August 6, 2024; New Brighton, Minnesota—The Wilson Foundation, a private foundation established in Minnesota in 2021, announced grants to twelve Minnesota nonprofit organizations, eight of which are part of a public-private funding initiative to increase access to clean economy workforce training.

The Wilson Foundation is partnering with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies on this initiative which includes capacity building for grantees, direct supports for program participants, and grantee cohort learning opportunities. More information about the MN DEED Clean Economy Equitable Workforce Program can be found here.

“The Wilson Foundation is pleased to collaborate with Minnesota DEED to help ensure that workforce training program participants have the resources they need to complete training and pursue good paying jobs,” said Brenda Furlow, Secretary of the Wilson Foundation. “The fact that these jobs also help the State of Minnesota achieve its ambitious climate policy goals makes it an even more impactful investment.”

A full list of grantees can be found here.

The Foundation also approved a Program Related Investment (PRI), its first, in the form of a $1M loan to Greater Minnesota Housing Fund (GMHF) to further capitalize its Revolving Loan Fund (RLF). The Revolving Loan Fund is the primary source of loans made by GMHF to create or preserve affordable housing. The Fund provides loans to developers at each stage of the development process, from pre-development and acquisition to construction and long-term permanent mortgages.

“We are deeply appreciative of this partnership with Wilson Foundation,” said Andrea Brennan, Greater Minnesota Housing Fund’s CEO & President. “GMHF continues to see huge demand for our Revolving Loan Fund, which provides low-cost lending capital for predevelopment, construction, and permanent loans to create and preserve affordable housing statewide. Program related investments (PRIs) help GMHF produce around 1,000 units of affordable housing each year. This $1 million investment from Wilson Foundation will directly impact production for more than 300 units and help GMHF achieve the goal of 7,000 units over the 7-year period.”

About the Wilson Foundation

The Wilson Foundation is a private foundation based in New Brighton, Minnesota. It was founded in 2021 by John R. Wilson, serial entrepreneur in the field of biotechnology and currently CEO of Wilson Wolf Manufacturing Company. For more information, visit www.wilsonfoundationmn.org.