Fluff Free Fundraising

From Access Philanthropy

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March 2025

Headlines

• Looking for CEOs at St Paul & Minnesota Foundation and the Minnesota Council of Foundations
• Top Muslim Funders in Minnesota and Nationally
• Do American Funders Actually Affect Foreign Policy In African Countries? One Example.
• Connecting with Small Family Foundations in Minnesota – The Top 100 SFFs workshop
• April 15th Deadline for Minneapolis Foundation Economic Mobility/Capacity Bldg Grants
• Top 30 Global Foundations Supporting Women’s Education and Skill Development.
• Which Minnesota funder is giving away 100s of gallons of paint?

In this Issue:

Blessed Ramadan | People in Philanthropy | Workshop on Small Family Foundations | Grant announcements | Fundraising news | Executive Order (EO) 14173 | Fundraiser's Toolbox | Jobs in Philanthropy | Raise a Glass

Blessed Ramadan

The Muslim Philanthropy Institute offers a free book titled Understanding Muslim Philanthropy. The book lists the top ten foundations awarding grants to Muslim charities that support initiatives related to education, social services, refugee assistance, and faith-based programs.

 Top 10 Foundations Awarding Grants to Muslim Charities

PEOPLE IN PHILANTHROPY

In our workshops and consultations, AP stresses the importance of developing relationships with foundation personnel, especially in your field of interest. Here are a bunch of new foundation folks you may want to contact.

The Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation announced its search for a replacement for President & CEO, Eric J. Jolly, Ph.D., who will retire after nearly a decade of leadership. They’re partnering with Doran Leadership Partners. Learn more at https://hubs.ly/Q03djszk0.

Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation has New Team Members:

• Peter Pfankuch, Community Impact Specialist
• Kyle Picha, Accounting Associate
• Corbyn Goodermote, Content & Storytelling Intern

Promotions at Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundations:

• Hailey Alexander – Director of People & Culture
• April Brewer – Philanthropic Associate
• Shannon Gahagan – Family Philanthropy Manager
• Jenny Perona – Associate Vice President of Operations
• Tsega Tamene – Associate Vice President of Community Impact 

• Mary Jo Newbauer is retiring from the Chisholm Community Foundation after 22 years as Executive Director.
• The Minnesota Council of Foundations has a new interim president: Donna Dalton. Ms.Dalton has worked with the Saint Paul and Mortenson Foundation. Wanna connect with Donna? ddalton@mcf.org, (763) 287-5388. --Some people say the philanthropy community in Minnesota is really just a tiny town. Donna’s predecessor at MCF is Susie Brown, who now works at — you guessed it, the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation.
• Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation president Harvey Fineberg is retiring this summer after ten years at the helm. Before his time at the Moore Foundation, Dr. Fineberg was Provost of Harvard University. Betty and Gordon passed on during the last 18 months, but the couple’s son, Kenneth Moore, now chairs the foundation's board. The foundation has recently shifted priorities from health science to science research in general, especially innovations and inventions. 
• Sara Aviel is the new president and CEO of the Inter-American Foundation, an independent U.S. government agency that funds community-led development initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean, focusing on grassroots organizations and self-help projects. Before IAF, Sara was Chief of Staff at the Office of Management and Budget (2015-2017) and a Brookings Institution Fellow (2017-2019). The IAF website is down, and we suspect the same will be true for the agency pretty soon. 
• Remember Lois Quam, a Minnesota native who worked for UnitedHealth, Piper Jaffray, and the State of Minnesota (she helped create MinnesotaCare)? She also worked for Hillary Clinton’s health commission, Obama’s health care work, and the Nature Conservancy. She’s now the CEO of California Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation. 
• Larry Kramer, who used to run the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, took over as president of the London School of Economics (where my daughter teaches).
• Chevron Corporation's Laura Lane has been named Chief Corporate Affairs Officer
• Quick NOTE on Demographics of Foundation Leadership. According to the national Council on Foundations, in 2024, 61% of foundation leaders are women, and 39% are men. Also, 80% of foundation leaders are white, while 20% are non-white. 
• Erin Larson was named Executive Director of the Community Foundation for Carver County in January
• Meredith St. Pierre was named Executive Director of Greater White Bear Lake Community Foundation in November, 2024

Upcoming and Recent Access Philanthropy Workshops

Following up on our February workshop on National Funders in MN, we’re presenting another favorite: Small Family Foundations – Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

This is our 12th edition! Every year, we feature new families and updates in old favorites. Find out the "who and how" about 100+ small family foundations awarding grants in Minnesota. 

Over 90% of small family foundations don’t have websites or public access points. Yet, more than 1,200 such foundations operate in Minnesota (and hundreds more non-resident SFFs giving in MN). Given the changes in federal government funding, the time is now to start diversifying our funding! 

Recent Workshop: 

National Funders Grantmaking in Minnesota (17th edition). 150 people attended this annual workshop on funders who are not based in Minnesota, but are funding in Minnesota. 

The Workshop Book, Slide Deck and other materials are available for purchase online. If you have questions or want to chat with us about your work, drop us an email: 4info@accessphilanthropy.com.

Grant Opportunities

• The Minneapolis Foundation announced a call for proposals from organizations that advance economic mobility, as part of its Racial and Economic Justice grant program. Approximately $3 million is available (grant size: $50,000 and $75,000), with up to 25% for overhead costs. Opened March 12, 2025, closes 1 p.m. on April 15, 2025.
• Best Buy’s The Career Pathways Program (available in select Teen Tech Center locations) allows Teen Tech Center members ages 16-19 to earn money while developing key technical, professional, and life skills. Deadline: April 4, 2025
• Nathan Cummings Foundation is welcoming proposals for partnerships. Deadline: June 30, 2025
• Karma For Cara microgrant (>$1,000) application deadlines: January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1
• Mama Cash supports ambitious self-led feminist organisations and initiatives that defend and advance the rights of women, girls, and trans and intersex people. They are accepting LOI for the Resilience Fund through March 31, 2025
• Ben & Jerry’s National Grassroots Organizing Program offers two-year unrestricted, general operating support grants of up to $30,000 per year, with an average grant size of $20,000 per year, to small (budgets under $350,000), constituent-led grassroots organizations throughout the United States and its territories. Open all year.
• Southern MN Initiative Fund donates up to 100 gallons of paint for community projects through its Paint the Town Grant. Deadline: March 31, 2025
• Northwest MN Foundation grant opportunities:  Racial Equity Accountability Grant:  Deadline: June 4th, 2025. Hallock Area Community Fund, Kittson Central School District area. Deadline: April 30th, 2025. Greenbush Area Community Fund. Deadline: April 15, 2025
• The Jerome Foundation just published its new quarterly newsletter, which contains lots of information on grants, scholarships, fellowships, and other support for “artists, cultural bearers, and arts leaders.” 



Grant Announcements

Funds For NGOs' information site lists the Top 30 Foundations Supporting Women’s Education and Skill Development. Big foundations like Ford, Gates, NoVo, and Open Society lead the list. Others have more targeted missions to serve Women and Education. Some, like The Kiva Foundation, provide microloans to women entrepreneurs. To compile the list, they looked at:

• Foundations where the mission and vision aligned with the goals of promoting gender equality and empowering women through education. 
• Foundations that employ evidence-based approaches and regularly evaluate their impact. They find these tend to be more successful in creating lasting change.
• Foundations with a track record of success, which included assessing the effectiveness of their programs, the number of beneficiaries reached, and the tangible outcomes achieved.

The Associated Press reports that the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation will increase its giving over the next two years in response to what it calls a “crisis” prompted by the Trump administration’s freeze on federal foreign aid and the now-suspended freeze on federal grants. While many philanthropoids applaud Macarthur’s leadership, some critics say the increased amount is insufficient in times of great crises. 

Related:

• Wayan Vota, author of the Substack newsletter Career Pivot, has provided some USAID alternative funders.
• The Federal Grants Program keeps a spreadsheet of archived and paused grants that include changes due to Executive Orders & language changes (this link is to a Google Sheet. It may have downloaded to your computer)

Bush Foundation has this to say about its Contact Hub: We strive to be a radically open organization, and our contact hub is an example of that. It’s our universal front door, and anyone who wants to talk with us about an idea or a proposal can connect directly with our grantmaking staff to ask questions and get advice related to any of our grant programs. And if our programs aren’t a match for you, we just might know of one that is! (“Contact us - Bush Foundation”)

McKnight's Arts & Culture team has created a form to learn about the impact of their 'grantees' work, challenges or reflections, things they see on the horizon, and questions they are wrestling with.



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Need a sounding board for your development ideas? Need promising new ideas from the philanthropic sector? Need someone to think about the big picture or the day-to-day fundraising stuff? AP crew members offer 30-minute chats for free. Drop a note to 4info@accessphilanthropy.com to set up a time to chat. Email us!



FUNDRAISING NEWS

Pro-DEI messaging that defines what’s at stake

American Pride Rises is an initiative with a mission to protect pathways to the American dream by fighting for a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive America for all. It has created messaging that makes the case for the DEI movement and why it is essential. These talking points can be customized to fit your area: DEI in the Arts, DEI for Economic Development.

For why DEI is important, APR points to America’s continuum toward inclusion: “For more than 200 years, we have made changes to do better by our people: from Reconstruction to the Civil Rights Movement, from Suffrage and Women’s Rights to the Labor Movement, from the LGBTQ+ to the Disability Movement. While each movement has had a different call to action, they are bound together because of our values: diversity, equity, and inclusion."

Related links (resources and news): 

• The National Council of Nonprofits’ chart outlining Executive Orders that may affect nonprofits directly or indirectly
• Thanks to TakeAction Minnesota for sharing this link to Democracy 2025’s real-time analysis of the current administration’s actions
• The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a huge funder of biomedical research, has cut a $60-million initiative to boost diversity in science education
• Chan Zuckerberg Initiative scrubs DEI, ends social advocacy funding
• Trump’s DEI Order Takes Aim at the Biggest Foundations



Combatting Nonprofit Employee Burnout

Twin Cities Business Reporter Sarah Luman cites several surveys that find “Low Wages and employee Burnout Hamstring Nonprofits.” 

She adds practical suggestions for responding to these trends, shared by The Nonprofit Leadership Center, which include:

• Reexamining compensation structures to offer competitive arrangements, like sabbatical leave, flexible work arrangements, and professional development
• Investing in technology
• Closing the office entirely once or twice a year (December and summer weeks). 
• Shifting to four-day workweeks.
• Creating the healthiest possible work environment

Does the Mackenzie Scott Model Work?

Five years have passed since MacKenzie Scott started giving unrestricted grants. The Center for Effective Philanthropy undertook a three-year research study examining the impact of these large, unrestricted gifts on recipient organizations

Key Findings, published in Breaking the Mold:

• Most leaders report managing grant funds to ensure their organization’s long-term financial sustainability, and few anticipate a financial cliff. 
• Many organizations are collecting information about the impact of this gift and are observing meaningful change created for communities. 
• Leaders report Scott’s gifts increased their confidence in their own leadership, reduced their burnout, and sparked innovations in their programs and improvements in fundraising. 
• Over the past three years, nonprofits have consistently reported positive effects of these large, unrestricted gifts, but foundation CEOs have mixed perspectives on the approach.

What’s Trending in 2025?

Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University has a new report: 11 Trends in Philanthropy for 2025.

Key Takeaways:

• Collective giving projected to double in the next five years
• Expect a surge in nonprofit lobbying activities
• More foundations opt for planned lifespans and spend-down strategies 
• The tax “cliff” in 2025 could mean major change for philanthropy and nonprofits
• America’s population is rapidly aging
• Expect a growth in giving days
• The decline in volunteering isn't changing
• Increase in efforts to address the health professional shortage
• Social justice philanthropy faces new challenges
• Funding democracy has become partisan
• The nonprofit workforce is in crisis

The Impact of Private International Philanthropy on Public Policy

From the Continent: In Ghana, ten legislators have resubmitted a proposed homophobic law that failed when it was first pushed. The Bill seeks to impose a five-year jail term for identifying as LGBTQIA+ and criminalise related human rights advocacy. 

Former president Nana Akufo-Addo did not sign it into law after Parliament passed it in 2024, hurting his party in the December polls. President John Mahama supported it, but he now has to balance domestic populism with liberal international funders who underwrite Ghana’s debt-burdened economy. American foundations awarding grants in Ghana include Ford, Rockefeller, Mastercard, and the Conrad Hilton Foundation.

The Membership Directory of Philanthropy New York lists hundreds of private foundations based in, or working in NYC 

Online giving platform, Fundraise Up, collaborated with Stripe to publish a report on online giving, taking a deep dive into donor behavior across the world.

A few Tip Sheet Links

In The Chronicle of Philanthropy:

• Build a Smart Outreach Plan to Keep Donors Close — and Meet Revenue Goals
• 7 Ways to Secure Corporate Partnerships — and Make the Most of Them

on Linkedin: 

• Dr. Fida Ahmed on “How to Write a Great Abstract”
• Emmanuel Tsekleves offers 6 Steps to Turn your abstract into a magnet
• Jim Langley on the  "Kind Of Campaign More Organizations Should Be Running" (lead with mission goals, not money goals)
• Tracey McConnell on Building a strong fundraising foundation
• Sharon Schneider on family offices, foundations, and impact funding

JOBS IN PHILANTHROPY

AP maintains this resource to help get good Minnesota nonprofit folks into local and national foundation jobs.

Below are open positions in MN. You can find the links to several jobs board and other open positions on our website.

• Minneapolis-based Borealis Philanthropy needs a Controller.
• Indian Land Tenure Foundation is searching for new President. —
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (MN) seeks an Executive Director in the Twin Cities.
• Met Council – Manager, Livable Communities Act Grant Programs
• Metropolitan Regional Arts Council (MRAC) is seeking new board members
• The Minneapolis Foundation: Philanthropic Advisor Associate, Tiers 4-5
•  Minnesota Star Tribune is hiring a Vice President of Philanthropy. A brand new position. The first time they’ve had a Philanthropy Veep since our buddy, Roberta Worrell ran the grantmaking operation there.

Now, when we will really need to rely on the integrity of the members of the U.S. Supreme Court, it’s probably a good time to remember two of the best jurists to ever sit on that bench. Sandra Day O’Connor (March 26, 1930) and Ruth Bader Ginsburg (March 15, 1933) were the first and second women to serve on the US Supreme Court. 

Both women have long lists of “firsts,” both were considered to be the “conscience” by their peers, and both were strong supporters of a woman’s right to choose abortion. 

When you’re with friends or just fretting about how the current court will handle our fundamental freedoms, Raise a Glass to Justices O'Connor and Ginsburg. 

While you’re at it, visit the Proteus Fund’s Piper Fund website. They’re funding grassroots efforts to ensure judicial integrity at the local level.

SO, WHAT EXACTLY DOES ACCESS PHILANTHROPY

DO FOR A LIVING? 

THANKS FOR SPENDING TIME WITH US.

Need some ideas, someone to talk to about fundraising, or just a fabulous listener/chatter?

4info@accessphilanthropy.com