Great MN Schools
Great MN Schools is a Minneapolis-based public charity that supports schools, families, and community partners working to ensure children can attend excellent and equitable schools. The organization invests in school improvement, helps families navigate education choices and advocate for their children, and engages community partners in advancing education solutions.
Great MN Schools at a glance
In short: Great MN Schools gave $1.1M across 24 grants in 2025 (avg $46K), mostly in Minnesota. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $1,095,600
- +13.5% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 24
- +20.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $45,650
- -5.4% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $30,000
- Total assets
- $216,430
- -77.1% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- Minnesota (100% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026.
How to apply to Great MN Schools
- Contact
Mailing address: 901 North 3Rd Street Ste 350, Minneapolis, MN 55401
Phone: (612) 361-1309
Website: https://greatmnschools.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Open Grants
1 open opportunity from Great MN Schools
Who Great MN Schools funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Prodeo Academy ($315K). Together the top 10 received $770K.
Grant Size Distribution
105 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 75 grants of 105 (71%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
Great MN Schools is based in Minneapolis and describes its school-improvement work as supporting schools serving low-income communities. Its Emergency Student Connectivity Fund is for Minneapolis and serves the organization’s portfolio of schools. The reported 2025 grants went entirely to Minnesota recipients.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 24 itemized grants.
Cities
How Great MN Schools gives
- 58% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−2%). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (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 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $605K (2023) to $1.5M (2020). In 2025 it made 24 grants totaling $1.1M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Prodeo Academy Columbia Heights, MN | Fiscal Year Investment | $315,000 |
| Hennepin Schools Minneapolis, MN | Fiscal Year Investment | $110,000 |
| Global Academy New Brighton, MN | Fiscal Year Investment | $62,100 |
| Cristo Rey Jesuit High School Minneapolis, MN | Fiscal Year Investment | $55,000 |
| Lead the Way MN Minneapolis, MN | Fiscal Year Investment | $50,000 |
| Centro Tyrone Guzman Minneapolis, MN | Fiscal Year Investment | $47,500 |
| Little Earth Residents Association Minneapolis, MN | Fiscal Year Investment | $35,000 |
| Standing Together and Never Divided up Minnesota Parents United Saint Paul, MN | Fiscal Year Investment | $35,000 |
| Ed Allies Minneapolis, MN | Fiscal Year Investment | $30,000 |
| Education Evolving Minneapolis, MN | Fiscal Year Investment | $30,000 |
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Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $216,430 | $5,298,851 | $5,784,020 | $1,095,600 | 24 | $2,317 |
| 2024 | $944,896 | $5,930,581 | $5,691,975 | $965,500 | 20 | $17,631 |
| 2023 | $435,285 | $5,152,626 | $4,839,133 | $604,500 | 18 | $38 |
| 2022 | $411,897 | $3,619,260 | $4,771,013 | $1,117,750 | 23 | $62 |
| 2021 | $1,335,864 | $4,065,568 | $4,069,986 | $1,209,750 | 20 | $125 |
| 2020 | $1,467,338 | $3,824,389 | $4,085,325 | $1,501,500 | 9 | — |
| 2019 | $1,292,716 | $2,364,639 | $2,359,169 | $790,168 | 4 | — |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
Great MN Schools’ mission is to ensure every child attends a great school that prepares them to thrive in their lives, career, and community. Its work includes supporting promising schools as they develop and carry out improvement plans; providing family-facing resources and working with community partners to help families navigate schools and systems; and building community support for solutions that help great schools thrive.
For schools, its Good to Great process begins with a school quality review and a customized plan with goals and priorities over a three-year timeline. The organization provides funding, guidance, and strategic interventions intended to strengthen leadership at instructional, operational, and governance levels. Its Leadership Accelerator pilot offers a cohort-based model with an 18-month diagnostic review, planning, initial implementation, and progress review.
Great MN Schools also lists an active Emergency Student Connectivity Fund for Minneapolis portfolio schools. The fund is described as an emergency response to help students affected by immigration enforcement continue learning. Its stated areas of support include devices and internet access, tutoring and other learning interventions, mental health and social-emotional support, safe transportation, and teacher stipends for remote learning and family outreach.
The 2025 grantees include schools and community organizations. For example, Hennepin Schools describes its mission as preparing students to graduate from high school and succeed in post-secondary education, while Global Academy describes itself as a diverse-serving public elementary and middle school focused on academic rigor and preparation for challenging high school programs. Community grantee missions include Centro Tyrone Guzman’s work to support Latine families through education, health, and wellness, and Ed Allies’ work to advance rigorous and engaging education for young Minnesotans.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, Great MN Schools reported 24 grants totaling $1,095,600. Grant amounts ranged from $10,000 to $315,000, with a median of $30,000. All reported grant dollars went to recipients in Minnesota. The listed grant purposes were “fiscal year investment.”
The largest reported grant was $315,000 to Prodeo Academy in Columbia Heights. Other notable grants included $110,000 to Hennepin Schools, $62,100 to Global Academy, $55,000 to Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, and $50,000 to Lead the Way MN. Community organizations receiving grants included Centro Tyrone Guzman ($47,500), Little Earth Residents Association ($35,000), and Ed Allies ($30,000).
The organization states that investments involve due diligence, including leadership interviews, site visits, financial reviews, governance-board meetings, and reviews of operational and academic processes and results. Grants include multi-year milestones, with grantees reporting at least annually; the organization also meets regularly with school leadership and provides strategic guidance. Planning grants support a planning process whose deliverable is a strategic growth plan. Grants and investments are approved by the Great MN Schools board.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Stan Alleyn as chair and Becky Erdahl as vice chair. Sarah Clyne is listed as treasurer through September 2024, and Al Fan as treasurer as of September 2024. Directors listed include Habon Abdulle, Rob Albright, Julie Baker, Rosita Balch, Simone Hardeman-Jones, and Bernadeia Johnson, who is listed through September 2024.
Great MN Schools is led by Jennifer Stern, Executive Director since 2020 (on filings since 2019); 6 of 22 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Jennifer Stern
Executive Director
CEO → Executive Director, 2020
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$249K (2019) → $329K (2025)
Stan Alleyne
Chair
Vice Chair → Chair, 2025
On filings since 2020
4 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Karn Engelsgjerd
Senior Director of External Affairs
Director of Development → Senior Director of External Affairs, 2023
On filings since 2022
40 hrs/week
$126K (2022) → $172K (2025)
Melissa Long
Director of Literacy
Portfolio Director → Director of Literacy, 2023
On filings since 2022
40 hrs/week
$125K (2022) → $159K (2025)
Sheilah Kavaney
Senior Director of Operations
Portfolio Director → Senior Director of Operations & School Support, 2024
Senior Director of Operations & School Support → Senior Director of Operations, 2025
On filings since 2022
40 hrs/week
$131K (2022) → $183K (2025)
Morgan Brown
Portfolio Director
Director → Portfolio Director, 2025
On filings since 2023
40 hrs/week
$130K (2023) → $155K (2025)
Alberto Monserrate
Director
Treasurer → Chair, 2020
Chair → Director, 2025
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Phil Soran
Director
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Ben Whitney
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Bernadeia Johnson
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Rob Albright
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Rosita Balch
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Tad Piper
Director
Treasurer → Director, 2023
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Sondra Samuels
Director
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Habon Abdulle
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Julie Baker
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Adair Mosley
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Simone Hardeman-Jones
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Al Fan
Treasurer
Treasurer → Director, 2024
Director → Treasurer, 2025
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
$6K (2020) → $0 (2025)
Kyle Parsons
Vice President of Community Engagement
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$148K (2024) → $167K (2025)
Becky Erdahl
Vice Chair
Director → Vice Chair, 2025
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Sarah Clyne
Treasurer
Director → Treasurer, 2024
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (11)
- Former: Osman Ahmed (2022–2023) — Director of Community Partnership
- Former: Alvin Abraham (2019–2022) — Director
- Former: Aimee Guidera (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Ethan Gray (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Pat Ryan (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Sandy Vargas (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Michael O'Connell (2021–2022) — Director
- Former: Nicholas Banovetz (2022) — Chief of Staff
- Former: Chris Smith (2020) — Director
- Former: Benson Whitney (2019) — Chair
- Former: Beth Finch (2019) — Director
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $329K, to Jennifer Stern (Executive Director). 6 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about Great MN Schools
How much does Great MN Schools give each year?
Great MN Schools gave $1.1M across 24 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $966K across 20 grants.
What is Great MN Schools's typical grant size?
Great MN Schools's median grant in 2025 was $30,000, and its average grant was $45,650, across 24 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990.
Where does Great MN Schools give grants?
Great MN Schools gives mostly in Minnesota: 100% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990 went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Minneapolis, MN (19 grants) and Saint Paul, MN (2 grants).
Does Great MN Schools give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 24 grants with a stated purpose on Great MN Schools's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Fiscal Year Investment" (24 grants).
Who are Great MN Schools's largest grantees?
Great MN Schools's largest 2025 grantees include Prodeo Academy ($315,000), Hennepin Schools ($110,000) and Global Academy ($62,100), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 44% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Great MN Schools?
Great MN Schools reported $216K in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $5.3M.
What does Great MN Schools fund?
Great MN Schools’ mission is to ensure every child attends a great school that prepares them to thrive in their lives, career, and community. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Great MN Schools?
Great MN Schools has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Check greatmnschools.org for current guidelines, or contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is Great MN Schools's EIN?
Great MN Schools's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 81-1733895. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(8)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS January 16, 2020)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS January 11, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS November 1, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS December 9, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS February 5, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS January 28, 2025)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS January 20, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2025
Live grants for the work Great MN Schools funds
Education Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Great MN Schools's focus areas in our free grants database
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—
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Great MN Schools funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 22, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/great-mn-schools-morg_da9ac18a87194e5eaeaf4417e3c9b113
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_811733895_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Great MN Schools funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/great-mn-schools-morg_da9ac18a87194e5eaeaf4417e3c9b113},
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 Great MN Schools'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.
Great MN Schools down — hundreds of funders to go?