Minnesota has seen a rapid growth in the number of Family Foundations and Donor Advised Funds over the past decade as more high-income families seek to give back to their communities. Family foundations are small and give out a limited number grants per year, but are worth pursuing. When you develop a funding relationship it often continues for years. The key to developing a funding relationship with a family foundation is getting the attention of one of the family members serving on its board. Names of board members can be found at www.guidestar.org or in the additional resources described below.

Larger family foundations have staff support and well-defined guidelines and priorities. Small family foundations are less formal and have a great deal of discretion in selecting new projects and organizations to fund. We have compiled a brief profile for twelve family foundations with an interest in education. See list below--- click on the foundation name to learn about the focus and values that are important to the family.

• Lillian Wright
• Carolyn Foundation
• HRK Foundation
• Irwin Andrew Porter Foundation
• Kopp Family Foundation
• Lewis H. Johnson Foundation
• McNeely Foundation
• Laura Jane Musser Fund
• Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation
• Saunders Family Foundation
• Schmoker Family Foundation

Additional Resources

To learn more about the foundations above or to find additional family foundations that may be a fit for your project you can –

• Visit the Foundation Center Cooperating Collection at the Minneapolis Central Library in downtown Minneapolis http://foundationcenter.org/collections/
• Look through the annual reports of other organizations and charities to review their list of donors and the amount of dollars given
• Subscribe to the Minnesota Grantmakers On-Line. www.mcf.org/mngrants/tour/index.html
• Send a brief summary of your organization and projects to the staff for the donor advised funds at the Minneapolis Foundation and St. Paul Foundation www.mplsfoundation.org so they can share your projects with potential donors.

Once you know the name of a family foundation, you can research past projects they have funded. Find out the names of their board members on their Annual IRS form 990, available on line at www.guidestar.org. Finally, it is of great help to research to find someone (staff, parents, etc.) in your district knows one or more board members of the family foundation(s) from which you are seeking funds. If you have a contact who knows a member of their board-- you can ask them to introduce your project and/or organization to them.