McKnight Foundation
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| Founded | 1953 |
|---|---|
| Founder | William L. McKnight and Maude L. McKnight |
| Location | |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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Meghan Binger Brown, Board Chair; Kate Wolford, President |
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Revenue (2015)
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$149,898,625 |
| Expenses (2015) | $111,372,797 |
| Endowment | $2.2 billion USD |
| Website | mcknight |
The McKnight Foundation is a philanthropic organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the US. In 2015, McKnight awarded around $88 million in grants. The foundation’s program interests include regional economic and community development, Minnesota’s arts and artists, education equity, youth engagement, Midwest climate and energy, Mississippi River water quality, neuroscience research, international crop research, and rural livelihoods. McKnight’s primary geographic focus is the state of Minnesota, with significant support also directed to strategies throughout the U.S. and in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
The McKnight Foundation was founded in 1953 by William L. McKnight, an early leader of the 3M Corporation, and Maude L. McKnight, and was independently endowed by the McKnights.
Bolstered by the estates of William and Maude McKnight, the foundation's assets grew substantially in the 1980s. In 2015, the foundation assets were approximately $2.2 billion. The McKnight Foundation was ranked twenty-second on the Foundation Center's list of the largest private foundations in America.
In April 2013, the foundation announced a new program area focused on regional climate and energy issues, granting $25 million to two longtime partners working in those areas.
The McKnight Foundation’s program areas are Arts, Education & Learning, International, Midwest Climate & Energy, MN Initiative Foundations, Mississippi River, Neuroscience, and Region & Communities.
The McKnight Foundation funds arts-based organizations and projects, as well as individual artists through its McKnight Artist Fellowships and Distinguished Artist Award. In addition to statewide grantmaking and fellowship programs, the foundation helps fund Minnesota’s 11 Regional Arts Councils, which were established by the Minnesota Legislature in 1977 to encourage local art and cultural activity throughout the state.
The McKnight Foundation’s Education & Learning program goal is to prepare Minnesota students to succeed in an increasingly global society by investing in educators, empowering families, and engaging youth.
This goal promotes educational equity and encompasses both the business and the civic case for ensuring that students in Minnesota succeed. The foundation wants children to emerge from school systems prepared to thrive in a competitive, globalized economy and to contribute meaningfully to the social fabric of civic life.
Focusing on sustaining and improving the livelihoods of vulnerable people, McKnight’s international program supports balanced approaches to natural resource management and community resource rights. McKnight created the Collaborative Crop Research Program in 1983 to support agricultural research in developing countries, increasing access to local, sustainable, and nutritious food.
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Wikipedia