River Action is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering the environmental, economic, and cultural vitality of the Mississippi River and its riverfront in the Quad Cities region in northwest Ilinois and southeastern Iowa. River Action encourages greater access to the riverfront, builds and expands riverfront recreation trails, protects endangered habitat, and cleans up the river. …
This post originally appeared at The Edge, an online magazine from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Policy Development and Research. Recently, the McKnight Foundation has been giving more consideration to what market orientation and scalability mean for our programs, policies, and grantmaking approach. In part this is an adaptive response to the …
February 6, 2015 Brief summarizing takeaways from New America’s Dual Language Learners National Work Group 2015 convening.
Last week in Minneapolis, hundreds of people gathered at the Economic Club of Minnesota, which provides a non-partisan platform for business, government, and public policy leaders to present ideas on how Minnesota can better compete in the global economy. The packed house came together for the national release of Heat in the Heartland: Climate Change & Economic Risk in the Midwest, a new …
January 2015 This McKnight-funded follow-up to the original Risky Business report zeros in on the Midwest and offers a first step toward defining the range of potential economic consequences to this particular region if we continue on our current greenhouse gas emissions pathway. The Risky Business Project is a joint partnership of Bloomberg Philanthropies, the …
Great River Greening (GRG) inspires, engages and leads local Minnesota communities in conserving and caring for the land and water that enrich our lives. The McKnight Foundation’s support for Great River Greening has been critical for implementing the local, community-led approach to reducing agricultural pollution in targeted watersheds. GRG has developed a model in Seven …
Midwest Environmental Advocates is a nonprofit, nonpartisan law center that works for healthy water, air, land and government for this generation and the next. Based in Wisconsin, MEA helps citizens use the power of the law to defend clean drinking water, healthy wetlands, meaningful public participation in decisionmaking, and open and accountable government. At the …
Kate Wolford is the former president of the McKnight Foundation, a Minnesota-based family foundation that seeks to improve the quality of life for present and future generations through grantmaking, collaboration, impact investing, and strategic policy reform. She stepped down from the Foundation in November 2019. Wolford joined the McKnight Foundation in 2006. During her tenure, …
Compatible Technology International (CTI) creates practical tools to help impoverished communities in developing countries overcome critical food and water challenges. They engineer technologies for small farmers in rural communities — a group that comprises approximately 75% of the global poor. CTI empowers these farmers, many of whom are women, with affordable tools that improve their …
The Minnesota Orchestra, now in its second century and led by Music Director Osmo Vänskä, ranks among America’s top symphonic ensembles, with a distinguished history of acclaimed performances in its home state and around the world. The ensemble presents nearly 200 programs each year, primarily at Orchestra Hall in downtown Minneapolis, and its concerts are …