The Sauer Family Foundation
The Sauer Family Foundation is a private foundation based in St. Paul, Minnesota, that supports work to strengthen the well-being of children and families. Its website says it has partnered with Minnesota communities since 1996 and plans to sunset its work in 2027. The foundation’s funding page states that it has concluded public grantmaking.
The Sauer Family Foundation at a glance
In short: The Sauer Family Foundation gave $13.9M across 110 grants in 2025 (avg $126K), mostly in Minnesota. 26% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $13,914,886
- -34.4% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 110
- -12.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $126,499
- -25.5% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $89,500
- Total assets
- $48,742,674
- -20.6% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 26% first-time grantees (29 of 110, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Minnesota (97% 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 The Sauer Family Foundation
- Contact
Application contact: Colleen O'Keefe Executive Director
Mailing address: 952 Grand Ave, St Paul, MN 55105
Phone: (651) 633-6165
Website: https://sauerff.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 The Sauer Family Foundation
Who The Sauer Family Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Lutheran Social Services ($900K). Together the top 10 received $5.1M.
Grant Size Distribution
503 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 187 grants of 503 (37%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The foundation’s website says it funds in Minnesota, with priority given to the seven-county metro area. In 2025, 97% of grant dollars went to recipients in Minnesota; the remaining reported shares were Missouri (2%), California (1%), and less than 1% each to recipients in the District of Columbia and North Carolina.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 110 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is The Sauer Family Foundation open to new grantees?
26%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 29 of 110 grantees (26%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $81K; repeat grants $143K. How we count
Medians: $64K first-time, $95K repeat.
- 56% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving grew 154% from 2022 to 2025. Method
- In 2025 it paid out 562% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990-PF 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 $1.6M (2019) to $21.2M (2024). In 2025 it made 110 grants totaling $13.9M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Lutheran Social Services St. Paul, MN | Building Strong Family Relationships | $900,000 |
| Amherst H Wilder Foundation Saint Paul, MN | Building Strong Family Relationships | $774,830 |
| Mobile Hope Corcoran, MN | Building Strong Family Relationships | $685,000 |
| Black Men Teach St. Paul, MN | Building a Diverse Workforce | $530,000 |
| Serveminnesota Minneapolis, MN | Building Educational Success | $440,000 |
| University of MN Foundation Minneapolis, MN | Building Strong Family Relationships | $372,732 |
| Keeping Families Connected MN Minneapolis, MN | Building Strong Family Relationships | $366,500 |
| Scott County Department of Health and Human Services Child Welfare Shakopee, MN | Building Strong Family Relationships | $345,077 |
| Wallin Education Partners Saint Paul, MN | Building a Diverse Workforce | $345,000 |
| Bellis St. Paul, MN | Building Emotional Well-Being | $300,000 |
Ready to take the next step with The Sauer Family Foundation?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
The foundation’s filing type is Form 990-PF.
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Qualifying Distributions | Net Investment Income | Distributable Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $48,742,674 | $3,018,314 | $15,310,111 | $13,914,886 | 110 | $15,141,886 | $2,920,752 | $2,693,293 |
| 2024 | $61,352,179 | $6,634,775 | $22,347,141 | $21,216,579 | 125 | $22,169,813 | $6,501,610 | $3,265,873 |
| 2023 | $72,581,599 | $-628,452 | $13,445,366 | $12,460,554 | 114 | $13,229,715 | $2,161,549 | $3,582,783 |
| 2022 | $79,930,282 | $5,247,400 | $6,720,140 | $5,486,302 | 80 | $6,198,466 | $4,947,267 | $4,328,957 |
| 2021 | $102,453,047 | $85,814,893 | $5,849,115 | $5,017,609 | 74 | $5,649,357 | $8,491,184 | $3,526,576 |
| 2020 | $28,148,782 | $5,527,893 | $3,242,542 | $2,670,059 | 66 | — | $426,787 | $1,032,397 |
| 2019 | $23,334,639 | $5,558,970 | $1,932,544 | $1,601,801 | 56 | — | $427,602 | $870,386 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Sauer Family Foundation reported a distributable amount of $2.7M 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
The foundation’s mission is to invest in strengthening the well-being of children so they thrive in their families and communities. Its website describes four funding areas:
- Strong family relationships: Prevention and intervention in child welfare, and support for children and youth to remain with family or natural support systems.
- Emotional well-being: Emotional safety and support for children, youth, and caregivers.
- Educational success: Literacy and learning-disability support, including in reading, writing, and math.
- A diverse workforce: Racially equitable career pathways in the foundation’s funding areas.
The foundation says it works with schools and early-childhood settings, nonprofit and research organizations, government agencies, collaboratives, and networks. Its 2025 grants included, for example, Black Men Teach, whose stated mission is to recruit, prepare, place, and retain Black male elementary-school teachers, and Wallin Education Partners, which says it supports college and career success for high-potential students from low-income backgrounds. The foundation’s filing identified grant purposes such as building strong family relationships, building a diverse workforce, building educational success, and building emotional well-being.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation reported 110 grants totaling $13,914,886. Grant amounts ranged from $1,050 to $900,000, with a median of $89,500. Among the largest awards were $900,000 to Lutheran Social Services and $774,830 to Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, both for building strong family relationships; $685,000 to Mobile Hope for the same purpose; $530,000 to Black Men Teach for building a diverse workforce; and $440,000 to ServeMinnesota for building educational success.
The foundation’s website says public grantmaking has concluded. Its application page lists 2026 proposal deadlines of February 27 and September 25; both dates have passed. That page describes a process beginning with contacting the staff member associated with a funding priority, followed by a discussion of fit and, if invited to proceed, access to the online application through the Grants Manager. It also describes staff review, possible site visits or meetings, and board decisions. The website’s statement that public grantmaking has concluded means these instructions and dates should not be treated as a current application opportunity.
The 2025 filing states that applicants must be 501(c)(3) organizations with programs and use funding to improve the lives of disadvantaged children and their families. It also says to check the website for current priorities and to call the foundation office before applying. The website says it does not fund individuals, political or lobbying activities, endowments, deficit or debt reduction, fundraising activities, or advertising. The filing says giving is not restricted to preselected organizations.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Colleen O’Keefe as executive director and trustee; Patricia Sauer as president; Corey Sauer, Jessica Nickelson, and Stephanie Sauer as trustees; and Gary B. Sauer as former treasurer.
The Sauer Family Foundation is led by Colleen O'Keefe, Executive Director & Trustee on every filing since 2019; 1 of 6 officers listed in 2025 is compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Colleen O'Keefe
Executive Director & Trustee
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$123K (2019) → $318K (2025)
Patricia Sauer
President
On filings since 2019
5 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Corey Sauer
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jessica Nickelson
Trustee
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Stephanie Sauer
Trustee
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Gary B. Sauer
Former-Treasurer
Treasurer → Former-Treasurer, 2025
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (2)
- Former: Jennifer Sauer (2019–2024) — Trustee
- Former: Stephanie Morrissey (2019–2020) — Trustee
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 $318K, to Colleen O'Keefe (Executive Director & Trustee).
Frequently asked questions about The Sauer Family Foundation
How much does The Sauer Family Foundation give each year?
The Sauer Family Foundation gave $13.9M across 110 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $21.2M across 125 grants.
What is The Sauer Family Foundation's typical grant size?
The Sauer Family Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $89,500, and its average grant was $126,499, across 110 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Sauer Family Foundation that year got $81K on average.
Where does The Sauer Family Foundation give grants?
The Sauer Family Foundation gives mostly in Minnesota: 97% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Minneapolis, MN (33 grants), Saint Paul, MN (28 grants), St Louis Park, MN (4 grants) and Rochester, MN (3 grants).
Does The Sauer Family Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 110 grants with a stated purpose on The Sauer Family Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Building Strong Family Relationships" (58 grants), "Building Emotional Well-Being" (20 grants) and "Building Educational Success" (18 grants).
Who are The Sauer Family Foundation's largest grantees?
The Sauer Family Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Lutheran Social Services ($900,000), Amherst H Wilder Foundation ($774,830) and Mobile Hope ($685,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 17% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The Sauer Family Foundation?
The Sauer Family Foundation reported $48.7M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $15.1M in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $2.7M (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does The Sauer Family Foundation fund?
The foundation’s mission is to invest in strengthening the well-being of children so they thrive in their families and communities. Its website describes four funding areas: See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Sauer Family Foundation?
The Sauer Family Foundation has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Check sauerff.org for current guidelines, or contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is The Sauer Family Foundation's EIN?
The Sauer Family Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 41-1859711. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Data update history
(8)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS June 18, 2020)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS May 10, 2021)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS September 6, 2022)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS November 13, 2023)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS November 14, 2024)
- Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS November 13, 2025)
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS April 29, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2024
Explore Open Grants
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Sauer Family Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-sauer-family-foundation-morg_93ca4fbf45b041ada961eb56f1706f16
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_411859711_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Sauer Family Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-sauer-family-foundation-morg_93ca4fbf45b041ada961eb56f1706f16},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-08. 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 The Sauer 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.
The Sauer Family Foundation down — hundreds of funders to go?