McKnight Foundation
At a glance
Key takeaways
- McKnight Foundation funds work across five themes — Arts & Culture, resilient food systems, climate & clean energy, neuroscience, and vibrant & equitable communities — within a stated geographic focus of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa, with priority given globally, so check your work fits one of these themes and that location before approaching it.
- Its grants typically run from $15,000 to $250,000, with about 8 in 10 falling in that band and a median grant of $80,000, so a modest request in this range is realistic; the one grant of $10,000,000, to Minneapolis Foundation, an organisation it funds every year that itself regrants to others, is not a model for a typical applicant.
- To approach the Foundation, first check your work against the guidelines for the relevant programme, then call the programme director or officer for that area, who will advise whether to submit a full proposal; applicants to Vibrant & Equitable Communities should submit by 1 September if funding is needed within the same calendar year.
- It looks relationship-led and competitive for newcomers, since 82% of its grant dollars went to organisations it had already funded in the previous two years' filings, so be prepared to build a relationship rather than expect success from a single cold approach.
- Under Vibrant & Equitable Communities it does not fund basic social services such as food shelves, case management or emergency shelter, health services, parks and open spaces, transit- and transportation-related efforts, Pre-K-12 educational programming, workforce development education and training, scholarships or other assistance for individuals, conferences (except in rare cases), endowments and capital campaigns (except in rare cases), activities with a specific religious purpose, or attempts to influence specific pending or proposed legislation.
Overview
McKnight Foundation is a US private foundation based in Minneapolis, MN.
What they fund
Profile derived from the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings (TY2024, TY2023, TY2022) and its website, with every statement checked against those sources. Sources read on 7 October 2026.
Priority Areas
The McKnight Foundation provides planning, operating and project grants to tax-exempt nonprofit organisations, with Minnesota as the primary geographic focus for Arts & Culture, Minnesota Initiative Funds and Vibrant & Equitable Communities. It supports Minnesota working artists and culture bearers; resilient food systems through farmer-centred agroecological research, action and influence; and work to cut greenhouse gas emissions and advance an equitable clean-energy transition in the Midwest. Its programme portfolio also includes neuroscience and vibrant communities where Minnesotans share power, prosperity and participation. In the arts, it supports organisations, programmes and projects that provide structures for artists and culture bearers to develop and share their work and lead in movements and communities. Programmes have their own strategies and grantmaking criteria.
Themes
- Arts & Culture
- Resilient food systems
- Climate & clean energy
- Neuroscience
- Vibrant & equitable communities
Geographic Focus
Minnesota; Wisconsin; Iowa. Priority: Globally.
What They Don't Fund
- Attempts to influence specific pending or proposed legislation, including referenda, local ordinances, and resolutions
- Vibrant & Equitable Communities only: activities that are traditionally the sole responsibility of the government; Basic social services such as food shelves, case management, or emergency shelter; Health services; Parks and open spaces; Transit- and transportation-related efforts ( see our Midwest Climate & Energy program); Pre-K-12 educational programming; Workforce development education and training; Scholarships or other types of assistance for individuals; Conferences, including attendance or travel, except in rare cases; Endowments and capital campaigns, except in rare cases; Activities that have a specific religious purpose; Lobbying prohibited by the Internal Revenue Code (see note below)
How to apply
For the general inquiry route, applicants should first check that their work fits the guidelines, then call the programme director or officer for their funding area. If staff determine that the Foundation can consider funding, they provide instructions for submitting a proposal.
Deadlines: For Vibrant & Equitable Communities, submit by 1 September when funding in the same calendar year is critical.
Application success factors
- Repeat giving: In its TY2024 filing, 82% of its grant dollars to organisations went to organisations it had also funded in its TY2022 or TY2023 filing.
- Grant size: Across its TY2022, TY2023 and TY2024 filings, half of its 2,359 grants to organisations were $80,000 or less.
What the foundation says:
- Applicants should ensure their inquiry fits a stated programme interest; the Foundation says it will not respond to requests clearly outside those areas.
- The Communities team encourages applicants to discuss fit before starting an application; the conversation is not required for funding.
- The Communities program focuses on housing, job quality, capital access, asset building, and democratic participation.
Where grants go
From grants to organisations in the foundation’s filings for tax years 2022–2024.
Grant dollars by state
6 other states: 6%
Outside the US or with no state on the filing: 12%
- The largest single recipient received 8% of grant dollars to organisations.
- In tax year 2024, 82% of grant dollars went to organisations McKnight Foundation had funded in earlier filings.
- 6% of grant dollars went directly to organisations outside the US (United Kingdom, Kenya, Peru, Niger).
- 34% of grant dollars went to intermediaries that regrant to other organisations.
Grants
How much do they typically give?
Share of 788 grants in tax year 2024 by size
Median $100k (tax year 2024)
The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:
- Minneapolis Foundation · for the GroundBreak Coalition special purpose fund$10,000,0002024 tax year
- United States Energy Foundation · to equitably decarbonize the Midwest by supporting powerful and inclusive coalitions with the ability to transform markets and the economy through state action in seven states$9,600,0002024 tax year
- Minneapolis Foundation · for the GroundBreak Coalition special purpose fund$5,000,0002024 tax year
- Minnesota Home Ownership Center · to bridge capacity needs and scale the deployment capacity of GroundBreak Coalition supported down payment assistance products$2,200,0002024 tax year
- McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience · for award programs supporting research in neuroscience$2,000,0002024 tax year
- Rewiring America · to advance equitable electrification in the Midwest through place-based demonstration projects and policy development$2,000,0002024 tax year
- Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund · for general operating support$2,000,0002024 tax year
- Community Foundation of Jackson Hole · for family-directed giving$1,850,0002024 tax year
Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.
Officers and directors
- john a powell — Director
- Duchesne Drew — Director
- Tamara Wallace — Assistant Secretary
- Nichol Higdon — Secretary, VP of Finance & Operations
- Tonya Allen — Director, President
- Roy Swan — Investment Committee
- Michael Barry — Investment Committee
- Theodore Staryk — Director, Board Chair
- Roger Sit — Investment Committee
- Perry Moriearty — Director
- Meghan Brown — Director
- Luther M Ragin — Director
- Kathy Tunheim — Director, Board Vice Chair
- Dana Anderson — Director
- Karen Coleman — Director
- Noa Staryk — Director
- Erika Binger — Director, Treasurer
From the latest Form 990-PF filing
3 years of tax filings
| Year | Total expenses | Grants paid | Assets | Filing document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 tax year | $200,900,058 | $119,517,350 | $2,566,350,071 | Filing for 2022 tax year |
| 2023 tax year | $162,849,317 | $109,067,200 | $2,661,443,888 | Filing for 2023 tax year |
| 2024 tax year | $209,369,790 | $145,891,450 | $2,712,040,525 | Filing for 2024 tax year |
Figures from the foundation’s IRS Form 990-PF filings. Assets are at fair market value at year end. The document icon links to each year’s filing on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
Sources
Registers and filings
Other sources
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At a glance
Applying to McKnight Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- (612) 333-4220
- proge@mcknight.org
- ggbolo@mcknight.org
- apply@mcknight.org
- Minneapolis, MN
- mcknight.org
Applying to McKnight Foundation?
Hinchilla drafts your answers around this funder's priorities, using your organisation's own documents.
No credit card required
Contact
- (612) 333-4220
- proge@mcknight.org
- ggbolo@mcknight.org
- apply@mcknight.org
- Minneapolis, MN
- mcknight.org