Tonya Allen is president of the McKnight Foundation, a Minnesota-based family foundation that seeks to advance a more just, creative, and abundant future where people and planet thrive. McKnight annually grants about $100 million in support of climate solutions in the Midwest, an equitable and inclusive Minnesota, the arts, neuroscience, and international crop research. Allen …
McKnight is pleased to announce that Sarah Christiansen has been selected to serve as program director of the expanding MC&E program.
David Nicholson brings more than 30 years of leadership in nonprofits, government, and philanthropy.
Following a national search, the McKnight Foundation has named Nichol Higdon as its new vice president of finance and operations. Higdon comes to McKnight after 12 years in senior executive leadership roles serving YMCAs, specializing in human resources, operations, fundraising, and board and community engagement. She joins the Foundation at a time of transformation as …
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, …
We hope you’ve had a chance by now to read our new mission statement and Strategic Framework 2019–2021. We are very grateful for all the insights, questions, counsel, and outpouring of goodwill since the launch in January. A special thank-you to those who took the time to complete our survey—108 of you! We read the …
When it comes to solving the complex neurological puzzles behind autism spectrum disorders, Alzheimer’s disease and a host of other neurological impairments, award-winning medical investigator Huda Zoghbi believes basic science is the best first step: “The less we know about a medical problem from a basic research point of view, the more we struggle, and …
Farmers have always been innovators. From harnessing the wind to pump water or mill grain, to harvesting the sun to dry hay, farmers have long relied on natural resources to lighten their workload. Now with increasingly affordable technology from wind turbines to solar panels, farmers across the state of Minnesota are taking renewable energy to …
For the past decade, Climate Generation: A Will Steger Legacy has been empowering individuals and communities to engage in solutions to climate change, and the results at the state level are telling. Today, Minnesota generates over 20 percent of its power from renewable sources, and is now home to the largest solar installation in the …
“Everyone wants to feel good about using more renewable energy, but if you’re low-income, you just don’t have the option of saying ‘I’m going to invest in solar because it will pay off in 20 years,’” says Brandy Toft, Environmental Deputy Director for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in northwestern Minnesota. “When you’re struggling, …