Valley News Foundation
Valley News Foundation is a private foundation based in Mankato, Minnesota. Its 2025 filing reports grants to charitable organizations, mostly in Minnesota.
Valley News Foundation at a glance
In short: Valley News Foundation gave $51K across 43 grants in 2025 (avg $1K), mostly in Minnesota. 19% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $50,884
- +8.7% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 43
- +2.4% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $1,183
- +6.1% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $700
- Total assets
- $1,048,146
- -1.0% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 19% first-time grantees (8 of 43, 2025)
- Primary geography
- Minnesota (96% 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 Valley News Foundation
- Accepts unsolicited proposals
- No
- How to Apply
-
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.
- Contact
Mailing address: PO Box 3148, Mankato, MN 56002
Phone: (507) 345-4819
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Who Valley News Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Minnesota State Athletics ($7K). Together the top 10 received $32K.
Grant Size Distribution
223 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 223 grants of 223 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
In 2025, 96% of grant dollars went to recipients in Minnesota. The remaining grant dollars were distributed among recipients in Illinois, Washington, D.C., Florida, and Texas, at 1% each.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 43 itemized grants.
Cities
Is Valley News Foundation open to new grantees?
19%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 8 of 43 grantees (19%) were first-time recipients. First grants averaged $2K; repeat grants $1K. How we count
Medians: $600 first-time, $740 repeat.
- 81% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (+18%). Method
- In 2025 it paid out 124% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). 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 $43K (2022) to $52K (2023). In 2025 it made 43 grants totaling $51K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota State Athletics Mankato, MN | Unrestricted General Fund | $7,000 |
| Ronald McDonald House Minneapolis, MN | Unrestricted General Fund | $4,800 |
| Mankato Youth Place Mankato, MN | Unrestricted General Fund | $4,500 |
| Minnesota State University Foundation Mankato, MN | Unrestricted General Fund | $3,000 |
| Tee It Up For The Troops Mankato, MN | Unrestricted General Fund | $2,700 |
| B The Light Foundation (Breast Cancer) New Ulm, MN | Unrestricted General Fund | $2,694 |
| Children's Museum of Southern Minnesota Mankato, MN | Unrestricted General Fund | $2,500 |
| Mankato Area United Way Mankato, MN | Unrestricted General Fund | $2,500 |
| Educare Foundation Mankato, MN | Unrestricted General Fund | $1,500 |
| Kiwanis Holiday Lights Mankato, MN | Unrestricted General Fund | $1,250 |
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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 | $1,048,146 | $57,863 | $68,264 | $50,884 | 43 | $63,915 | $54,135 | $51,535 |
| 2024 | $1,058,547 | $69,417 | $62,470 | $46,822 | 42 | $58,820 | $65,767 | $50,258 |
| 2023 | $1,051,600 | $37,138 | $55,083 | $51,602 | 44 | $53,232 | $31,387 | $46,745 |
| 2022 | $1,069,545 | $53,304 | $48,868 | $43,113 | 44 | $44,638 | $48,688 | $48,578 |
| 2021 | $1,065,109 | $102,545 | $52,984 | $50,015 | 50 | $51,460 | $98,181 | $52,915 |
| 2020 | $1,015,548 | $49,738 | $51,651 | $46,083 | 46 | — | $43,818 | $44,717 |
Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, Valley News Foundation reported a distributable amount of $52K 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 grantees include organizations working in youth support, education, health care, arts and culture, food assistance, and support for military members and their families. For example, Mankato Youth Place describes its mission as providing a nurturing environment where youth can build skills and confidence; Educare Foundation says it supports educational opportunities in Mankato-area public schools; and Open Door Health Center describes its work as providing medical, dental, and behavioral health services across Southern Minnesota.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation made 43 grants totaling $50,884. Grant amounts ranged from $100 to $7,000, with a median of $700. Among the largest awards were $7,000 to Minnesota State Athletics, $4,800 to Ronald McDonald House, $4,500 to Mankato Youth Place, and $3,000 to Minnesota State University Foundation. The listed purposes for these grants were unrestricted general support or use.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Troy Leiferman as president and Margaret Leiferman as secretary.
Valley News Foundation is led by Troy Leiferman, President on every filing since 2020; 1 of 2 officers listed in 2025 is compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Troy Leiferman
President
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
$12K (2024) → $12K (2025)
Margaret Leiferman
Secretary
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
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.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $12K, to Troy Leiferman (President).
Frequently asked questions about Valley News Foundation
How much does Valley News Foundation give each year?
Valley News Foundation gave $51K across 43 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $47K across 42 grants.
What is Valley News Foundation's typical grant size?
Valley News Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $700, and its average grant was $1,183, across 43 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Organizations receiving their first grant from Valley News Foundation that year got $2K on average.
Where does Valley News Foundation give grants?
Valley News Foundation gives mostly in Minnesota: 96% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Mankato, MN (28 grants), North Mankato, MN (4 grants) and Minneapolis, MN (2 grants).
Does Valley News Foundation give general operating support?
Yes: 100% of Valley News Foundation's 2025 grants with a stated purpose (43 of 43) were for general or operating support, per its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.
Who are Valley News Foundation's largest grantees?
Valley News Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Minnesota State Athletics ($7,000), Ronald McDonald House ($4,800) and Mankato Youth Place ($4,500), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 32% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Valley News Foundation?
Valley News Foundation reported $1.0M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $64K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $52K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).
What does Valley News Foundation fund?
No mission statement for the foundation is provided. Its 2025 grantees include organizations working in youth support, education, health care, arts and culture, food assistance, and support for military members and their families. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Valley News Foundation?
The foundation states that it makes contributions only to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Valley News Foundation's EIN?
Valley News Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 36-3339339. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Does Valley News 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
(2)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS May 14, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Live grants for the work Valley News Foundation funds
Health Open opportunities, soonest deadline first.
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Valley News Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Valley News Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 19, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/valley-news-foundation-morg_28a3a11c78774c00a9734e202248f42d
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_363339339_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Valley News Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/valley-news-foundation-morg_28a3a11c78774c00a9734e202248f42d},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-19. 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 Valley News 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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