1. Informs, Forms, Benefits Model Reshaped Our Approach

Dr. Jolly introduced the Informs, Forms, Benefits model. With this model, the communities that benefit from Foundation initiatives are also partners who inform and form the work itself.

This model has changed how we work in partnership with the community and guided our recent grantmaking redesign process, which will be fully implemented in 2026.

3. A New Strategic Plan Guided Our Work

In 2020 we launched a bold, new strategic plan that codified our work and articulated our values. The plan guided the Foundation through a time of unprecedented change in the wake of the pandemic and the racial reckoning that followed the murder of George Floyd.

We recently launched our 2025-2029 strategic plan. It retains the original plan’s aspiration, strategies and values while expanding the ways we approach our work to reach ambitious new outcomes.

Aspiration: We envision an equitable, just and vibrant Minnesota where all communities and people thrive.

Strategies: Invest in Community-led Solutions, Advocate for Equity, Inspire Generosity

Values: Community is our Compass; We Listen; We Innovate and Learn; We Commit to Equity; We Nurture Philanthropy.

5. Achieved Grantmaking Milestones

In the last ten years, we have achieved important grantmaking milestones, including:

• In 2019, we celebrated giving, with our fundholders and partners Mardag Foundation and F. R. Bigelow Foundation, a total of $1 billion to the community since the Foundation’s beginning. This number has now grown to more than $2.3 billion.
• In 2024, the Foundation had our largest year ever for grantmaking, distributing $197 million to the community.
• Over the past decade, our donors directed millions in grants to thousands of nonprofits. These grants reached every county in Minnesota and all 50 states, including Puerto Rico and Washington D.C.

7. Accelerated Capacity Building

The Foundation is a place where ideas are nurtured for the good of the community.

In the last decade, we have led or have participated in numerous initiatives, programs and organizations. In 2018 the Foundation spun off GiveMN as an independent nonprofit. Since its inception, GiveMN has raised millions each year to support Minnesota nonprofits, including $37 million in 2024.

In 2016 we created the East Metro Pulse survey and report — a tool to measure community vitality and quality of life in Dakota, Ramsey and Washington counties. East Metro Pulse provides critical insights for those who serve these counties.

In 2018 we launched an initiative that provided nonprofits with a free subscription to Catchafire, which connects organizations with pro-bono talent across several functions, such as marketing, accounting and strategy consulting.

9. Investment Innovations Took Shape

The Foundation transitioned from an outsourced investment model to a fully internal team, led by a new chief investment officer. This staffing shift allowed us to bring our investments and investment approach in alignment with the Foundation’s values. The Investments Team has also become a leading voice in the broader investment industry, encouraging more equitable practices.

Additionally, the Foundation became the first community foundation in the U.S. to sign the United Nations PRI principles for responsible investing pledge.

Today we are preparing to launch two new investment portfolios that will offer donors and other institutional investors the opportunity to participate in market-rate investments and below market-rate loans. Both portfolios will be leveraged to support local, values-aligned companies and nonprofits.