In the fall of 2019, the McKnight Foundation commissioned the University of Minnesota’s Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) to conduct a statewide survey of stakeholders. It was part of a multifaceted and multilevel input-gathering process designed to help shape and inform the Foundation’s new Vibrant & Equitable Communities program.

The goal of the survey was to seek broad input from people who could not participate in meetings, focus groups, or other in-person engagement methods.

In addition to direct feedback on what McKnight does to advance its new strategies, McKnight received significant and important feedback about how the Foundation does its work. The message received was that staff relationships with grantees and experiences with the grantmaking processes are in many ways just as important as what the Foundation decides to fund.