It’s been two years since Mr. George Floyd was murdered. Like so many Black Americans throughout history, he came to Minnesota for opportunity. Yet instead of realizing the American Dream, what unfolded was a nightmare. What happened to Mr. Floyd is not an anomaly. His story depicts the insidious nature of racism—how it shows up …
Cedrick Baker is an inspiring, motivational leader and systems thinker who thrives in building high-performing, engaging cultures. He begins his new role as McKnight’s chief of staff on May 16.
If you ask climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, climate change isn’t just a problem for polar bears or future generations anymore—it’s affecting us all, here and now. Not only that, but the choices we make today will have a profound impact on our future—and we all have a role to play. Luckily, she says, we don't …
Huda Zoghbi was on her way to becoming a cardiologist when her encounters with children suffering from a rare brain disorder changed the course of her career — and deepened our understanding of how the human brain works. “People become scientists for all sorts of reasons,” says Dr. Zoghbi, a winner of the prestigious Breakthrough …
Just out of high school, Jay Petre got a job ripping down an old railroad depot near his home in rural West Virginia. “We were stacking up all this wood,” Petre recalls. “And this guy came by and said, ‘Can I buy it?’ I ended up getting an extra $10,000, and I knew I was …
Rural Communities Light The Way When Jim and LeeAnn VanDerPol and their son Josh started construction last summer on a new upgrade to their farm, their neighbors took notice. The VanDerPols, a three-generation family of organic cattle and pig farmers in Kerkhoven, Minnesota, are used to testing out new ideas and raising eyebrows in the …
An Open Letter to the Community As we begin a new year, we are delighted to share with you the McKnight Foundation’s new Strategic Framework 2019-2021. Our board of directors unanimously approved the document last November. It reflects our shared sense of urgency given the societal and planetary challenges of our day. It also reflects …
This interview originally appeared in The Chronicle of Philanthropy and is reprinted here with full permission. Leading up to the global climate summit this week in Glasgow, the Ford Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation each announced that they would begin to remove fossil-fuel investments from their endowments, joining nearly 1,500 organizations worldwide that have also …
Reflecting on My First Year at the Foundation This March, I marked a year of service at the McKnight Foundation. I came to the Foundation at a specific moment in time—an urgent moment. It was the middle of a pandemic, on the cusp of the George Floyd murder trial, six weeks before the senseless murder …
In Conversation with Therese Casey, Controller Our colleague Therese Casey recently celebrated her 30-year anniversary with the McKnight Foundation. To recognize this milestone, we sat down with Therese to ask a few questions about her time with McKnight. Therese is the longest-serving employee at McKnight! She joined the foundation in 1988 as an administrative assistant and …