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Margaret A. Cargill Foundation

Annual Giving
$313.8M

Margaret A. Cargill Foundation

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $313.8 million (2024 combined MACP entities)
  • Assets: $8.5 billion combined (MACF: $3.53B, ARF: $4.97B)
  • Success Rate: Not publicly disclosed
  • Decision Time: Not publicly disclosed (invitation-based process)
  • Grant Range: Varies significantly by program (from thousands to multi-million dollar grants)
  • Geographic Focus: National (with emphasis on Upper Midwest) and International (66 countries)

Contact Details

Main Office:

  • Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies
  • 6889 Rowland Road, Eden Prairie, MN 55344
  • Phone: 952.540.4050
  • Email: info@macphil.org

Media Contact:

Local Initiatives (Minnesota) Inquiries:

Grantee Portal: https://macp.fluxx.io/user_sessions/new

Overview

Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies (MACP) was established in 2006 following the passing of Margaret Anne Cargill, an heir to the Cargill fortune. The philanthropies consist of two separate grantmaking entities: Margaret A. Cargill Foundation (MACF) and Anne Ray Foundation (ARF), which maintain separate boards and investment portfolios but share a unified mission. With combined assets of $8.5 billion, MACP ranks among the top ten foundations in the United States. Since its founding, the organization has distributed more than $3 billion in grants.

The foundation's mission is to provide meaningful assistance and support to society, the arts, and the environment, with a focus on enhancing quality of life and preventing and relieving suffering for children, families, and older adults; preserving and promoting the environment and the arts; and encouraging the humane treatment of animals. MACP's grantmaking strategy emphasizes long-term relationships with strategic partners, support for underserved communities and overlooked causes, and partnership with capable organizations that align with the founder's values. The organization's approach reflects Margaret Cargill's belief that "the giving wasn't about her, it was the work the grantees did."

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

MACP develops integrated grantmaking strategies across seven programmatic domains:

Environment ($70.04M in 2023)

  • Tropical Forests: Supporting community-led conservation in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia
  • Coastal Ecosystems: Helping communities adapt to climate change impacts
  • Freshwater Ecosystems: Focusing on critical river basins
  • Grasslands: Supporting Northern Great Plains conservation across MT, WY, NE, ND, SD
  • Major initiatives include $400 million commitment to end and reverse tropical deforestation

Quality of Life ($67.72M in 2023, $74.34M in 2024)

  • Aging: Supporting rural older adults and tribal elders in eight states (AK, WA, ID, MT, ND, SD, MN, WI) through home and community-based services
  • Family Stability: Whole-family (2Gen), trauma-informed services in same eight-state region
  • Maternal and Child Health: Reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child healthcare in Mesoamerica, Nepal, and Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Youth Camping & Swimming: Nationwide programs providing overnight camp experiences and swimming lessons for historically excluded youth

Disaster Relief & Recovery ($50.3M in 2023, $48.8M in 2024)

  • Focus on low-attention natural disasters that receive less media coverage and public support
  • Domestic: Midwest region (MT, ND, SD, MN, IA, OK, NE, KS, AR, MO)
  • International: Guatemala, El Salvador, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, Timor Leste
  • Three program areas: Relief & Recovery, Midwest Preparedness, International Preparedness
  • Prioritizes vulnerable populations including women, children, people with disabilities, and marginalized groups

Legacy & Opportunity ($65.44M combined in 2023, $55.21M in 2024)

  • Local Initiatives ($12.21M in 2024): Serving historically underserved communities in Minnesota including Asian, Black, Indigenous, and Latine communities, People with Disabilities, and Rural Minnesotans
    • Priority areas: 12 Twin Cities neighborhoods with highest poverty levels; rural communities under 5,000 population
    • 2025 priorities: Joy and Healing (non-clinical mental health), Environment and Climate Change (climate resilience), Responsiveness (urgent community needs)
  • Legacy Grantmaking ($43M in 2024): Southern California (11 counties through Akaloa Program) and national PBS work

Teachers & Students ($30.81M in 2023, $30.96M in 2024)

  • Geographic focus: Alaska, Washington, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Kentucky
  • Teachers: Expanding recruitment, training, and retention; increasing diversity in the profession
  • Postsecondary Success: Supporting rural and Native American college students through retention, degree completion, and employability interventions

Arts & Cultures ($30.37M in 2023, $27.3M in 2024)

  • Native Arts & Cultures: Three regions (Northwest: AK, BC, WA, OR, ID, MT; Southwest: Southern CA, AZ, NM; Upper Midwest: ND, SD, MN, WI)
  • Folk Arts & Cultures: Nordic American traditions in Upper Midwest; Central Appalachia spanning ND, SD, MN, IA, WI, MI Upper Peninsula
  • Music Education: Select U.S. regions, British Columbia, and multinational contexts
  • Emphasizes intergenerational transmission of artistic skill and cultural knowledge

Animal Welfare ($13.75M in 2023, $12.5M in 2024)

  • Geographic focus: AK, WA, ID, MT, ND, MN, WI
  • Companion Animals: Local shelter support, spay/neuter programs, holistic veterinary care, maintaining pet-family connections during hardship
  • Wildlife Rehabilitation: Care for injured, sick, or orphaned wild animals including marine mammals and oil spill response
  • Empathy and Compassion: Research-informed educational programs at zoos and aquariums

Priority Areas

  • Community-led conservation and climate action
  • Support for rural, tribal, and historically underserved communities
  • Low-attention disasters and vulnerable populations
  • Teacher recruitment, diversity, and retention
  • Cultural preservation and intergenerational knowledge transmission
  • Long-term, strategic partnerships over transactional grantmaking
  • Capacity building through strengthening organizational leadership, management, and operations
  • Whole-family and trauma-informed approaches
  • Local community organizing capacity and resilience

What They Don't Fund

The foundation does not publicly specify exclusions, but operates with highly defined interest areas and geographies through an invitation-based process. Organizations outside their seven domains or geographic focus areas are unlikely to receive funding.

Governance and Leadership

Current Leadership

Heather Kukla - President and CEO (since April 2023) Heather Johnson Kukla became MACP's third CEO in its history. She joined the organization in 2009 as director of legal affairs, was promoted to general counsel in 2015, and became Vice President and General Counsel in 2017. Before MACP, she practiced commercial litigation with Hogan & Hartson LLP (now Hogan Lovells) in Washington, D.C. and New York. She holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of North Dakota and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

On transparency: "Being transparent about our process is one of those things that we're definitely working on," noting she prefers attention focus on grantees rather than the foundation.

On Margaret Cargill's legacy: "She felt the giving wasn't about her, it was the work the grantees did, and really didn't want the attention for the giving."

Key Staff (2023)

  • Shawn Wischmeier - Chief Investment Officer
  • Naomi Horsager - Treasurer/CFO
  • Kurian Thomas - VP of Programs
  • Elizabeth Borer - Secretary & General Counsel (as of April 2023)
  • Jayson Smart - Managing Director, Programs

Board Members

  • Christine Morse - Board Chair (founding CEO who has since transitioned)
  • Right Reverend John Chane - Director
  • Win Neuger - Director

The foundation maintains a professional investment team with multiple directors managing the organization's substantial endowment.

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

This funder does not have a public application process. Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies operates an invitation-based grantmaking model. Organizations cannot submit unsolicited grant proposals. The foundation conducts grantmaking in highly defined interest areas and geographies, and staff proactively identify and reach out to organizations that align with their strategic priorities.

Grants are awarded through the foundation's strategic assessment of how organizations align with MACP's seven domains and the founder's values. The organization emphasizes that grant proposals are by invitation only.

Organizations seeking information may contact the foundation at info@macphil.org or 952.540.4050, but should understand that this does not constitute an application pathway. For Minnesota Local Initiatives inquiries specifically, contact localinfo@macphil.org.

Getting on Their Radar

MACP staff actively monitor their defined interest areas and geographies. The foundation looks for organizations that demonstrate:

  • Proven track record: Capability and effectiveness in their field
  • Values alignment: Work consistent with Margaret Cargill's principles including empowering people to be self-sufficient, maintaining low profile while meeting needs of others, and using education and innovation to achieve impact
  • Community-centered approach: Organizations working in and with communities toward sustainable solutions
  • Strategic fit: Clear alignment with one or more of the seven program domains and relevant geographic focus areas
  • Organizational capacity: Demonstrated leadership, management, and operational effectiveness

The foundation partners with "capable organizations that have demonstrated their ability to work successfully in their interest areas." They particularly seek organizations serving underserved communities and addressing overlooked causes.

Based on their public statements, MACP views grantees as "partners and co-learners" and believes "the best way to make a lasting difference on issues they care about is by investing in long-term relationships with key grantees."

Organizations should focus on building strong reputations and demonstrated impact within MACP's defined domains and geographies rather than pursuing direct contact, as the foundation's proactive identification process appears to be research-driven rather than network-based.

Decision Timeline

Not publicly disclosed. The invitation-based model operates on the foundation's timeline. The 2023 annual report noted a median grant duration of 36 months, suggesting the foundation makes substantial multi-year commitments once relationships are established.

Success Rates

Not publicly disclosed. In 2023, the foundation made 346 grants totaling $330.53 million, with 53% being renewals to existing grantees and 47% to new partners. This suggests that once in relationship with MACP, organizations have strong renewal prospects.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable given the invitation-only model. However, the 53% renewal rate indicates strong likelihood of continued funding for effective partners.

Application Success Factors

Since MACP operates through an invitation-based model, traditional application success factors don't apply. However, the foundation's public statements reveal what they value in partners:

Organizational Characteristics:

  • Proven effectiveness: "Partners with capable organizations that have demonstrated their ability to work successfully in their interest areas"
  • Values alignment: Organizations whose work reflects Margaret Cargill's principles of empowerment, education, innovation, and maintaining focus on beneficiaries rather than funders
  • Community-centered approach: Work "in and with communities toward sustainable solutions"
  • Strategic focus: Clear alignment with defined domains and geographies
  • Strong leadership and operations: The foundation strengthens "the effectiveness and capacity of their key grantee partners by investing in their leadership, management, and operational capabilities"

Partnership Philosophy: The foundation views grantees as "partners who help shape what they do" rather than simply recipients. From their website: "They look to their key grantees as partners, and they believe the best way to make a lasting difference on issues they care about is by investing in long-term relationships."

Mission Alignment: Organizations working on:

  • Underserved communities and overlooked causes
  • Measurable impact on focused goals
  • Integration of services (whole-family approaches, trauma-informed care)
  • Community organizing capacity and resilience
  • Intergenerational knowledge transmission (in arts and culture work)
  • Community-led solutions (particularly in environmental work)

Grant Examples that Illustrate Priorities:

  • Equal Justice Works ($575,000): Addressing disaster-related legal needs in vulnerable Midwest communities
  • Partners for Wildlife: Supporting 79 wildlife rehabilitation practitioners through mentorship and training
  • MAHUBE-OTWA: Serving 18,000 people in Northwest Minnesota through whole-family approaches to multi-generational poverty
  • National Museum of the American Indian/Poeh Cultural Center: Returning 100 Tewa pottery vessels to enable descendant artists to learn traditional methods

What the Foundation Values: From their grantmaking philosophy: They focus on "meaningful support to strategic grantees," "partnership and a culture of learning," and "integration of all organizational functions in grantmaking." They "evaluate work, reshape approaches based on learning, and share insights."

The 36-month median grant duration and 53% renewal rate suggest the foundation makes substantial long-term commitments and values sustained partnerships over one-time grants.

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • Invitation-only model: There is no public application process. MACP proactively identifies potential grantees within their defined domains and geographies.

  • Build reputation in their focus areas: The best strategy is to excel in work that aligns with MACP's seven domains (Environment, Quality of Life, Disaster Relief & Recovery, Legacy & Opportunity, Teachers & Students, Arts & Cultures, Animal Welfare) and operate in their geographic focus areas.

  • Emphasize community-centered, sustainable solutions: MACP values organizations working in and with communities, particularly those serving underserved populations and addressing overlooked causes.

  • Demonstrate proven effectiveness: The foundation partners with organizations that have demonstrated capability and track record. Strong organizational leadership, management, and operations are essential.

  • Long-term partnership orientation: With a median grant duration of 36 months and 53% renewal rate, MACP invests in multi-year relationships rather than one-time funding. They view grantees as "partners and co-learners."

  • Values-driven grantmaking: Organizations must align with Margaret Cargill's principles including empowering people to be self-sufficient, using education and innovation, and maintaining focus on beneficiaries rather than seeking attention for funders.

  • Geographic specificity matters: Each domain has clearly defined geographic priorities. Organizations outside these areas are unlikely to be considered regardless of program quality.

  • Substantial resources available: As one of the top ten U.S. foundations with $313.8 million in 2024 grantmaking, MACP makes significant investments when they identify strategic partners.

References

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