OVERVIEW: The McKnight Foundation supports international grantmaking in Africa, Southeast Asia and South America. The foundation’s domestic grantmaking prioritizes support for local Minnesota organizations, although it does occasionally make other grants in other states. McKnight makes grants in the areas of global development, climate change, mental health, housing and the arts.
IP TAKE: McKnights global development grantmaking prioritizes organizations in Southeast Asia, Africa and South America that focus on natural resource management and the rights of indigenous and local groups to manage and protect resources. In its other giving areas—climate change, mental health, housing and the arts—McKnight mainly works in its home state of Minnesota. This is a progressive funder — themes of social justice and equity form the basis of much of its grantmaking.
McKnight runs an accessible open application program for some of its programs and adjusts its funding priorities frequently. Grantseekers are advised to visit individual program pages for guidelines, application materials and due dates. Email addresses for the foundation’s grant officers and other staff members are available at the foundation’s website.
This funder’s national and international grants tend to fund large nonprofits and NGOs, while its grants for Minnesota support a broader range of organizations, including many small community and grassroots groups
PROFILE: Established in 1953, the McKnight Foundation is an independent private philanthropic organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This is the foundation of William McKnight, one of the early leaders of the 3M company, and his wife, Maude McKnight. Today, fourth-generation family members are active on its board of trustees. The McKnight Foundation seeks to create “a more just, creative, and abundant future where people and the planet thrive.” Current programmatic areas of interest include Arts, International grantmaking, Midwest Climate & Energy, Neuroscience, Vibrant and Equitable Communities and Minnesota Initiatives. McKnight directs funds to support projects in the U.S., Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Grants for Global Development
One of its largest areas of giving, the McKnight Foundation’s International grantmaking program focuses on natural resource management and community resource rights, mainly in Southeast Asia, Africa and South America. The program seeks to improve the livelihoods of local communities—mainly smallholder farmers—by supporting projects and programs that advocate for land, water and natural resource rights. The foundation also supports organizations aiding local communities to better manage their natural resources. McKnight’s international grants typically range from $100,000 to $500,000. Past grantees include Agriculture Improvement Support Services in Western Kenya, Grupo Lanapai in Peru, and Focus on the Global South in Thailand. It is worth noting that the McKnight foundation collaborates with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on the Collaborative Crops Research Program, which also makes grants to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, but which requires key stakeholders participate in collaborative agroecology research projects.
Grants for Climate Change and Clean Energy
In 2013, the McKnight Foundation reimagined its larger environment program to create a more targeted Midwest Climate & Energy program. This program seeks to take “bold action on the climate crisis by dramatically cutting carbon pollution in the Midwest by 2030,” while simultaneously addressing issues of racial and economic justice. Recent grants have gone to Minneapolis’s Center for Energy and Environment, the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition and the St. Paul Transportation Management Association.
Grants for Mental Health, Brain and Cell Research
McKnight’s Neuroscience initiative aims to “bring science closer to the day when diseases of the brain and behavior can be accurately diagnosed, prevented, and treated.” The foundation runs three awards programs to this end. The Neurobiology of Brain Disorders Award encourages “research aimed at translating laboratory discoveries about the brain and nervous system into diagnoses and therapies to improve human health” with grants of $100,000 per year for three years. McKnight’s Scholar Awards support neuroscientists in the early stages of their careers whose work focuses clinically relevant issues of disorders of learning and memory with grants of $75,000 per year for three years. Recent grantmaking and awards have prioritized collaborative, interdisciplinary work in the areas of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries, to name a few.
Grants for Housing, Homelessness and Community Development
McKnight’s grantmaking for housing stems from its Vibrant and Equitable Communities program which aims to achieve “a vibrant future for all Minnesotans with shared power, prosperity, and participation.” The program names the cultivation of a Fair and Just Housing System as one of its main grantmaking priorities. Recent grants have focused on financing and maintaining affordable housing projects throughout Minnesota, as well as initiatives to ensure housing equity and the rights of renters. McKnight has also given to several organizations that provide emergency and transitional housing and services to homeless and vulnerable people in Minnesota. Grantees include Minneapolis’s Urban Homeworks, the Neighborhood Development Alliance of St. Paul and the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency.
Grants for Arts and Culture
McKnight’s Arts program supports local Minnesota artists, who “nurture […] cultural identities, imagine solutions, and catalyze social change” through a variety of funding programs. Its McKnight Artist Fellowships provide mid-career artists with unrestricted grants of $25,000, and its McKnight Distinguished Artist Award “recognizes artists who have made a lifelong commitment to creating art that is locally, regionally, and/or nationally significant” with awards of $50,000. The foundation also supports Minnesota’s eleven Regional Arts Councils, which direct McKnight funding toward individual artists and arts programs across the state.
Important Grant Details:
The McKnight Foundation makes over $50 million a year in grants. Grants range from $10,000 to $500,00, with a few partner organizations receiving much more. The foundation’s average grant size is about $100,000. . For additional information about past grantmaking, see McKnight’s searchable grants database.
McKnight accepts applications for some of its grant and award programs. Guidelines and due dates vary by program. Interested grantseekers should visit the foundation’s individual program pages for specific information and updates about funding. Inquiries may be submitted via the foundation’s contact form or to specific staff members, whose emails are available at McKnight’s staff page.
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