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Minnesota Environmental Fund at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Minnesota Environmental Fund

MINNESOTA ENVIRONMENTAL FUND engages individuals and workplaces to support leading nonprofit organizations that protect, conserve, and restore minnesota's environment, including clean water, natural lands, clean air, and healthy food.

$313k
Granted FY2021
19
Grants FY2021
1
States reached
$18k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2021.

Environment$1.9MEmployment$48kHousing & Shelter$47kAnimals$44k
02FY2021 · 19 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 19 grants below total $206,513, the rows itemized in this filing. The $312,949 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $106,436 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2021

  • Under $10k4 grants · $26k
  • $10k–50k15 grants · $181k
$11,123
Median grant
1
States reached
$0
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
FRIENDS OF THE BOUNDARY WATERS WILDERNESS$17,830
CLEAN WATER FUND$13,979
FRIENDS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER$12,371
THE SIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION$12,333
TREE TRUST$12,247
PARKS & TRAILS COUNCIL OF MINNESOTA$12,245
MINNESOTA CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY$12,139
THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND$11,655
VOYAGEURS NATIONAL PARK ASSOCIATION$11,517
ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVE$11,123
LAND STEWARDSHIP PROJECT$11,046
WOMEN'S ENVIRONMENTAL INSTITUTE$11,002
NORTH AMERICAN WATER OFFICE$10,544
WILDERNESS INQUIRY$10,537
NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY - AUDUBON MINNESOTA$10,162
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY17–21, $145k) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 7%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 7%THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $74k → 14%THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $24k → 14%THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $22k → 14%THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $14k → 14%THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND: $12k → 14%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.9M · 18 repeat orgs$48k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +86% since the first grant, against -8% for those funded once.

18 repeat relationships: 17 still active in FY2021, 1 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2021 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

18
2

Total granted

$1.9M
$37k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+86%
-8%

Still filing today

94%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2021, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $11k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21
EnvironmentRecreation & SportsHuman ServicesEducationScience & TechOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • LV
    LAS VEGAS RESCUE MISSION
    5× · 2017–2021 · $145k · revenue +59%
  • FO
    FRIENDS OF THE BOUNDARY WATERS WILDERNESS
    5× · 2017–2021 · $123k · revenue +458%
  • FO
    FRIENDS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
    5× · 2017–2021 · $105k · revenue +100%

Funded once

  • CG
    CLIMATE GENERATION
    one grant, 2017 · $19k · revenue -8%
  • MF
    MINNESOTA FOOD ASSOCIATION
    one grant, 2017 · $18k
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Minnesota Environmental Partnership

The minnesota environmental partnership is a coalition that strengthens member effectiveness and builds collective power to secure a healthy environment for all minnesotans.

Environment
2
World Wildlife Fund Inc

Wwf's mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on earth. (continued on schedule o)

Environment
3
Huron Pines Resource Conservation & Development Council Inc

It is our mission at huron pines to conserve and enhance northern michigan's natural resources to ensure healthy water, protected places and vibrant communities. for alomst 50 years, our work across the forests, lakes and streams of…

Environment
4
Wild Rivers Conservancy of the St Croix & Namekagon

The mission of wild rivers conservancy of the st. croix & namekagon is to inspire stewardship to forever ensure the rare ecological integrity of the st. croix and namekagon riverway. the conservancy of the st. croix and namekagon works…

Environment
5
Conservation Minnesota

Conservation minnesota's mission is to turn our shared conservation values into state priorities and provide you with the information you need to make decisions for your family, community and future.

Environment
6
Washington Forest Law Center

Dedicated to protecting the world's natural environment on behalf of the public by serving as a public interest law firm. refer to schedule o, part iii, line 4a, for list of litigated cases or advocacy work.

—
7
Fresh Energy

Shape and drive bold policy solutions to achieve equitable carbon-neutral economies.

Environment
8
Natural Resources Defense Council Inc

We safeguard the earth: its people, its plants and animals, and (see schedule o) the natural systems on which all life depends. we work to restore the integrity of the elements that sustain life - air, land, and water - to defend…

Environment
9
North Dakota Natural Resources Trust
—
10
Washington Water Trust

Wwt's mission is to protect and restore water in rivers and streams across washington state. washington water trust restores and protects water in rivers and streams and promotes sustainable freshwater management in washington, and, more…

Environment
11
Climate Conservation Dba Center for Large Landscape Conservation

We bring science, policy, and proven solutions directly to communities working to restore the integrity and natural connectivity of the landscapes in which they live. (see schedule o)

Environment
12
Swan Valley Connections

Maintain the swan valley's unique natural resources and ensure that a vibrant human community can sustain itself through stewardship, education, economic viability, and conservation on public and private lands.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Freshwater Society; the most unlike its peers is Las Vegas Rescue Mission. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

21 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 21 of the 23 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
21/21
Grantees still filing
16/21
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

FRIENDS OF THE BOUNDARY WATERS WILDERNESS: $123,005 · EnvironmentFRIENDS OF THE BOUNDARY WATERS WILDERNESSFRIENDS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER: $105,466 · EnvironmentFRIENDS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVERCLEAN WATER FUND: $104,750 · EnvironmentCLEAN WATER FUNDSIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION: $101,182 · EnvironmentSIERRA CLUB FOUNDATIONWILDERNESS INQUIRY INC: $98,826 · EnvironmentWILDERNESS INQUIRY INCMINNESOTA CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY: $94,647 · EnvironmentMINNESOTA CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACYNATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $94,377 · EnvironmentNATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INCVOYAGEURS CONSERVANCY: $93,848 · EnvironmentVOYAGEURS CONSERVANCYLAND STEWARDSHIP PROJECT: $93,458 · EnvironmentLAND STEWARDSHIP PROJECTWOMENS ENVIRONMENTAL INSTITUTE AT AMADOR HILL: $90,609 · EnvironmentWOMENS ENVIRONMENTAL INSTITUTE AT AMADOR HILLENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVE: $89,109 · EnvironmentENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVEMINNESOTA WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $85,452 · EnvironmentMINNESOTA WILDLIFE FEDERATIONIZAAK WALTON LEAGUE OF AMERICA INC: $83,880 · EnvironmentIZAAK WALTON LEAGUE OF AMERICA INCTHE NEIGHBORHOOD RECYCLING CORPORATION: $76,648 · EnvironmentTHE NEIGHBORHOOD RECYCLING CORPORATION+1 more: $5,395 · EnvironmentNORTH AMERICAN WATER OFFICE INC: $134,057 · OtherNORTH AMERICAN WATER…THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $123,392 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVAN…Tree Trust: $100,796 · OtherTree TrustMINNESOTA FOOD ASSOCIATION: $18,297 · OtherPARKS & TRAILS COUNCIL OF MINNESOTA: $147,840 · Recreation & SportsLAS VEGAS RESCUE MISSION: $145,317 · Human ServicesCLIMATE GENERATION: $18,551 · EducationFRESHWATER SOCIETY: $5,542 · Science & Tech
Environment$1,340,652Other$376,542Recreation & Sports$147,840Human Services$145,317Education$18,551Science & Tech$5,542

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetPARKS & TRAILS COUNCIL OF MINNESOTA: $147,840 over 5y, 8.2% of budgetLAS VEGAS RESCUE MISSION: $145,317 over 5y, 1.3% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $123,392 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE BOUNDARY WATERS WILDERNESS: $123,005 over 5y, 3.9% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER: $105,466 over 5y, 1.2% of budgetCLEAN WATER FUND: $104,750 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetSIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION: $101,182 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetTree Trust: $100,796 over 5y, 0.5% of budgetWILDERNESS INQUIRY INC: $98,826 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetMINNESOTA CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY: $94,647 over 5y, 1.2% of budgetNATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INC: $94,377 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetVOYAGEURS CONSERVANCY: $93,848 over 5y, 7.3% of budgetLAND STEWARDSHIP PROJECT: $93,458 over 5y, 1.5% of budgetWOMENS ENVIRONMENTAL INSTITUTE AT AMADOR HILL: $90,609 over 5y, 7.5% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVE: $89,109 over 5y, 1.1% of budgetMINNESOTA WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $85,452 over 5y, 47% of budgetIZAAK WALTON LEAGUE OF AMERICA INC: $83,880 over 5y, 11% of budgetTHE NEIGHBORHOOD RECYCLING CORPORATION: $76,648 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetCLIMATE GENERATION: $18,551 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetFRESHWATER SOCIETY: $5,542 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetMISSISSIPPI PARK CONNECTION: $5,395 over 1y, 0.4% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

The Minneapolis Found…Pohlad Family Foundat…Saint Paul & Minnesot…Elmer L & Eleanor J A…Xcel Energy FoundationMortenson Family Foun…The McKnight Foundati…Patrick and Aimee But…Longview FoundationThe Nash FoundationMightycause Charitabl…The K Foundation
The Minneapolis FoundationMN25.6× affinity11 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Minneapolis Foundation · Pohlad Family Foundation · Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation · Elmer L & Eleanor J Andersen Foundation · Xcel Energy Foundation · Mortenson Family Foundation · The McKnight Foundation · Patrick and Aimee Butler Family · Longview Foundation · The Nash Foundation · Mightycause Charitable Foundation · The K Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Minnesota Environmental Fund funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Minnesota Environmental Fund. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%5%11%20%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25
    How this is measured
    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Minnesota Environmental Fund?

    Find your warmest path to Minnesota Environmental Fund through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

    Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 23 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2021, released 2021. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Possibly out of date. A more recent filing (FY2022) is on record and reports $229k of grant expense, but none of it to a named recipient. On a Form 990 that can mean grants abroad, filed by region only (Schedule F), grants under $5,000, which are not itemized, or a schedule referenced as an attachment the e-file does not carry. The figures above are therefore from FY2021, the most recent year this funder named its grantees.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Minnesota Environmental’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home