Foundations that fund organizations in St Paul, Minnesota
Worked out from where the grants went, not where the foundations sit.
Funding landscape for St Paul nonprofits
1,636 private foundations gave $317M to St Paul organizations in their latest filings; 43 of the 100 that say either way accept applications.
5,570 grants in total, with a typical foundation's median grant to St Paul around $100K. 59 of these funders are based in Minnesota; the rest give here from elsewhere.
- Foundations giving here
- 1,636
- Accept applications
- 43
- of 100 that state a policy
- Dollars to St Paul
- $317M
- latest filings
- Grants
- 5,570
- Typical median grant
- $100K
- Based in MN
- 59%
- of funders listed
Funders, by dollars given to St Paul organizations
| Foundation | Based in | Grants here | Dollars here | Median | Accepts applications | Typical purposes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wem Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 20 | $29M | $1.1M | Preselected only | General |
| The McKnight Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 151 | $23M | $75K | Yes | for general operating support; for inclusive democracy and climate action work; and to sup…; to provide support for the Minnesota Compass project; and t… |
| Lilly Endowment Inc | Indianapolis, IN | 10 | $22M | $1.0M | Yes | Pathways for tomorrow initiative; Christian faith&life storytellg init; Nurturing children-worship & prayer |
| The Bush Foundation | St Paul, MN | 35 | $16M | $150K | Yes | This ecosystem grant provides general operating support for…; To contribute additional funds to the bush foundation staff…; To further test and spread the implementation of collegebou… |
| Fred C and Katherine B Andersen Foundation | Bayport, MN | 64 | $10M | $58K | Yes | General operating; Program or project; General Operating |
| Margaret a Cargill Foundation | Eden Prairie, MN | 20 | $8.3M | $163K | Preselected only | Employee service award; Other operating support; Programming to strengthen families, reduce trauma, and buil… |
| Otto Bremer Trust | St Paul, MN | 33 | $7.9M | $150K | Yes | Relieve poverty in st. paul; Access to enrichment; Youth development and citizenship skills |
| Fr Bigelow Foundation | St Paul, MN | 150 | $5.8M | $30K | Yes | General operating support; General support request; Clues east side early childhood education center and busine… |
| Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund Inc | Wilmington, DE | 2 | $5.8M | $2.9M | Preselected only | General & Unrestricted; Davis UWC Scholars Program Fund 2024 |
| Ghr Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 19 | $5.5M | $53K | Preselected only | General Operations; Saint Paul Promise Neighborhood Cradle-to-Career Initiatives; Advancement Team Support |
| The Sauer Family Foundation | St Paul, MN | 28 | $4.8M | $87K | Yes | Building strong family relationships; Building emotional well-being; Building a diverse workforce |
| Pohlad Family Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 71 | $4.8M | $58K | Yes | General operating support; For housing stability services and supports; For organizational capacity building |
| The Bloomberg Family Foundation Inc | New York, NY | 1 | $4.8M | $4.8M | Preselected only | To promote college advising and success |
| Cargill Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 30 | $4.3M | $68K | Yes | Tech geeks; Black men teach: diversifying the teacher pipeline; Increasing impact and college access |
| The Richard M Schulze Family Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 80 | $4.2M | $25K | Yes | Human services; Education; Health |
| Hardenbergh Foundation | St Paul, MN | 108 | $4.2M | $20K | Yes | General operating; Dept of indian work gen ops; Predevelopment expenses |
| Target Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 37 | $3.5M | $75K | Yes | Economic opportunity - hometown; Economic opportunity - hometown (ecosystem); Economic opportunity - national |
| Hugh J Andersen Foundation | Bayport, MN | 71 | $3.5M | $40K | Yes | General operating support; East metro general operating support; Brittany's place programs |
| The Ford Foundation | New York, NY | 17 | $3.4M | $175K | Yes | General support; Matching gift; General support and core support for institutional strength… |
| The Andrew W Mellon Foundation | New York, NY | 4 | $3.4M | $902K | Yes | To support training, technical assistance, production, and…; To support a state-led, cross-institutional project to offe…; To support capacity building and artistic programs |
| Rippleworks Inc | San Francisco, CA | 2 | $3.1M | $1.6M | Preselected only | General support |
| Alliss Educational Foundation-Equity | Milwaukee, WI | 8 | $3.1M | $228K | Yes | General operating |
| G O Forward Charitable Trust | Eagan, MN | 2 | $2.6M | $1.3M | Preselected only | General operating |
| The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation | Princeton, NJ | 7 | $2.4M | $125K | Yes | Matching gifts; 82384 general operating support for prepare + prosper; 82186 supporting the prairie action north dakota institute… |
| Wells Fargo Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 17 | $2.4M | $30K | Preselected only | CAAL Ignite Fund - Investment in Small Businesses; CLUES Small Business Development Program; Affordable Homeownership Opportunities |
| The William W & Nadine M McGuire Family Foundation | Wayzata, MN | 1 | $2.3M | $2.3M | Preselected only | Loon Sculpture |
| David & Janis Larson Foundation C/O FIRST Trust Company LLC | Minneapolis, MN | 7 | $2.1M | $150K | Preselected only | General charitable purposes; College and career readiness progra, |
| A Better Place Inc C/O Clearwater Equity Group Inc | Edina, MN | 1 | $2.1M | $2.1M | Preselected only | General |
| The Joyce Foundation | Chicago, IL | 13 | $2.0M | $100K | Yes | Environment; Journalism; Mission fund |
| Manitou Fund | White Bear Lake, MN | 17 | $2.0M | $50K | Preselected only | General operating; Match; Making mn music history series |
| John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation | Chicago, IL | 6 | $2.0M | $263K | Preselected only | In support of general operations; In support of the energy news network; To support minnesota public radio's next challenge for medi… |
| Rooted Philanthropic | St Paul, MN | 28 | $1.9M | $35K | Preselected only | General operating support; Program support; Sponsorship |
| Northwest Area Foundation | St Paul, MN | 17 | $1.9M | $100K | Preselected only | General operating support; 2024 vice president grant; Eshara collaborative capacity building |
| Gates Foundation | Seattle, WA | 1 | $1.6M | $1.6M | Yes | Agricultural development |
| Sergey Brin Family Foundation C/O Pacific Foundation Services | San Francisco, CA | 1 | $1.5M | $1.5M | Preselected only | General operating support |
| The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation | Omaha, NE | 3 | $1.4M | $502K | Preselected only | General operating support; Program support |
| The Buntrock Foundation for Leadership | Oakbrook Terrace, IL | 1 | $1.4M | $1.4M | Preselected only | Operating Needs |
| Cloverfields Foundation | Naples, FL | 4 | $1.4M | $280K | Preselected only | General operating fund |
| The Kresge Foundation | Troy, MI | 6 | $1.3M | $190K | Yes | General operating support; Project support for convenings and peer learning activities; Project support grant to enable children & nature network t… |
| Opus Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 25 | $1.3M | $15K | Preselected only | General Operations; Recognition of volunteer efforts; Building a Pipeline of Black Male Educators |
| The McNeely Foundation | St Paul, MN | 40 | $1.3M | $30K | Yes | General operating support; Black arts & tech center; Black arts & tech center capital campaign |
| Adam R Scripps Foundation | Fort Mitchell, KY | 3 | $1.3M | $300K | Preselected only | Scholarships; General Operations; Capital Campaign |
| Mortenson Family Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 63 | $1.2M | $10K | Yes | Unrestricted; River learning center; Wilder child development center |
| Wilson Foundation | St Paul, MN | 5 | $1.1M | $250K | Preselected only | Climate/policy grant; Poverty/housing grant; Joint/workforce grant |
| Wellspring Philanthropic Fund Inc | New York, NY | 4 | $1.1M | $250K | Preselected only | General operating support; Advancing civic engagement |
| Harry & Jan Sweere Foundation | Lakeville, MN | 7 | $1.1M | $100K | Preselected only | KTIS App; Art Community Support, Artist Partnerships, Staffing, Build…; General Budget, Karen Catholic Student Busing, BSC Friary M… |
| Alfred a Iversen and Family Foundation | Crystal Bay, MN | 3 | $1.1M | $30K | Preselected only | Program support |
| Builders Vision Foundation | Chicago, IL | 3 | $1.1M | $400K | Preselected only | to support its work on sustainable protein supply chains in…; to support public education on continuous living cover crop…; to support a fellowship program focused on rural developmen… |
| The Wallin Foundation | Edina, MN | 1 | $1.0M | $1.0M | Preselected only | To further charitable purposes |
| Salesforce Foundation | San Francisco, CA | 1 | $1.0M | $1.0M | Preselected only | Support for education and career opportunities for young pe… |
| The Lucas Brothers Foundation | New Braunfels, TX | 1 | $1.0M | $1.0M | Preselected only | Alzheimer research |
| The Wurtele Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 1 | $1.0M | $1.0M | Preselected only | General operations of the organization |
| Jerome Foundation Inc | St Paul, MN | 28 | $995K | $30K | Yes | Support via the NYC Film Production program.; Support for residency through the Jerome@Camargo program.; Support for early career artists in film. |
| Patrick and Aimee Butler Family | St Paul, MN | 26 | $959K | $33K | Preselected only | General operating support; Trailblazer fellowship program; Alternative admission pathways progr |
| Bcbsm Foundation Inc | St Paul, MN | 10 | $924K | $100K | Yes | African Minnesotan Childcare Provider Civic Leadership and…; Saint Paul Promise Thrive by Five Initiative; African American Babies Coalitions and Projects Birth Equity |
| Morgan Stanley Foundation | New York, NY | 1 | $909K | $909K | Preselected only | Expanding community college success |
| John S and James L Knight Foundation | Miami, FL | 3 | $889K | $340K | Yes | To support digital integration, including technical infrast…; To support three years of the next challenge, a national,12…; To support the next phase of work to reconnect st. pauls ro… |
| Ciresi Walburn Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 10 | $875K | $45K | Yes | Education; Social services for youth; Expanding book access |
| The Hubbard Broadcasting Foundation | St Paul, MN | 47 | $869K | $17K | Yes | General operating support; Gos2025; General operating support pmt 1 of 2 |
| Faye & Mayer Krupp Family Foundation | St Louis Park, MN | 3 | $795K | $9,000 | Preselected only | General operations |
| Terhuly Foundation C/O Terry Gilberstadt | Roseville, MN | 7 | $770K | $15K | Preselected only | Program support; Program support/kids program |
| Andersen Corporate Foundation | Bayport, MN | 30 | $765K | $10K | Yes | General operating; 180 degrees: twin cities emergency shelter and supportive s…; Gladstone crossing seeds of home |
| Joseph R Bayer Family Foundation | Annadale, MN | 3 | $756K | $2,500 | Preselected only | General charitable purposes |
| Boston Scientific Foundation Inc | Marlborough, MA | 11 | $730K | $30K | Yes | Stempreneurs; Stem education program for underrepresented k-12 children a…; Systemic change for under-resourced youth |
| Rosalie Gadient Charitable Tr | Pennington, NJ | 3 | $730K | $209K | Preselected only | Unrestricted general |
| Xcel Energy Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 133 | $707K | $1,280 | Yes | Community vitality; Match a previous donation (501(c)3) grant; Match payroll deduction (501(c)3) grant |
| Jim & Yvonne Sexton Family Foundation | Loretto, MN | 3 | $705K | $200K | Yes | Medical Procedures; Public TV; Health Studies |
| The Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation of Minnesota | Minneapolis, MN | 14 | $704K | $10K | Preselected only | General operating support; Advancing health equity through sexual and reproductive hea…; 2023-2025 eddie phillips scholars |
| Hersey Foundation | St Paul, MN | 1 | $700K | $700K | Preselected only | General fund - community projects |
| Mary T and James J Hill Library Foundation | St Paul, MN | 7 | $695K | $100K | Preselected only | General support; Scholarships; Permanent scholarships |
| Whaley Foundation | Mendota Heights, MN | 13 | $652K | $25K | Preselected only | Public charity - general purposes; Education - general purposes |
| Hrk Foundation | St Paul, MN | 74 | $644K | $5,000 | Yes | Gos; $5,000 gos & $2,500 sponsorship; Scholarship |
| Kahr Foundation-Ima | Minnetrista, MN | 8 | $633K | $25K | Preselected only | General support |
| The Kendeda Fund | Wilmington, DE | 1 | $600K | $600K | Preselected only | General & Unrestricted |
| George Family Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 24 | $565K | $20K | Preselected only | Core mission support; Supplemental grant for true north leadership program at 1440; Youth programming |
| C K Blandin Foundation | Grand Rapids, MN | 9 | $565K | $1,000 | Yes | Matching gift contribution; Project support for community of practice work in itasca co…; Project support for regional affordable housing capacity bu… |
| Edwards Memorial Trust | Eagan, MN | 13 | $564K | $20K | Preselected only | General operating |
| The Bill and Margaret Marvin Foundation | Warroad, MN | 1 | $557K | $557K | Preselected only | Community improvement |
| The Allstate Foundation | Northbrook, IL | 14 | $554K | $10K | Yes | Agent - individual hh; Moving ahead curriculum hosting; Moving ahead additional support |
| Firefly Scientists Foundation | St Louis, MO | 10 | $552K | $50K | Preselected only | Matching campaign upward, onward!; Increasing accessibility project; Community engagement position, lanes 4 friendship |
| William H & Lois J McEssy Foundation | Lake Forest, IL | 1 | $550K | $550K | Preselected only | General use of charity |
| Jab Foundation | Golden Valley, MN | 5 | $546K | $25K | Preselected only | Charitable |
| Bentson Foundation | Wayzata, MN | 5 | $540K | $25K | Yes | General |
| I a O'Shaughnessy Foundation | Bloomington, MN | 15 | $535K | $20K | Preselected only | Lawrence m. o'shaughnessy memorial grant; General operating support; Growth of endowment fund |
| Lennar Foundation | Miami, FL | 1 | $525K | $525K | Yes | Minnesota assistance council for veterans (macv) is a 501 (… |
| Raft Charitable Foundation | Sioux Falls, SD | 6 | $520K | $50K | Preselected only | General operating; 100,000 unrestricted;; Wdse/wrpt in duluth |
| Edelstein Family Foundation 984609 | Evansville, IN | 2 | $506K | $253K | Preselected only | Program support |
| Mardag Foundation | St Paul, MN | 23 | $506K | $20K | Yes | Community sharing fund 2024; Little africa museum; African american babies coalition and projects health equity |
| The Bright Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 1 | $500K | $500K | Yes | Engineering scholarship |
| Trane Technologies Charitable Foundation | Davidson, NC | 1 | $494K | $494K | Yes | To turn on the science: inspire learning. inform policy. im… |
| John Templeton Foundation | West Conshohocken, PA | 2 | $490K | $245K | Yes | For general support; Psychology of faith: academic cross-training for theologian… |
| Laura and John Arnold Foundation | Houston, TX | 3 | $489K | $21K | Preselected only | To support the assessment of research and potential policy…; To convene an interdisciplinary group of researchers and co…; To support implementation of the recently-passed, omnibus s… |
| The Corridoni Foundation for Agency and Self-Determination | Wilmington, DE | 5 | $485K | $100K | Preselected only | General & Unrestricted; Operational Support fund; School Inclusion Fund and the "We Must Imagine" Campaign Fu… |
| Ruth a and Raymond a Reister Charitable Trust | Sioux Falls, SD | 4 | $454K | $48K | Preselected only | General operating; Scholarships; Endowment |
| Driscoll Foundation | St Paul, MN | 24 | $452K | $5,000 | Preselected only | The annual fund; Capital campaign; 2025 membership |
| Sandt Kurt Trust | St Louis, MO | 1 | $437K | $437K | Preselected only | General operating |
| Wk Kellogg Foundation | Battle Creek, MI | 3 | $425K | $125K | Yes | Food, Strong and Equitable Food Systems; Early Care and Education; Promise of an Equitable Future |
| John and Denise Graves Foundation | Minneapolis, MN | 11 | $419K | $35K | Yes | Youth development; Discretionary; Housing |
| The Schmidt Family Foundation | Palo Alto, CA | 3 | $415K | $150K | Yes | Working towards a resilient and equitable food system; Encouraging a just transition away from fossil fuels |
| Buuck Family Foundation | Scottsdale, AZ | 6 | $410K | $25K | Preselected only | General |
Source: IRS Form 990-PF Part XV, latest electronic return per foundation (2026-10-28). "Accepts applications" reflects the foundation's own checkbox on Part XV line 2. Grants to individuals excluded.
Common questions
Which foundations give to nonprofits in St Paul, Minnesota?
Wem Foundation, The McKnight Foundation, Lilly Endowment Inc, The Bush Foundation, Fred C and Katherine B Andersen Foundation and 95 others reported grants to St Paul organizations on their latest Form 990-PF.
How do I approach a foundation that doesn't accept applications?
A foundation that checks "contributes only to preselected organizations" on its 990-PF won't review a cold proposal. Look at who it funds, find a shared board member, grantee or advisor, and ask for an introduction. Foundations that accept applications usually list a contact and deadlines in Part XV; we show that text on each foundation's page.
Is this list complete?
No. It covers private foundations (Form 990-PF filers) whose latest electronic return lists at least one grant to an organization in St Paul. Community foundations and corporate giving programs file different forms and are not included yet.