All In On Mission

2026 is shaping up to be a defining year for communities across the country and our democracy. It is a year when short‑term shocks are colliding with long‑standing pressures on housing, employment, and civic life at a time when public systems are stretched thin, and trust is increasingly fragile. What happens in moments like this can either deepen instability or strengthen the ability of communities to recover, reimagine, and build forward together.

This reality continues to play out in our home state of Minnesota. As federal immigration enforcement takes on quieter tactics and national headlines start to move on, it’s still not business as usual here. Parents still look over their shoulder as they drop off their kids at school, እና hesitate to go to work, shop at the grocery store, or even visit the doctor. Small businesses, particularly immigrant-owned ones, have not fully rebounded, cascading negative impacts to their employees. When fear and disruption reshape daily life, people miss work, income drops, and debt accumulates quickly, often faster than systems are set up to respond.

What we are seeing in Minnesota does not end at housing or employment. When families are forced into crisis, the impacts reverberate outward, affecting health, education, economic stability, and whether people feel safe and supported in their daily lives. It also weakens the conditions that allow communities to participate fully in civic life and to solve problems together. In Minnesota and beyond, these pressures are only increasing.

This is why 2026 is a consequential year.

For McKnight, a strong democracy is inseparable from strong communities. Communities can thrive and fully participate in our democracy with greater stability, safety, and economic security, just as an enduring democracy requires people to have voice, agency, and trust in the systems meant to serve them. This work calls people in from across ideologies and is essential to advancing a more just, creative, and abundant future.

Philanthropy has the resources to address immediate harm as it unfolds while keeping our eyes on the horizon and not losing sight of the transformative opportunities to help realize a stronger future. This is the test of our generation as funders.

For that reason, McKnight’s board of directors has approved an additional $20 million from the Foundation’s endowment, beyond our current grantmaking budget to invest in near-term needs and opportunities to strengthen communities and defend democracy in 2026. This funding is a part of fulfilling our responsibility as a Minnesota foundation and as part of this community.

Combined with earlier grantmaking increases beyond existing programmatic budgets, McKnight’s grants budget for 2026 is 60 percent higher than our historic grantmaking level. These increased investments complement our long-term programmatic grantmaking strategies. They demonstrate how in moments of compounding instability and complexity, McKnight can act as a long‑term institution willing to use flexible capital now to help stabilize communities, protect the civic conditions that democracy depends on, and invest in durable community leadership. They affirm our belief that we are strongest when every person has what they need to prosper and to have a say in the policies that affect their lives. This decision is not a departure from our mission, but a disciplined expression of it.

Reflecting on McKnight’s 2025 Giving

McKnight’s ability to respond decisively today is rooted in our history and a commitment our Board made in 2023 to go all in on our mission—and increase our grantmaking by $200 million over five years to invest in timely opportunities to benefit people and the planet.

As a result of this decision, 2025 was the highest grantmaking year in McKnight’s nearly 75-year history—awarding more than $150 million through 736 grants, marking a charitable payout above 7 percent and surpassing our previous grantmaking record in 2024. Stewardship is not only about saving for the future. It’s also about deploying our assets now to foster resilience, equity, and lasting progress.

And it’s part of our grantmaking legacy as a Foundation. Since our founding in 1953 with an initial $1 million endowment, McKnight has granted more than $3.41 billion to strengthen communities and economies across Minnesota and the world. One powerful example of this approach was when McKnight helped establish the six Minnesota Initiative Foundations in the height of the farm and economic crisis of the 1980s. Since their founding, McKnight has invested $331 million in the six Minnesota Initiative Foundations. The Minnesota Initiative Foundations, which are celebrating 40-years of community building this year, demonstrate the power of finding transformative opportunities in moments of crisis and are a prime example and a national model for place-based philanthropic leadership.

Over time, McKnight’s sustained investments in people and places have supported vibrant arts and culture ecosystems, expanded access to essentials like housing and quality jobs, strengthened clean air, water, and food systems, advanced scientific research, and helped build economic opportunity in every corner of Minnesota.

The Future is Not Finished

McKnight is all in on our mission because we believe the future is not finished. It is being shaped right now by the choices we make, the truth we tell, and whether we match the courage of everyday people with the tools we offer.

This moment asks more of all of us, not just to respond to what’s broken, but to invest in what can be built together. The work ahead is not about who steps up alone, but about how many choose to step forward together.