The McKnight Foundation is pleased to announce that Beyene Gessesse will join the International team as its program officer. Gessesse has extensive experience in rural development and food security initiatives, working with farmers, researchers, development practitioners, and funders. He will start his new role on November 29. “We are thrilled to welcome Beyene to our …
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 …
Food systems are intricately linked to climate change and equity. Healthy, sustainable food systems help mitigate climate change; climate change affects our ability to support healthy food systems; and healthy food systems improve food security, diets, and livelihoods. We need healthy land, air, water, and food for people and planet to thrive. In its first-quarter …
This piece originally appeared in Inside Philanthropy and is reprinted here with full permission. What if we could meet two global needs with one deed, like eliminating hunger and achieving net-zero emissions? We can, by embracing sweeping food systems change. On September 23, leaders from countries around the world will convene virtually for the first-ever …
August 1, 2022 The McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience (MEFN) announced the three recipients of $600,000 in grant funding through the 2022 McKnight Technological Innovations in Neuroscience Awards, recognizing these projects for their ability to fundamentally change the way neuroscience research is conducted. Each of the projects will receive a total of $200,000 over the …
The McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience has selected four projects to receive the 2024 Neurobiology of Brain Disorders Awards. The awards will total $1.2 million for research on the biology of brain diseases, with each project receiving $100,000 per year in each of the next three years for a total of $300,000 funded per project. …
Please note: This post follows an announcement by McKnight president Kate Wolford and board chair Debby Landesman about upcoming grantmaking changes to move our mission forward. Equity is one of the four core values in the McKnight Foundation’s Strategic Framework. It is a value we challenge ourselves to uphold in our internal policies and practices, …
The McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience has selected four projects to receive the 2023 Neurobiology of Brain Disorders Awards. The awards will total $1.2 million for research on the biology of brain diseases, with each project receiving $100,000 per year in each of the next three years for a total of $300,000 funded per project. …
McKnight’s vice president of finance and compliance Rick Scott (retired in June 2019) was recently interviewed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s (GSAM) Perspectives magazine about the Foundation’s impact investing program. An abridged version is reprinted here with permission; the full interview is available at GSAM online. Q&A with Rick Scott, Vice President of Finance and Compliance …
Note: Last month, we announced that Aimee Witteman, Midwest Climate & Energy program director, will step down from her position on July 30, 2020. After 10 years with McKnight, Aimee is pivoting to new adventures. Following are Aimee’s parting reflections on the climate movement and climate philanthropy, including her thoughts on McKnight’s newly expanded climate …