Minnesota Humanities Center
Minnesota Humanities Center is a public charity based in St. Paul, Minnesota. It administers grants and creates humanities programming, events, exhibitions, and educational resources for communities across the state. Its grantmaking supports individuals, nonprofits, schools, museums, and other organizations using the humanities to deepen connection and understanding.
Minnesota Humanities Center at a glance
In short: Minnesota Humanities Center gave $8.0M across 115 grants in 2025 (avg $70K), mostly in Minnesota. 42% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $8,001,806
- +104.5% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 115
- +27.8% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $69,581
- +60.1% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $43,700
- Total assets
- $43,958,165
- +59.3% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 42% first-time grantees (48 of 115, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Minnesota (100% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to Minnesota Humanities Center
- How to Apply
For Legacy Fund grants, submit an application through the public RFP process; staff screen for basic requirements, an independent panel scores applications, and the center makes final selections based on the panel’s…
For Legacy Fund grants, submit an application through the public RFP process; staff screen for basic requirements, an independent panel scores applications, and the center makes final selections based on the panel’s recommendations.
- Review Cycle
- The Underrepresented Cultural Studies Materials grant deadline is October 2, 2026. The Cultural Heritage (Year 2) grant deadline is October 26, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. CDT.
- Deadline
- The Underrepresented Cultural Studies Materials grant deadline is October 2, 2026.
- Contact
Mailing address: 987 Ivy Ave E, St Paul, MN 55106
Phone: (651) 772-4291
Website: https://mnhum.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Open Grants
13 open opportunities from Minnesota Humanities Center
Children’s Museums Grant
Minnesota Humanities Center
Amount
Up to US $100,000
Deadline
Deadline not published
Civics Grants
Minnesota Humanities Center
Amount
Varies
Deadline
Deadline not published
Community Identity and Heritage Grant
Minnesota Humanities Center
Amount
Up to US $300,000
Deadline
Deadline not published
Who Minnesota Humanities Center funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Hunger Solutions Minnesota ($564K). Together the top 10 received $3.0M.
Grant Size Distribution
429 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 295 grants of 429 (69%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The center’s grantmaking and programming serve communities across Minnesota. Its 2025 filing reports that all grant dollars went to Minnesota recipients.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 115 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is Minnesota Humanities Center open to new grantees?
42%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 48 of 115 grantees (42%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $44K; repeat grants $88K. How we count
Medians: $36K first-time, $51K repeat.
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2019–2025). 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 $1.7M (2020) to $8.0M (2025). In 2025 it made 115 grants totaling $8.0M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Hunger Solutions Minnesota Saint Paul, MN | Art and Cultural Heritage | $563,780 |
| Springboard for the Arts Little Falls, MN | Art and Cultural Heritage | $535,812 |
| Minnesota Childrens Museum Saint Paul, MN | Art and Cultural Heritage | $472,500 |
| Giiwedinong Museum Park Rapids, MN | Art and Cultural Heritage | $280,493 |
| Dakhota Iapi Okhodakichiye Osseo, MN | Art and Cultural Heritage | $239,611 |
| The Works Museum Bloomington, MN | Art and Cultural Heritage | $204,111 |
| United Way of Central Minnesota Saint Cloud, MN | Art and Cultural Heritage | $178,241 |
| Move for America St. Paul, MN | Art and Cultural Heritage | $169,850 |
| Children's Discovery Center Campbell, MN | Art and Cultural Heritage | $162,000 |
| Duluth Children's Museum Duluth, MN | Art and Cultural Heritage | $159,093 |
Ready to take the next step with Minnesota Humanities Center?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
The center’s website says the Minnesota Legislature appropriated $21.4 million to it for grants to be administered during the 2025–27 biennium. It also describes $11.5 million for cultural heritage grants over that biennium and a new festival grant line of $1.5 million per year. These are program funding amounts, distinct from the grants reported as given in the 2025 filing.
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $43,958,165 | $30,735,557 | $14,629,871 | $8,001,806 | 115 | $153,301 |
| 2024 | $27,594,386 | $6,498,770 | $9,896,506 | $3,912,543 | 90 | $182,437 |
| 2023 | $30,568,198 | $23,707,380 | $9,405,048 | $4,461,587 | 90 | $100,904 |
| 2022 | $16,154,392 | $4,358,206 | $9,329,918 | $3,040,871 | 76 | $17,245 |
| 2021 | $22,466,509 | $14,832,976 | $8,259,023 | $2,455,130 | 58 | $51,843 |
| 2020 | $15,490,899 | $2,258,980 | $8,032,122 | $1,660,400 | 73 | $80,936 |
| 2019 | $21,480,825 | $9,859,449 | $8,701,854 | $1,808,128 | 33 | $100,274 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The center’s mission is to spark positive change by increasing collective understanding of ourselves, our communities, and our histories through stories and experiences. Its stated areas of work include education, civic renewal, immersive experiences, and public programming.
Its grants support Minnesota cultural heritage and humanities programming, including projects that preserve and teach cultural heritage, provide education about cultural diversity, and expand culturally diverse programming. The center also lists opportunities for developing academic, cultural, and ethnic studies materials for communities underrepresented in those materials.
Examples of supported organizations illustrate the range of grantees. Giiwedinong Museum and Cultural Center describes its mission as honoring, empowering, and inspiring Anishinaabe and Dakota people through exhibitions, public programs, and education. The Works says it creates hands-on engineering experiences for children. North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems describes its mission as promoting Indigenous foodways education and facilitating Indigenous food access. Oromia 11 says it provides a platform for underrepresented voices and stories, including those of Minnesota’s Oromo community.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the center reported 115 grants totaling $8,001,806. Grant amounts ranged from $5,885 to $563,780, with a median of $43,700. All reported grant dollars went to recipients in Minnesota.
Among the largest 2025 grants were $563,780 to Hunger Solutions Minnesota, $535,812 to Springboard for the Arts, and $472,500 to Minnesota Children’s Museum. Other large awards included $280,493 to Giiwedinong Museum, $204,111 to The Works Museum, $159,093 to Duluth Children’s Museum, $149,200 to North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems, and $145,546 to Oromia 11. The filing lists the purpose of these grants as Art and Cultural Heritage.
The center says Legacy Fund grants use a public RFP and application process. Staff first screen applications for basic requirements, then an independent panel scores them; the center makes final selections based on the panel’s recommendations. For grants of $50,000 or more, the center requires a monitor visit by its finance and grant administration staff, including a financial review.
The center’s website lists Cultural Heritage (Year 2) and Underrepresented Cultural Studies Materials grants as current opportunities. Cultural Heritage grants are open to individuals and organizations and support work creating, celebrating, and teaching the art, culture, and heritage of Minnesota’s diverse cultural groups. The Underrepresented Cultural Studies Materials opportunity is open to individual authors and organizations developing materials for communities with inadequate or underrepresented cultural and ethnic studies resources. A separate “Why Treaties Matter” host opportunity offers up to $2,000 for educational programming and accepts applications continuously, with a preference for community-engaged host sites.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The center’s 2025 filing lists Johua Ney as Chair, Mattie Harper DeCarlo as Vice Chair, Sherry Sanchez Tibbetts as Secretary, and Lynne K Leaf as Treasurer. It also lists Nancy Aronson Norr, Michelle Bauer, Julie Brock, Will Cooley, Dr. Marcheta Evans, and Dr. Antonia Felix as directors.
Minnesota Humanities Center is led by Kevin Lindsey, CEO since 2024 (on filings since 2019); 5 of 29 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Kevin Lindsey
CEO
Chief Executive Officer → CEO, 2024
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$96K (2020) → $223K (2025)
Johua Ney
Chair
Director → Vice Chair, 2022
Vice Chair → Chair, 2023
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Casey Demarais
Director of Public Programming
Director of Stratagy → Director of Public Programming, 2025
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$117K (2024) → $116K (2025)
Kim Schaufenbuel
Director
Secretary → Treasurer, 2023
Treasurer → Director, 2024
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Will Cooley
Director
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jessica O'Brien
Director
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Rebecca Lynn Petersen
Director
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jay Sieling
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Michelle Bauer
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Nancy Aronson Norr
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Amina Jaafar PhD
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Carolyn Roby
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
David Hamlar
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Julie Brock
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Kristie Lazenberry
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Mary L Hilfiker
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Warren Larson
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Antonia Felix
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jordan Metsa
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Marcheta Evans
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Matt Kuskie
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Matt Lindstrom
Director
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Kirsten Wittmann
Director
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Rose McGee
Humanities Griot
Program Officer → Humanities Griot, 2024
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$110K (2019) → $115K (2025)
MayKao Fredericks
Cho
Chief Humanities Officer → Cho, 2024
On filings since 2020
40 hrs/week
$110K (2021) → $111K (2025)
Aby John
COO
Chief Operating Officer → COO, 2024
On filings since 2021
40 hrs/week
$105K (2021) → $125K (2025)
Lynne K Leaf
Treasurer
Director → Vice Chair, 2023
Vice Chair → Treasurer, 2024
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Mattie Harper DeCarlo
Vice Chair
Director → Vice Chair, 2024
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Sherry Sanchez Tibbetts
Secretary
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (40)
- Former: Carter Meland (2024) — Director
- Former: J Wes Flinn (2024) — Director
- Former: Kirsten Johnson (2024) — Director
- Former: Cassandra Demarais (2020–2023) — Director of Strategic Ptnrshps
- Former: Mark Kuskie (2023) — Director
- Former: Ali Elhassan (2019–2022) — Director
- Former: Brian Steeves (2019–2022) — Director
- Former: Bryan Ljung (2019–2022) — Treasurer
- Former: Carol Aegerter (2019–2022) — Director-Bldg Renovation
- Former: David Dayhoff (2019–2022) — Director
- Former: Jacqueline Johnson (2019–2022) — Director
- Former: Les Heen (2019–2022) — Chair
- Former: Nkem Chirpich (2019–2022) — Director
- Former: Patrick Henry (2019–2022) — Director
- Former: Rebecca Evan (2019–2022) — Director
- Former: Trudy Ohnsorg (2019–2022) — Director
- Former: Annamarie Hill (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Christine Wolf (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Nicholas Jenkins (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Alexandra Siclait (2021–2022) — Director
- Former: Anita Patel (2019–2021) — Director
- Former: Athena Kildegaard (2019–2021) — Director
- Former: Kristin White (2019–2021) — Chair
- Former: Sylvia Strobel (2019–2021) — Director
- Former: Tzianena Vang (2020–2021) — Director
- Former: Sheila Tabaka (2021) — Director
- Former: Jean King (2019–2020) — Director
- Former: John Lally (2019–2020) — Director
- Former: Alex Tittle Sr. (2019) — Director
- Former: Annamarie Gutsch (2019) — Director
- Former: Anne Hunter (2019) — Interim CEO
- Former: Brianna Erickson (2019) — Director
- Former: Colleen Aho (2019) — Director
- Former: David O'Fallon (2019) — Chief Executive Officer
- Former: Keith Brooks (2019) — Director
- Former: Leondra Burchall (2019) — Vice President
- Former: Lisa Belak (2019) — Director
- Former: Matembo Kitoy (2019) — Director
- Former: Meredith Beeson (2019) — Director
- Former: Tom Schmall (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 $223K, to Kevin Lindsey (CEO). 5 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about Minnesota Humanities Center
How much does Minnesota Humanities Center give each year?
Minnesota Humanities Center gave $8.0M across 115 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $3.9M across 90 grants.
What is Minnesota Humanities Center's typical grant size?
Minnesota Humanities Center's median grant in 2025 was $43,700, and its average grant was $69,581, across 115 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Organizations receiving their first grant from Minnesota Humanities Center that year got $44K on average.
Where does Minnesota Humanities Center give grants?
Minnesota Humanities Center 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 (38 grants), Saint Paul, MN (30 grants), St Cloud, MN (4 grants) and Duluth, MN (4 grants).
Does Minnesota Humanities Center give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 115 grants with a stated purpose on Minnesota Humanities Center's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Art and Cultural Heritage" (115 grants).
Who are Minnesota Humanities Center's largest grantees?
Minnesota Humanities Center's largest 2025 grantees include Hunger Solutions Minnesota ($563,780), Springboard for the Arts ($535,812) and Minnesota Childrens Museum ($472,500), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 20% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Minnesota Humanities Center?
Minnesota Humanities Center reported $44.0M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $30.7M.
What does Minnesota Humanities Center fund?
The center’s mission is to spark positive change by increasing collective understanding of ourselves, our communities, and our histories through stories and experiences. Its stated areas of work include education, civic renewal, immersive experiences, and public programming. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Minnesota Humanities Center?
For Legacy Fund grants, submit an application through the public RFP process; staff screen for basic requirements, an independent panel scores applications, and the center makes final selections based on the panel’s… Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Minnesota Humanities Center's EIN?
Minnesota Humanities Center's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 41-1322769. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated October 2026.
Data update history
(8)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS May 5, 2020)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS September 15, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS August 7, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS November 15, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS March 11, 2025)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS September 15, 2025)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 18, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2024
Other open foundation grants in Minnesota
Minnesota Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
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Browse active grant opportunities in Minnesota Humanities Center's focus areas in our free grants database
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Funders that support many of the same organizations
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Total Given
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FR Bigelow Foundation
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Mardag Foundation
St. Paul, MN
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Total Given
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Target Foundation
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Assets
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Total Given
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Minnesota Humanities Center funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/minnesota-humanities-center-morg_078d51e57047480c92168b2ed5ebc9b8
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_411322769_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Minnesota Humanities Center funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/minnesota-humanities-center-morg_078d51e57047480c92168b2ed5ebc9b8},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-18. 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 Minnesota Humanities Center'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.
Minnesota Humanities Center down — hundreds of funders to go?