but exactly the kind of support this initiative exists to provide.

The follow-through, in their own words.

"...they gained strategies to use in their daily lives... Having a full day to focus on these things made a huge impact, and we will have discussion points for weeks to come."

— Sara, teacher at Highland Catholic School

"As a support team we took time to meet with all students by grade level to teach and practice restorative questions... As a school we have created graphics to encourage students to use this practice and placed them around the school. What powerful and impactful work we can accomplish for our kids!"

— Claire, social worker at Oak Crest Elementary

"After the performance, we came back as a class to reflect... The conversations among my students were incredible. They all shared stories and examples they had experienced... I know my students took the message to heart and are better because of it."

— Lindsey, teacher at S.G. Reinertsen Elementary

What the spark looks like

A ten-year-old wrote that after one grant-funded day. He's right that PeaceMaker is trying to change the world — just honest enough to know it takes more than one check to do it.

"Dear PeaceMaker Minnesota, I learned that we can make the whole world a bully-free place without anything but kindness. I also learned that my classmates and I have stuff in common — and stuff we don't have in common — and I think it's great that you're trying to change the world."
Sincerely, Henrik
S.G. Reinertsen Elementary

For schools

New to PeaceMaker? Joining the partner network is the first step — it's what makes your school eligible for a grant.

Become a Partner School

Already a partner school?
Apply for a grant →

Questions? info@peacemakermn.org · 651-631-1604

For donors

$500 covers about half of a typical Safe School Initiatives grant. $1,000 funds one at the low end outright — and every dollar past that reaches further into the $1,000-to-$5,000 range a school can request.

Fund a Grant