OVERVIEW: Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies is a large funder that supports environmental concerns, animal welfare, health and human services, arts and culture, disaster relief and more. Grantmaking is global in scope, but some programs prioritize regional needs in the Western and Midwestern U.S.
IP TAKE: Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies (MACP), with several billion in assets, is one of the largest charitable organizations in the U.S. It has a unique structure, comprised of two distinct foundations: the Anne Ray Foundation, which funds a small number of nonprofits selected by Margaret A. Cargill during her lifetime, and the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation, an evolving, dynamic grantmaker that works with both new and existing grantees across its “highly defined interest areas and geographies.” Across issue areas, MACP prioritizes long-term, strategic relationships with grantee partners, with a focus on underserved communities and measurable impact.
While MACP is somewhat transparent about its financials and grantee partners, it is not a particularly approachable funder. Applications are accepted by invitation only, and staff email addresses are not available online. Some previous grantees and applicants have reported that the organization can be bureaucratic and opaque. Still, this funder may be a legitimate possibility for established nonprofits working within MACP’s clearly-defined areas of interest and geographies. Networking with staff and past grantees would be key here, along with a sober analysis of whether one’s nonprofit truly fits within MACP’s approach.
PROFILE: Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies (MACP) is an umbrella organization that includes the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation and the Anne Ray Foundation. Margaret Anne Cargill was the granddaughter of W.W. Cargill, the founder of the Midwest agricultural giant, and one of the eight heirs to the Cargill fortune. The Margaret A. Cargill Foundation, originally called the Akaloa Foundation, was created out of Cargill’s estate after her death in 2006. Its mission is to “provide meaningful assistance and support to society, the arts and the environment.” The MACF’s grantmaking strategy is divided into seven domains: Arts and Culture, Disaster Relief and Recovery, Environment, Animal Welfare, Quality of Life, Teachers & Students and Legacy and Opportunity.
The Anne Ray Foundation, which does not maintain a separate website, only supports organizations selected by Margaret Cargill prior to her death.
Grants for Environment, Climate Change, Marine and Freshwater Conservation
Cargill’s Environment program is its largest giving area. Grants focus on the protection of natural resources and ecosystems across four subprograms.
- Giving for Coastal Ecosystems prioritizes the world’s most threatened coastal areas and helps communities to “develop strategies to sustain themselves in harmony with their environment” as the climate warms and ocean levels rise.
- The foundation supports similar efforts for Freshwater Ecosystems. Grants have supported communities of river basin regions, with a strong focus on ecosystem and water supply sustainability.
- The preservation of Tropical Forests as an important source of climate mitigation is another area of focus. Giving targets “symbiotic strategies” for ecosystem sustenance.
- Grants also fund conservation of Grasslands as one of the earth’s “most overlooked of Earth’s terrestrial ecosystems.” Community and Indigenous-led efforts are a priority for this subprogram.
- Environmental grantees include the Climateworks Foundation, Conservation International, Fauna and Flora International and the Coast Conservation Endowment Fund Foundation.
Grants for Animals and Wildlife
Cargill runs a separate grantmaking program for Animal Welfare, although there is some overlap with the foundation’s environmental giving. In addition to wildlife, this grantmaking area supports the well-being of companion animals and efforts to increase “empathy and compassion for animals.”
- Grantmaking for Wildlife focuses on the rehabilitation of animals that are hurt, ill or adversely affected by natural, climate or other events. The foundation focuses on programs that aim to return treated animals to their natural habitats.
- The subprogram for Companion Animals supports shelters and humane organizations, including efforts for adoptions and spay and neuter programs.
- A third program works to increase broad Empathy and Compassion for Animals by funding programs at zoos and aquariums.
- Grantees of the Animal Welfare program include Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoological Society, the ASPCA, the World Wildlife Fund and the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley, Minnesota.
Grants for Arts & Culture, Arts Education
MACP funds the arts through its Arts and Culture domain, which supports “folk arts, Native American art, music, tactile art, and artistically significant crafts that foster human creativity.” Within the scope of this program, the foundation offers three subprograms: Native Arts and Cultures, Folk Arts and Cultures and Music Education.
Native Arts and Cultures funding supports programs and initiatives to promote the understanding of Native art and culture. Programs that involve community participation and knowledge sharing are prioritized, and grants are mainly limited to delineated regions in the Northwest, Southwest and Upper Midwestern U.S. Grantees include the First Nations Development Institute, Alaska’s Alutiiq Heritage Foundation and the University of Alaska’s program for sustaining local Indigenous knowledge through educational programs..
The Folk Arts and Cultures program aims to support a broad range of folk art programs so that traditional arts and crafts may be “deeply understood, more broadly recognized, and more widely practiced.” This giving focuses on the Upper Midwest and Central Appalachia. Grantees include the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County in Minnesota, the American Scandinavian Foundation, the Southwest Folklife Alliance and the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Tennessee.
- The foundation’s newest arts program focuses on Music Education. Early goals include “gaining insight into the state of the music education sector” and exploring how grant monies can be effectively utilized. An early grant wen to Minneapolis’s Vocalessense, which aims to make choral music more accessible.
Grants for Public Health, Mental Health, Community Development and Indigenous Rights
Cargill’s Quality of Life grantmaking is a conceptually broad program that supports efforts to improve “life’s journey at vulnerable stages for children, young adults, families and older adults.”
- Aging grants prioritize programs that serve “rural older adults and tribal elders” with “home and community-based services” for independence, health and longevity.”
- Family Stability grants focus on mental health and social services that are accessible and affordable.
- Youth Camping and Swimming is another area of interest, with grants prioritizing access to recreational programs, overnight camps and quality swimming instruction for children and youth who have been traditionally excluded from this programming.
- Quality of Life grants have supported organizations including the American Camping Association, Girl Scouts of the USA, Partnership with Native Americans and Lutheran Services in America, which received funding for its rural aging action network.
Grants for Global Health, Maternal and Reproductive Health
Cargill’s Quality of Life gantmaking also runs a subprogram for International Health, which focuses on improved health for children, adolescents and women through “high quality, respectful reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health care.” Grantees include Partners in Health, Fondo Semillas of Mexico, Management Sciences for Health and the Center for Reproductive Rights, which used funding to support its operations in Bangladesh.
Grants for Humanitarian and Disaster Relief
MACP’s giving for Disaster Relief and Recovery emphasizes “communities prone to low-attention disasters” and to engage communities that have been historically excluded from preparedness and relief efforts in planning and management.
MACP’s international grantmaking focuses on “seven countries that are especially prone to low-attention disasters. These include: Guatemala, El Salvador, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, and Timor Leste.”
- Grants for Relief and Recover support “capable partners” that can respond quickly to “reduce suffering and the loss of lives and community assets.” These grants are global in scope, but prioritize the Midwestern U.S.
- Cargill also makes grants for Midwestern Preparedness to “reduce disaster vulnerability [and] foster self-reliance” among communities.
- A subprogram for International Preparedness, similarly, supports preparation efforts in regions and communities around the world that are “impacted by recurring low-attention natural disasters.”
Grantees of this giving area include Catholic Relief Services, the Share Trust, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and Helpage International.
Other Grantmaking Opportunities
Cargill also conducts some grantmaking for economic opportunity through its Legacy and Opportunity program grants, which “provide flexible funding for opportunities aligned with MACP’s values and philosophy and support for specific geographies” important to Margaret Cargill, including the Upper Midwest and Southern California.
Separately, the Anne Ray Foundation, supports “beneficiary organizations specifically named by Ms. Cargill” including the Nature Conservancy, Berea College, the National Council of YMCAs and the Pubic Broadcasting Service.
Important Grant Details:
Grants range anywhere from $1,000 to about $8 million.
- This funder makes hundreds of grants each year to organizations of every size in its areas of interest.
- Environmental concerns appear to be the foundation’s largest giving area, with health and human services in areas of geographic interest also receiving strong support.
- While this funder does not name a giving area for Indigenous rights, it demonstrates strong interest in supporting Native American communities in the American West and Midwest.
- The Margaret A. Cargill Foundation conducts grantmaking proactively based on the foundation’s interpretation of Margaret Cargill’s giving legacy. Proposals for funding are not accepted.
- For information about past grantmaking, see the philanthropies’ Grantee Partners page.
Grant seekers may contact the foundation at info@macphil.org for more information. Media inquiries may be directed to Communications Director Leeane Huber at lhuber@macphil.org. The phone number for Cargill Philanthropies is (952) 540-4050.
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