The following interview was originally published on Clean Energy Resource Teams’ (CERTs) blog. Clean Energy Resource Teams: Can you tell us a little bit about what you do in the energy world in Minnesota? Kate Wolford: I serve as president of the McKnight Foundation, a Minnesota-based family foundation. One of our goals is to foster midwest …
It all began with an audacious idea, said Paul Schroeder, CEO of HOURCAR, a Minnesota car-sharing nonprofit. “The Big Idea,” as Schroeder called it in 2017, involved an all-electric car-sharing service and a network of electric charging hubs to be located in historically underinvested communities across the Twin Cities. Just four years later, this idea …
At McKnight and in the communities we support, we have a reason to celebrate today! The new Vibrant & Equitable Communities (V&EC) program announces its strategies and grantmaking guidelines, and the Midwest Climate & Energy (MC&E) program has updated its strategies to reflect its exciting next phase of work. We invite you to visit the …
The following article was originally published by Keecha Harris and Associates, Inc., on August 18, 2019. It is reprinted here with full permission. The Racial Equity Truth Tellers Series is a collection of stories, curated by Keecha Harris and Associates, Inc., centered on the racial equity journeys of InDEEP program participants and other influencers in philanthropy. Mark Muller, Mississippi River Program director for the …
I am thrilled to share additional details about the significant expansion of McKnight’s Midwest Climate & Energy (MC&E) program. As president Kate Wolford and board chair Debby Landesman announced, our board of directors has decided to double MC&E’s grantmaking budget over the next three years. The board has also approved a new program goal: Take …
The McKnight Foundation has selected visual artist Jim Denomie to receive the 2019 Distinguished Artist Award, a $50,000 gift created to honor a Minnesota artist who has made significant contributions to the state’s cultural life. Denomie, a member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Ojibwe, combines vivid hues and disarming humor in powerful narrative …
We all want to leave behind for our children and grandchildren a safe, healthy, and vibrant Minnesota. Whether we live in a big city or a small town, we can ensure cleaner air and water if we work together with our neighbors, business owners, and government leaders to demand a transition to an equitable clean …
Wanted: 21st-Century Working Artists Must have skills and experience in activating beauty and wonder; increasing empathy and awareness of issues; making and communicating meaning; catalyzing social cohesion; provoking and holding space for inquiry and dialogue; and engaging and mobilizing people. The McKnight Foundation supports working artists because they craft the context for democracy and deepen …
Farming is in Geoffrey and Leann Johnson’s blood. Leann grew up a farm girl near Mountain Lake, in southwestern Minnesota. For 34 years, she and Geof have made their home on his family farm near Windom. They’re active in the community with things like the local theater, township board, FFA, and they give to the …
Jumping up and down with squeals of delight, a group of small children watched wide-eyed as a fire engine pulled up in front of their child care provider’s home. Fortunately, the responders were not there for an emergency but for a special outreach to meet providers in Grant County in west central Minnesota and distribute …