Rooted in equity and community, the Foundation expands community support.
In a year defined by compounding challenges for nonprofits, F. R. Bigelow Foundation took bold action to respond to urgent conditions in the communities it serves.
In July 2025, the Foundation approved an extraordinary increase in its annual grant payout, awarding an additional $1.8 million in general operating support to 17 organizations across our communities. This one-time funding infusion will enable leaders and organizations to expand services and continue critical efforts to meet community needs.
“This was about listening, responding and standing in solidarity with organizations doing transformative work across the state,” said Alfonso Wenker, Senior Vice President of Community Impact at the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, which administers grantmaking on behalf of F. R. Bigelow Foundation. “These organizations are deeply rooted in community, and they’re on the frontlines of addressing urgent challenges and needs.”
Doing More of What Matters Most
Many nonprofits serving the East Metro and across Minnesota face increasing need for services alongside constrained resources. And the leaders and organizations who serve marginalized and under-resourced communities often experience disproportionate strain.
In these complex and challenging times, F. R. Bigelow Foundation saw an opportunity and a responsibility to do more. Drawing on its commitment to place-based, community-informed philanthropy, the Foundation approved the one-time draw to expand support to critical nonprofits, coalitions and leaders.
The grants, awarded as general operating support, were designed to give nonprofit partners the flexibility to respond to shifting conditions and strengthen their long-term sustainability.
“This was a bold choice to rise to the moment, and I believe it will ripple forward in meaningful ways for grantees and communities.”
Chanda Smith Baker, President & CEO, Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation
A Longstanding Commitment to Place and People
F. R. Bigelow Foundation has long believed that the best solutions come from those closest to the challenges. This spirit of trust, responsiveness and partnership is deeply embedded in the Foundation’s philanthropic philosophy, a legacy that continues to guide its work today.
Though the additional grants were a one-time response, the values behind the decision are enduring. In a moment when nonprofits are asked to do more with less, F. R. Bigelow Foundation believes that philanthropy has a critical role to play, not just as funders, but as partners in change.
“F. R. Bigelow Foundation leaned into its values,” said Chanda Smith Baker, President & CEO of the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation. “This was a bold choice to rise to the moment, and I believe it will ripple forward in meaningful ways for grantees and communities.”
F. R. Bigelow Foundation invested $1.8 million in the following changemakers and community builders across the East Metro and beyond:
- Black Collective Foundation of Minnesota
- Community Sharing Fund at the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation
- Family Tree Clinic
- Gender Justice
- Heading Home Minnesota Funders Collaborative
- Headwaters Foundation for Justice
- Housing Justice Center
- Immigrant Defense Network
- Immigration Hub
- Minnesota Council of Nonprofits
- PFund Foundation
- Propel Nonprofits
- Saint Paul Indians in Action
- Springboard for the Arts
- Take Action Minnesota
- Tiwahe Foundation
- Women’s Foundation of Minnesota