Mcknight family loan program

It then adjusted its strategy to the post-crisis low prices to create a strategic acquisition fund. Disclaimer of Endorsement: The McKnight Foundation does not endorse or recommend any commercial products, processes, or service providers. Family Housing Fund protects and creates affordable housing in the Twin Cities metro area. Home Prosperity Fund Metrics Since Inception Households receiving homebuyer assistance Properties receiving development assistance Properties in low-income census tracks Properties in moderate-income census tracks Lessons Learned.

See all Impact Investments. Home Prosperity Fund Metrics. He inspired us to look for different approaches, to go beyond what was expected. The Minnesota Initiatives Funds concentrate on rural communities in Minnesota. Each fund makes grants and loans within its region for economic development, leadership development, community building, and social services. The McKnight Foundation funds the Initiatives with the understanding that they work toward achieving financial independence.

The foundation had limited its grantmaking to Minnesota, where the 3M company was headquartered. Currently, the foundation funds programs that promote self-sufficiency, primarily in Southeast Asia and East Africa.

His estate was tied up in a lengthy dispute over taxes between the states of Minnesota and Florida, where he had homes. In less than a decade, its assets had increased sixfold, transforming the foundation from the one-man band the founder had run into a large, professionally staffed organization.

After 14 years of leading the board, in , Virginia Binger passed the reins to her daughter, Cynthia Boynton. It also permitted them to pay special tribute to the founder. William McKnight had been fascinated by the mysteries of the brain and, in particular, memory loss and brain disorders.

His curiosity led him to consult with renowned scientists and, in , to establish a research program that later became the McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience, which the foundation has supported ever since. When Virginia took charge of the foundation in , she envisioned the leadership of the foundation passing from one generation to the next. The McKnight family, however, is small: one blood descendent in the second generation, two in the third, and four in the fourth.

If the foundation were to continue as a family foundation, the directors knew they had to interest the next generation in serving on the board. At meals, the grandchildren listened to their parents and grandparents discuss social issues and debate proposals. We felt proud that the foundation was part of our heritage and when we were older, we all wanted to be involved.

She became a director in Their brother, Ben, joined in The fourth generation are fortunate to learn firsthand about the history of the foundation from the family members who built and shaped it.

In addition to their parents, their grandmother, Virginia, now honorary chair, and grandfather, Jim, are still involved with the foundation, although no longer directors.

The value the donor placed on encouraging individual initiative and respecting individual differences set the tone for the McKnight Foundation.

Family members want to serve on this board because they know they will be welcomed as equal participants and given opportunities for leadership. In , after 12 years as board president and chair, Cynthia relinquished her leadership role to her daughter, Noa. As the third consecutive woman in the family to assume the position of board president and chair, it may appear that the McKnight Foundation is promoting a lineage of women leaders.

Male family members who are blood relatives are eligible, too; only they have been in short supply. One day, his son, Ben, the youngest of the fourth generation, may head the board but for the foreseeable future, it is likely to be the province of the women in the family.

Cynthia worked as a volunteer in prisons, hospitals, and on suicide hot lines, and shared her experiences with her daughter. Living on the West Coast and caring for a toddler did not deter Noa from accepting the responsibilities of chairing the board of one of the largest family foundations in America. Like her grandmother, she sees the foundation as a wonderful way to connect with people in different communities.

She was an amazingly creative leader. She loved chairing the board and getting involved with organizations, and I do, too. Noa has something else in common with her grandmother. Both were only children and, for both, preserving the foundation as a family foundation has special significance.

Like her grandmother and mother before her, Noa is putting her own stamp on the board. More than her predecessors, she thinks about what it means to be a woman in a leadership role and what women, in particular, contribute to organizations. One area Noa plans to pay more attention to is building relationships—with the people in the community and foundation staff.

Moreover, she also wants to ensure that each family member has the opportunity to participate in the foundation to the extent that he or she desires. For example, her cousin Erika is doing an internship at the foundation to learn more about daily operations, gain a better understanding of program areas, engage with grantees, and prepare to become a more educated board member.

The smooth transition of leadership that this foundation has experienced from one generation to the next speaks to a family legacy that encourages and supports individual initiative.

What entices family members to serve on the board is a strong sense of family pride and the knowledge that they will have a voice in shaping the foundation. Four generations of family members have led the McKnight Foundation over its year history. Each has put his or her own stamp on the foundation, enriching the family legacy. While the family honors and respects the interests of the founder, they recognize as equally important the contributions that all the family members and staff have made to the growth and development of the foundation.

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