Minnesota · Grantmakers

Foundations That Fund Education in Minnesota

Imperigo has identified 961 funders that made 10,321 grants totaling $2.4B to 898 education organizations in Minnesota, with a median grant of $20K. Every figure below is drawn from IRS Form 990 filings through 2025.

Education Funding in Minnesota

Total granted $2.4B
Funders 961
Grants 10,321
Organizations funded 898

Top Funders — page 1 of 4

1. Educational Credit Management Corporation
8 grants to 5 organizations · largest $265.1M · through 2024 · 77.6% of their giving
$843.0M
2. Serveminnesota
12 grants to 3 organizations · largest $57.5M · through 2023 · 87.7% of their giving
$199.7M
3. The Minneapolis Foundation
510 grants to 157 organizations · largest $6.1M · through 2024 · 13.7% of their giving
$81.8M
4. Northstar Education Finance Inc
16 grants to 5 organizations · largest $8.4M · through 2024 · 88.7% of their giving
$31.0M
5. Children's Cancer Research Fund
107 grants to 1 organization · largest $5.0M · through 2025 · 62.3% of their giving
$28.2M
6. Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation
573 grants to 176 organizations · largest $3.6M · through 2024 · 9.1% of their giving
$57.1M
7. The Marvin M Schwan Charitable Foundation
5 grants to 1 organization · largest $3.9M · through 2024 · 22.3% of their giving
$15.8M
8. Burger King Foundation Inc
3 grants to 1 organization · largest $4.2M · through 2024 · 85.4% of their giving
$11.3M
9. Holl Trust a-Macalester College
6 grants to 1 organization · largest $1.7M · through 2024 · 100.0% of their giving
$9.4M
10. Northwestern Foundation
4 grants to 1 organization · largest $5.9M · through 2022 · 93.6% of their giving
$6.2M
11. Ucare Minnesota
3 grants to 2 organizations · largest $13.2M · through 2022 · 8.7% of their giving
$13.5M
12. Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota
92 grants to 32 organizations · largest $4.5M · through 2024 · 7.9% of their giving
$10.9M
13. Minnesota Community Foundation
40 grants to 40 organizations · largest $1.1M · through 2019 · 16.7% of their giving
$5.1M
14. Family Housing Fund
13 grants to 3 organizations · largest $1.3M · through 2025 · 21.8% of their giving
$3.9M
15. Taco Bell Foundation Inc
1 grant to 1 organization · largest $8.1M · through 2022 · 9.6% of their giving
$8.1M
16. Curtis L Carlson Family Foundation for the University of Minnesota
5 grants to 1 organization · largest $800K · through 2024 · 100.0% of their giving
$3.5M
17. Communitygiving
106 grants to 41 organizations · largest $692K · through 2024 · 8.6% of their giving
$6.8M
18. The Constellation Fund
23 grants to 7 organizations · largest $300K · through 2024 · 16.3% of their giving
$3.2M
19. The Millicent Merle Atkins Charitable Trust
4 grants to 1 organization · largest $520K · through 2022 · 33.3% of their giving
$1.9M
20. Delta Dental of Minnesota Foundation
10 grants to 4 organizations · largest $710K · through 2024 · 10.4% of their giving
$3.5M
21. Achieving Cures Together
6 grants to 1 organization · largest $379K · through 2025 · 96.8% of their giving
$1.8M
22. Women's Foundation of Minnesota
47 grants to 23 organizations · largest $324K · through 2024 · 13.6% of their giving
$2.3M
23. Andersen Book Trust
4 grants to 1 organization · largest $1.2M · through 2023 · 56.7% of their giving
$1.5M
24. National Cyber Scholarship Foundation
1 grant to 1 organization · largest $1.5M · through 2021 · 65.0% of their giving
$1.5M
25. The American Center for Philanthropy Inc
69 grants to 17 organizations · largest $162K · through 2024 · 11.2% of their giving
$2.6M

Funders are ordered by how much of their overall giving goes to education work in Minnesota, not by dollar totals alone — a foundation that concentrates its giving here is usually a better prospect than a larger one for which this is a rounding error. 17 of the funders counted here are donor-advised fund sponsors, which grant on behalf of individual donors and accept no applications; they are marked and ranked last.

Other Causes Funded in Minnesota

About This Data

A grant appears here when a funder reported it on its IRS Form 990 and the recipient organization is classified under the NTEE group covering education work, with an address in Minnesota. Grants are counted from the 2025 filing year backward.

Some 990 grant schedules list a recipient by name and address without an EIN, and those grants cannot be matched to a classification — so the totals above represent identifiable education funding in Minnesota, not every dollar that reached the sector. Figures are a floor, not a ceiling.

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Research Minnesota funders in depth

Full grant histories, recipient lists, officer compensation, multi-year financials, and exports for every foundation Imperigo tracks.