Minneapolis Foundation Funder Map 2026
TLDR
The Twin Cities have one of the deepest concentrations of large institutional funders in the country - McKnight, Bush, Otto Bremer Trust, the merged Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundations - and a long tail of corporate foundations from General Mills, Cargill, 3M, Target, U.S. Bank, and Pohlad. This 12-page map pulls 990-PF distributions for 25 Twin Cities funders so you can rank prospects by real giving.
Why This Map Exists
The Twin Cities funder ecosystem is unusually deep for a metro of its size. McKnight, Bush, and Otto Bremer Trust each give well over $50 million per year. The Minneapolis Foundation and Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundations together manage billions in donor-advised and discretionary assets. Corporate foundations from General Mills, Cargill, 3M, Target, U.S. Bank, Pohlad, and Best Buy add a corporate-philanthropy layer that few other metros can match.
What is missing for most mid-sized nonprofits is a single document that ranks the 25 most relevant funders by real 2024 giving and notes the intake mode for each. This map exists to provide that.
What’s Inside
The map covers 25 Twin Cities funders ranked by 2024 distributions: McKnight Foundation, Bush Foundation, Otto Bremer Trust, The Minneapolis Foundation, Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundations, F.R. Bigelow Foundation, Bigelow Foundation, Pohlad Family Foundation, General Mills Foundation, Cargill Foundation, 3M Foundation, Target Foundation, U.S. Bank Foundation, Best Buy Foundation, Medtronic Foundation, Ameriprise Financial, Securian Financial Foundation, Mardag Foundation, Frey Foundation, Athwin Foundation, Carolyn Foundation, HRK Foundation, Patrick and Aimee Butler Family Foundation, Bremer Foundation, and the Minneapolis Public Schools Foundation.
For each funder the map shows median grant size and range, typical grant count per cycle, program areas funded over the last three fiscal years, intake mode, time-to-decision, and program-officer turnover flags.
Minneapolis Foundation Funder Map 2026
A 12-page map of the Twin Cities foundation landscape - McKnight, Bush, Otto Bremer Trust, Minneapolis Foundation, Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundations, Pohlad, General Mills, Cargill, and 17 other funders with median grant sizes and 990-PF patterns. Delivered by email.
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- Otto Bremer Trust
- A bank-holding-company-funded charitable trust headquartered in Saint Paul. Otto Bremer Trust grants to Minnesota, North Dakota, western Wisconsin, and Montana communities served by Bremer Bank.
DEFINITION
- Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundations
- The merged community foundation entity combining the legacy Saint Paul Foundation and Minnesota Community Foundation. It operates as a single grantmaking organization with multiple funds and initiatives.
DEFINITION
- Statewide-funder reach
- A funder's grantmaking radius beyond the Twin Cities. McKnight, Bush, and Otto Bremer Trust each fund well beyond the metro, but their grant size and program priorities differ inside and outside the seven-county area.
DEFINITION
Q&A
Which Minneapolis foundations accept unsolicited LOIs?
The Minneapolis Foundation accepts proposals through several discretionary grant programs. Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundations runs multiple competitive grant cycles. Bush Foundation accepts open applications for several programs including the Bush Fellowship and Community Innovation grants. McKnight is largely invitation-only with limited public RFP windows. Otto Bremer Trust accepts proposals through its rolling intake. The map flags each funder's intake mode.
Q&A
What is the typical grant size from Twin Cities foundations?
Median grant size varies sharply: Minneapolis Foundation $10K-$50K through community grants, Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundations $25K-$100K through competitive cycles, Bush Foundation $50K-$500K for Community Innovation grants, McKnight $100K-$500K for invited grantees, Otto Bremer Trust $25K-$250K for regional community work. The map lists median, range, and modal grant size for each funder.
Q&A
Are Twin Cities corporate foundations included?
Yes. The map includes General Mills Foundation, Cargill Foundation, 3M Foundation, Target Foundation, U.S. Bank Foundation, Pohlad Family Foundation (Pohlad Companies), Best Buy Foundation, Medtronic Foundation, Ameriprise Financial, and Securian Financial Foundation, with notes on each program's intake structure and giving priorities.
Frequently asked