The McConnell Foundation

• The McConnell Foundation funds work across a five-county area (Modoc, Shasta, Siskiyou, Trinity and Tehama), with priority international programmes in Nepal and Laos, so a request should sit clearly within one of these places or within the stated themes such as Children, Youth & Education, Community Vitality, Healthy Communities, Scholarships, NatureBridge at Yosemite or Peacebuilding.
• For local work, grants are made through the McConnell Fund, administered by the Community Foundation of the North State, with stated support up to $50,000 for a single programme; a modest request fits well, as the median grant across recent filings was $6,000 and about 8 in 10 grants fell between $375 and $150,000, though the largest grant was about $4,900,000.
• The Foundation says it is rarely the sole funder and places partnership and collaboration at the heart of its work, favouring targeted investments that can leverage other funding and are ready for investment, so be ready to show co-funding and partners.
• With 93% of its grant dollars going to organisations it had also funded in the two prior filings, this looks like a relationship-led funder where existing partners are strongly favoured, so new applicants should expect it to take time to build a relationship.
• For-profit businesses are not funded, so these should not apply; everyone else should approach via the method set for the relevant programme, starting with the Community Foundation of the North State for local grants.

The largest grants to organisations in the foundation’s latest filing:

• City of Redding · City of Redding Block 7 HCD/AHSC Funding
  $3,462,3912024 tax year
• Turtle Bay Exploration Park · Operating support for calendar year 2024, sustainability gardens - site maintenance 2024, memberships, annual auction"
  $1,588,5812024 tax year
• Shasta Regional Community Foundation · Operating Support for Occupancy Expenses 1335 Arboretum Drive, Suite B (2023-2025) ($77,028) Operating Support 2022-2026 ($193,375), The McConnell Fund at the Community Foundation of the North State 2024 ($742,500), Giving Tuesday 2024 ($70,091), & In Honor of Bill Cox's retirement from The McConnell Foundation Board of Directors after 12 years of service ($12,000).
  $1,094,9942024 tax year
• Shasta College Foundation · 2014 ($4,221), 2019 ($150), 2020 ($4,000), 2021 ($2,000), 2022 ($7,500), 2023 ($10,500), & 2024 ($23,250) McConnell Scholars & Gateway to College
  $617,0002024 tax year
• Siskiyou County Job Council · Yreka Carnegie Library Rehabilitation Project
  $500,0002024 tax year
• Shasta County Office of Education · Pathways to Success: Integrating Community Schools and Cradle to Career Initiatives in the North State
  $453,0002024 tax year
• Natural Resource Conflict Transformation Center Nepal · Phase VIII: Peace for Prosperity Natural Resource Conflict Transformation Project: Global Platform III
  $403,0002024 tax year
• Shasta Living Streets · Block 7 HCD/AHSC Funding Build Capacity and Scale Sustainable Programs for a Bikeable-Walkable Downtown Occupancy-Rent and Utility Subsidy
  $350,9262024 tax year

Grants to organisations listed in the foundation’s Form 990-PF filings. Grants to individuals are not shown.

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.