Fall 2007
Family Foundations Track
History of Minnesota
Hill Family Foundations
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Brothers Jerome Hill and Louis W. Jill Jr., founders of the Jerome Foundation and the Grotto Foundation, respectively. Photo courtesy of Jerome Foundation.
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Three foundations — Northwest Area Foundation, Grotto Foundation and Jerome Foundation — grew from the wealth of Great Northern Railway founder James J. Hill and his descendants.
Louis W. Hill Sr. created the Lexington Foundation (now Northwest Area Foundation) in 1934. Upon his death, the foundation was activated with a bequest from Hill's estate. Although no longer a family foundation, Northwest Area Foundation continues to provide community-building along the lines of the original Great Northern Railway, across Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.
On the last day of 1964, Louis W. Hill Jr. incorporated the Grotto Foundation. Since then, hundreds of community organizations and citizens in Minnesota and Alaska, including many Native American programs, have been funded by the Grotto Foundation. From 1964 through his death in 1995, Louis W. Hill Jr. led the foundation. Grotto remains an active family philanthropy under the direction of Louis Fors Hill.
The Jerome Foundation (formerly the Avon Foundation) was created by artist and philanthropist Jerome Hill (1905-1972). Now an independent private foundation, Jerome makes grants to support the creation and production of new artistic works by emerging artists living in Minnesota and New York City.
An interesting note: The Lexington, Grotto and Avon foundations were named for streets of the same names in St. Paul.
Marbrook Foundation
The Brooks family first came to Minnesota in 1856. Starting in the grain and grain-elevator business, the Brooks Brothers partnership expanded into the retail lumber business. These early lumber ventures vertically integrated and expanded rapidly in northern Minnesota and later became an extensive group of family-owned forest products companies in Minnesota, Louisiana, Florida, Oregon and British Columbia.
Edward Brooks (1888-1954) oversaw all operations from the companies' headquarters in Minneapolis. He married Markell Conley, who was active in many Twin Cities charitable causes. Edward and Markell Brooks established Marbrook Foundation in 1948 as a vehicle through which to pursue their personal philanthropy.
Marbrook's organizing documents provided the trustees with broad latitude in fulfilling their grantmaking responsibilities, specifying that the foundation "shall be operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary or educational purposes within the United States." The trustees have interpreted these guidelines in different ways over the years, depending on their perspective of societal and community needs. From Marbrook's beginning, independent trustees have had an important role in helping oversee the foundation's administration and grantmaking.
Over the past several years, Marbrook Foundation has experienced substantial renewed energy derived from the active participation of Brooks family members to maintain the philanthropic legacy established by Edward and Markell Brooks.
Mardag Foundation
Mardag Foundation, established in 1969, was originally called the Ober Charitable Foundation, but the name was changed to Mardag Foundation in 1976 to move away from identifying the foundation with one family name. Mardag reverses the syllables in the middle name of founder Agnes Dagmar Maas Elmer Ober.
Agnes was born in 1887 to poor German immigrants, Hermann A.J. Maas and Catherina Moeller. The Maas family could not support itself, so Agnes was adopted at age nine by Mr. and Mrs. James P. Elmer. After exploring nursing school in New York City, 22-year-old Agnes returned to St. Paul to marry Edgar Ober, a prominent businessman in the railroad industry. Ober helped Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing, now 3M, find its financial feet while first based in Two Harbors, Minn. He helped move the company to St. Paul and served as its president until his retirement.
The Obers were heavily involved in supporting St. Paul community programs. Edgar served as a director of the St. Paul Union Gospel Mission and led fund drives for such Mission projects as boys' clubs for juvenile delinquents until his death in 1937. Agnes served on the board of directors for United Charities, now known as Family Service, for 40 years. The investments Agnes made, including stock in 3M, formed the basis of Mardag Foundation and the means for continuing the family's community service.
The McKnight Foundation
The McKnight Foundation was established in Minneapolis in 1953 by William L. McKnight and his wife, Maude. One of the early leaders of 3M, McKnight rose from assistant bookkeeper to president and CEO in a career that spanned 59 years, from 1907 to 1966. The McKnight Foundation is an independent private philanthropic organization and is not affiliated with the 3M Company.
In 1974, shortly after his wife's death, McKnight asked their only child, Virginia McKnight Binger, to lead the foundation. Working with Russell Ewald as executive director, Binger established the formal grantmaking program and community-based approach that remain the foundation's legacy today. Since 2004, the board of directors has been chaired by Erika L. Binger, great-granddaughter of the founders.
Over the past 53 years, McKnight has granted about $1.4 billion. The Minnesota-based foundation currently has assets of approximately $2.2 billion, and granted about $93 million in 2006.
The foundation seeks to improve the quality of life for present and future generations through grantmaking, coalition-building and encouragement of strategic policy reform. The foundation makes grants in support of children and families, the arts, the environment, region and communities, and select international and scientific research efforts. For more than 50 years, its primary geographic focus has been the state of Minnesota.
The Nash Foundation
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Nash Brothers store, Grand Forks, N.D., circa 1889. Photo courtesy of The Nash Foundation. |
On April 1, 1922, The Helping Hand Society was established in Minneapolis by Fred P. Nash and Willis K. Nash, founders of the Nash Finch Company. The purpose of the society was "the care of the sick, aged and disabled, ministering to the needs of the poor, and for the advancement or promotion and administration of charitable and benevolent aims." Initial contributions to the society's endowment were made by the Nash family and the Nash Finch Company. In 1931, the name of the foundation was changed to The Nash Foundation.
Early efforts of the foundation were in support of services for the blind, to help needy employees of the Nash Finch Company, and in support of the United Fund, the Red Cross and other charitable projects in the Upper Midwest. (The Nash Foundation is no longer affiliated with the Nash Finch Company and operates as a private family foundation.)
In spite of the dispersal of the family over the last half century to many other parts of the country, The Nash Foundation continues with an active board. The intent of the founders, as set forth over 80 years ago, continues to guide the foundation in the 21st century.
I.A. O'Shaughnessy Foundation
Ignatius Aloysius O'Shaughnessy, the 13th child of John and Mary Ann Milan O'Shaughnessy, was born on July 31, 1885, on the feast day of St. Ignatius Loyola. His parents had run out of the usual names, so they decided on Ignatius; he later chose Aloysius as his confirmation name.
His father, who was born in Ireland, moved the family from Milford, Mass., to Stillwater
in the early 1860s. There, John set up business in the lumber boomtown, making boots for lumberjacks. Despite his modest background, O'Shaughnessy was never impressed by sentimental "rags-to-riches" stories. He believed success came from a measure of luck, being in the right place at the right time, but more so from strength of character — making the most of opportunities through hard work and determination.
Besides being blessed with the "luck of the Irish," he was a bold and innovative businessman. Over the years, O'Shaughnessy set up a number of companies in refining and exploration, making good use of new technologies and thereby greatly increasing profitability. At one time he was one of the largest independent oil producers in the world.
Because of the obligation he felt to share his good fortune with others and the delight he took in doing so, he gave away much of his wealth. In order to formalize and perpetuate his philanthropic work, he established the I.A. O'Shaughnessy Foundation in 1941. Until his death in 1973 at the age of 88, grants were made from the foundation solely at his direction. His approach to giving was characteristic, one of keen perception and direct action. Once he saw a problem or a benefit to be derived, he moved swiftly to accomplish his goal.
Today, the foundation remains very much a family foundation. The model set up by the founder — following one's charitable interests and responding directly to perceived needs — is still in place. With an increase in the number of directors and greater family involvement in the foundation, those interests have become broader and more varied. Because of this growth and with an eye to the participation of coming generations, the foundation is currently reviewing its approach to grantmaking and planning for its future.
Onan Family Foundation
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D.W. Onan with Sister Elizabeth Kenny in 1951. Photo courtesy of The Onan Foundation.
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In 1905, at age 19, D.W. Onan moved to South St. Paul from Moorhead, Minn., and ran a roller-skating rink. The direction of his business life was set three years later when he moved to Minneapolis to work for a Rambler automobile dealer. He ran a mail-order automobile parts repair shop for Reinhard Brothers Co. until 1918, when he began to manufacture and sell auto repair shop tools and equipment. His experience in carburetors and electrical systems made him well known locally.
Onan moved his small business out of the basement and into a garage in 1922. His entrepreneurial spirit got him involved in automobile electrical systems, outboard motor starters, table saws and, in about 1930, generator sets and electrical switch gear, which brought him prosperity and independence.
In the mid-1940s, a polio epidemic affected adults and children across the country, and no cure or effective treatment for the disease was available. Australian nurse Sister Elizabeth Kenny had a therapy that reduced crippling and restored many to walking. She was not part of the established medical community and had difficulty gaining acceptance of her treatments. Onan and others put together an organization to allow her to practice, which became the Sister Kenny Institute. Some of the first major contributions of the Onan Family Foundation were to the Kenny Institute.
The Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation
In 1944, Jay and Rose Phillips created a philanthropic foundation so that their longstanding practice of giving back to the community could continue far into the future.
As children of Russian Jewish immigrants, Jay and Rose Phillips both grew up in hardworking families that placed great importance on the Jewish values of charity, loving-kindness and social justice. Even as an 8-year-old newsboy working to help support his family, Jay left a portion of his earnings at the local bakery for the hungry.
Jay extended this generosity throughout his lifetime — his was one of the first companies to incorporate profit-sharing practices, giving employees a portion of his company's returns. Together with Rose, Jay worked tirelessly to continue to share the couple's resources, building a stronger community for all Minnesotans.
From the beginning, The Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation focused on areas where Jay saw the greatest need: efforts to combat discrimination and honor diversity, self-sufficiency, health, education and programs for people with disabilities. In 1987, the National Society of Fundraising Executives named Jay the National Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year. In accepting the award, he spoke prophetically of the responsibility of foundations to address unmet human and social needs during times of severe economic hardship and financial distress.
Reflecting Jay and Rose's commitment to give back to the community — or, as they always put it, to "share" with the community — the foundation has grown in size and scope and now funds more than 316 organizations.
Sundance Family Foundation
Nancy Jacobs and Mark Sandercott met in the early 1980s, when each moved to the Twin Cities. Their shared Midwestern values (she was from Ohio, and he was from Michigan), delight in the great outdoors and a genuine enjoyment of people fueled their desire to spend time together pursuing their passions.
Nancy and Mark's interests in global philanthropy began as a result of their opportunities to travel and volunteer in the developing world. This focus deepened when they realized, through their own family experiences, the undeniable level and quantity of need for stable family life. By the early 2000s the seeds of their philanthropy were planted, and they began to expand their visions and hopes for something more.
In 2003, with the encouragement of family and friends, the help of professionals and their own attitudes, they created Sundance Family Foundation. After preliminary creative work and exploration, Nancy and Mark began to assemble a small, diverse and talented board of directors from an array of capable people from the community — an unusual course of action for a private family foundation.
Today, Nancy and Mark feel fortunate to be aligned with dozens of successful life- and family-enhancing programs. It is the belief of Sundance Family Foundation that as families receive the nurturing and stability they deserve, they are able to act intuitively toward fuller, more abundant living. This includes the desire to give back to their communities and the global world, as well.
James R. Thorpe Foundation
Born in 1903, James Ruggles Thorpe was the second of four children of Margaret Andrus and Samuel Skidmore Thorpe, a co-founder (in 1885) of the Thorpe Brothers Real Estate Company. James Thorpe retired in 1968, having served not only as president of the company, but also in a variety of state and regional organizations as well as the National Association of Realtors.
Thorpe maintained a lifelong commitment to education and personally helped many individuals obtain both secondary and college degrees. Further, he donated generously during his lifetime, as well as after this death, to several institutions of higher education, among them Carleton College and Princeton University.
He established the foundation in 1974 to continue these and other philanthropic efforts he valued in the Minneapolis area. A lifelong bachelor, Thorpe invited four of his 10 nieces and nephews to serve on the original board of directors, three of whom continue in this role today. When he died in 1978, the foundation received the major portion of his estate.
Since that time, the James R. Thorpe Foundation has continued to support both educational and youth-serving agencies in the Minneapolis area. By intention, however, the foundation currently funds an even wider variety of program areas — in arts, education and social services — always with an eye toward those dealing with children and youth. The board of directors has deliberately chosen in recent years to limit grantmaking to smaller nonprofits whose operating budgets are less than $2 million. As a small family foundation, the board feels it can provide more meaningful assistance to these particular groups.
© Copyright 2007 Minnesota Council on Foundations
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