Burns Family Foundation
Burns Family Foundation is a private foundation based in Bloomington, Minnesota. Its 2025 filing reports 19 grants totaling $122,700, with most grant dollars going to recipients in Minnesota.
Burns Family Foundation at a glance
In short: Burns Family Foundation gave $123K across 19 grants in 2025 (avg $6K), mostly in Minnesota. 21% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $122,700
- +22.5% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 19
- -17.4% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $6,458
- +48.2% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $5,000
- Total assets
- $817,814
- -6.7% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 21% first-time grantees (4 of 19, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Minnesota (95% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990-PF, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Burns Family Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and states that it contributes only to preselected charitable organizations.
- Contact
Mailing address: 9208 Yukon Avenue S, Bloomington, MN 55438
Phone: (952) 835-3800
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Burns Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Cook County Community Radio (Wtip) ($40K). Together the top 10 received $105K.
Grant Size Distribution
131 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 130 grants of 131 (99%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 95% of grant dollars went to recipients in Minnesota, 4% to Oregon, and 1% to Illinois.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 19 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Burns Family Foundation open to new grantees?
21%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 4 of 19 grantees (21%) were first-time recipients. With only 19 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 5 points. First grants averaged $13K; repeat grants $5K. How we count
Medians: $5K first-time, $5K repeat.
- 58% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−2%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 92% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Foundations have until the end of the next year to meet it. Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF filings (2020–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $82K (2020) to $125K (2022). In 2025 it made 19 grants totaling $123K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Cook County Community Radio (Wtip) Grand Marais, MN | General | $40,000 |
| TPT - Twin Cities PBS Saint Paul, MN | General | $12,000 |
| U of MN Jim Klobuchar Scholarship Fund Minneapolis, MN | General | $10,000 |
| The Breck Fund Golden Valley, MN | General | $10,000 |
| Minneapolis Institute of Arts Minneapolis, MN | General | $7,500 |
| Hennepin Health Foundation Minneapolis, MN | General | $5,000 |
| The Angel Foundation Mendota Heights, MN | General | $5,000 |
| Emerge Minnesota North Minneapolis, MN | General | $5,000 |
| Unite 2 Fight Paralysis Hood River, OR | General | $5,000 |
| Get up Stand up to Cure Paralysis Minnetonka, MN | General | $5,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Burns Family Foundation?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $817,814 | $88,138 | $146,785 | $122,700 | 19 | $124,250 | $66,441 | $134,344 |
| 2024 | $876,461 | $80,528 | $124,528 | $100,200 | 23 | $101,394 | $59,708 | $125,191 |
| 2023 | $919,926 | $235,772 | $129,767 | $111,700 | 15 | $112,771 | $218,776 | $102,963 |
| 2022 | $813,374 | $4,860 | $146,154 | $125,050 | 41 | $125,951 | — | $110,353 |
| 2021 | $951,631 | $83,893 | $122,097 | $90,270 | 33 | $95,521 | $59,286 | $127,375 |
| 2020 | $989,898 | $159,522 | $108,690 | $82,300 | 22 | — | $139,140 | $99,455 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Burns Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $134K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants went to organizations including public media, arts, health, education, and community organizations. For example, Hennepin Health Foundation says it supports access to care and health and wellness through education and research; The JK Movement says its mission is to empower and inspire change among young people; and MORE says it supports new Americans’ education and economic and social independence. These are the grantees’ descriptions of their own missions.
Grantmaking
In 2025, the foundation made 19 grants totaling $122,700. Grants ranged from $500 to $40,000, with a median of $5,000. Notable grants included $40,000 to Cook County Community Radio (WTIP), $12,000 to TPT - Twin Cities PBS, $10,000 each to the U of MN Jim Kloobuchar Scholarship Fund and The Breck Fund, and $7,500 to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Other 2025 recipients included Hennepin Health Foundation ($5,000), The JK Movement ($3,500), MORE ($3,000), Ann Bancroft Foundation ($2,000), and Minnesota Public Radio ($1,200).
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Kathryn A Burns as Director/CEO/Treasurer, Colleen Burns Harristhal as Director, and Tracy M Burns as Director.
Burns Family Foundation is led by Kathryn A. Burns, Director, CEO & Treasurer on every filing since 2020; none of the 3 officers listed in 2025 report compensation.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Kathryn A. Burns
Director, CEO & Treasurer
On filings since 2020
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Colleen Burns Harristhal
Director
On filings since 2020
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Tracy M. Burns
Director
On filings since 2020
0.5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (1)
- Former: J. Patrick Plunkett (2020–2021) — Director
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Frequently asked questions about Burns Family Foundation
How much does Burns Family Foundation give each year?
Burns Family Foundation gave $123K across 19 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $100K across 23 grants.
What is Burns Family Foundation's typical grant size?
Burns Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $5,000, and its average grant was $6,458, across 19 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Burns Family Foundation that year got $13K on average.
Where does Burns Family Foundation give grants?
Burns Family Foundation gives mostly in Minnesota: 95% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Minneapolis, MN (6 grants) and Saint Paul, MN (5 grants).
Does Burns Family Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Burns Family Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (19 of 19) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Burns Family Foundation's largest grantees?
Burns Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Cook County Community Radio (Wtip) ($40,000), TPT - Twin Cities PBS ($12,000) and U of MN Jim Klobuchar Scholarship Fund ($10,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 51% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Burns Family Foundation?
Burns Family Foundation reported $818K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $124K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $134K (roughly 5% of its investment assets). Falling short in one year is not a violation: foundations have until the end of the next year to meet the minimum.
What does Burns Family Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grants went to organizations including public media, arts, health, education, and community organizations. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Burns Family Foundation?
The foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funds and states that it contributes only to preselected charitable organizations. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Burns Family Foundation's EIN?
Burns Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 26-1549838. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Burns Family Foundation accept unsolicited proposals?
No, according to Grantable's research on the foundation's published guidelines. See how to apply ↑
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 14, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 15, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 4, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 6, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS April 1, 2025)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS March 3, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2025
Live grants for the work Burns Family Foundation funds
Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Burns Family Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Burns Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 22, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/burns-family-foundation-morg_462e0582a52646bba458c29c81399749
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_261549838_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Burns Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/burns-family-foundation-morg_462e0582a52646bba458c29c81399749},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-22. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Burns Family Foundation's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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