A Culture of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

As an employer, McKnight has the opportunity and responsibility to embed equity across our policies and practices—in how we hire, train, develop, and support our teams, and in how we craft our culture as an organization.

President Tonya Allen heads a majority women, majority people-of-color senior leadership team. In addition, we have increased diversity at every level and in every department across the Foundation. This didn’t happen by chance. It required actively recruiting candidates from a variety of backgrounds and valuing their skills and lived experiences in addition to specific academic degrees or other formal credentials.

Our team has a wealth of diversity in perspectives, backgrounds, and lived experiences to advance the Foundation’s mission.

Diversity

We appreciate and leverage our differences, and we involve and reflect the communities we serve.

Equity

We align our policies, practices, and resources so that people of all races, cultures, and socioeconomic statuses have genuine opportunities to thrive.

Inclusion

We create an environment in which everyone feels valued and respected.

Diversity

at a Glance

60%Women in Executive Leadership

80%Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in Executive Leadership

56%Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in Director & Executive Leadership

Staff Diversity at McKnight Foundation

As part of the Foundation’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, we offer data about how our staff members identify themselves in terms of race, gender, and sexual orientation.

The first chart shows the racial composition of our staff relative to the Twin Cities metro area population. The second and third charts show how staff members identified themselves in terms of gender and sexual orientation.

Race & Ethnicity: Twin Cities & McKnight

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["Twin Cities Population, 2020 Census: {y}%","McKnight Staff, 2024: {y}%"]

Race & Ethnicity: Twin Cities & McKnight

{"type":"bar","data":{"labels":[" White "," Black "," Hispanic "," Asian "," American Indian "," Two or more races "],"datasets":[{"label":"Twin Cities Population, 2020 Census","borderWidth":1,"borderColor":"rgba(39,153,137,0.9)","hoverBorderColor":"#279989","backgroundColor":"rgba(39,153,137,0.95)","hoverBackgroundColor":"#279989","data":[76,7,6,4.5,0.40000000000000002220446049250313080847263336181640625,6],"hidden":false},{"label":"McKnight Staff, 2024","borderWidth":1,"borderColor":"rgba(207,12,45,0.9)","hoverBorderColor":"#cf0c2d","backgroundColor":"rgba(207,12,45,0.95)","hoverBackgroundColor":"#cf0c2d","data":[52,23,5,8,0,5],"hidden":false}]},"options":{"animation":{"duration":2000},"maintainAspectRatio":true,"scales":{"yAxes":[{"ticks":{"fontColor":"rgba(100,100,100,0.8)","beginAtZero":true},"gridLines":{"color":"rgba(100,100,100,0.16)","zeroLineColor":"rgba(100,100,100,0.48)"}}],"xAxes":[{"ticks":{"fontColor":"rgba(100,100,100,0.8)"},"gridLines":{"color":"rgba(100,100,100,0.16)","zeroLineColor":"rgba(100,100,100,0.48)"},"categoryPercentage":0.8000000000000000444089209850062616169452667236328125,"barPercentage":0.90000000000000002220446049250313080847263336181640625}]},"legend":{"display":true,"position":"bottom","labels":{"usePointStyle":false,"padding":20,"boxWidth":12,"fontSize":12,"fontColor":"#3a3a3a"},"onClick":null},"tooltips":{"enabled":true,"mode":"index","bodySpacing":8,"titleSpacing":6,"cornerRadius":8,"xPadding":10},"yAxisFormat":{"suffix":"%"},"noTsep":false}}
["Twin Cities Population, 2020 Census: {y}%","McKnight Staff, 2024: {y}%"]

Gender

{"type":"pie","data":{"labels":["Women","Men","Transgender, genderqueer, gender expansive, nonbinary"],"datasets":[{"backgroundColor":["rgba(200,16,46,0.9)","rgba(39,153,137,0.9)","rgba(242,169,0,0.9)"],"hoverBackgroundColor":["#c8102e","#279989","#f2a900"],"data":[57,38,5],"borderWidth":0}]},"options":{"animation":{"duration":2000},"maintainAspectRatio":true,"cutoutPercentage":80,"circumference":6.28318530717958623199592693708837032318115234375,"legend":{"display":true,"position":"bottom","labels":{"usePointStyle":false,"padding":20,"boxWidth":12,"fontSize":12,"fontColor":"#3a3a3a"},"onClick":null},"tooltips":{"enabled":true,"bodySpacing":8,"titleSpacing":6,"cornerRadius":8,"xPadding":10},"noTsep":false}}
["Women: {y}%","Men: {y}%","Transgender, genderqueer, gender expansive, nonbinary: {y}%"]

Sexual Orientation

{"type":"pie","data":{"labels":["Heterosexual","Gay or Lesbian","Queer","Bisexual","Bi-curious","Pansexual"],"datasets":[{"backgroundColor":["rgba(200,16,46,0.9)","rgba(129,170,20,0.9)","rgba(242,169,0,0.9)","rgba(39,153,137,0.9)","rgba(220,88,42,0.9)","rgba(103,33,70,0.9)"],"hoverBackgroundColor":["#c8102e","#81aa14","#f2a900","#279989","#dc582a","#672146"],"data":[35,5,3,3,2,2],"borderWidth":0}]},"options":{"animation":{"duration":2000},"maintainAspectRatio":true,"cutoutPercentage":80,"circumference":6.28318530717958623199592693708837032318115234375,"legend":{"display":true,"position":"bottom","labels":{"usePointStyle":false,"padding":20,"boxWidth":12,"fontSize":12,"fontColor":"#3a3a3a"},"onClick":null},"tooltips":{"enabled":true,"bodySpacing":8,"titleSpacing":6,"cornerRadius":8,"xPadding":10},"noTsep":false}}
["Heterosexual: {y}%","Gay or Lesbian: {y}%","Queer: {y}%","Bisexual: {y}%","Bi-curious: {y}%","Pansexual: {y}%"]

Last updated: August 2024

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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

We embed an equity approach across the Foundation because we see it as mission critical as a funder, convenor, thought leader, employer, economic entity, and institutional investor.

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McKnight has earned national recognition for fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and inclusiveness that empowers our diverse teams to achieve our shared mission.

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