About Fr Bigelow Foundation
F. R. Bigelow Foundation seeks to enhance the quality of life for all in the greater Saint Paul area, fostering a vibrant East Metro region.
Focus Areas
Arts and cultureCommunity and economic developmentHealthHuman servicesYouth and educationHousingSystems changeBIPOC leadership
Who They Fund
Hmong farmers / immigrant agricultural producersEast Side St. Paul residents / low-income Saint Paul neighborhoodsBIPOC-led organizations and communities (African American, Latino, Asian)children and families (early childhood program participants)
About Fr Bigelow Foundation
A defining thread in Fr Bigelow Foundation’s recent giving is its support for East Metro leadership and collaborative infrastructure, including a $600,000 grant to Coalition of Asian American Leaders for Linking Leaders Partnership Support. That award sits alongside a $500,000 grant to Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation for the CollegeBound St. Paul Fund for the Future, showing a mix of community-wide initiatives and targeted capacity support. The foundation’s work centers on improving quality of life in greater Saint Paul through arts and culture, community and economic development, education and youth development, health, housing, and human services, with an explicit emphasis on racially and economically equitable outcomes. Its stated programs include general operating, program, and capital support, plus an invite-only multi-year line for systems change. Recent awards also point to place-based priorities in Saint Paul and surrounding East Metro communities, including neighborhood revitalization, housing access, and leadership development for BIPOC communities. The foundation also funds individuals.
What Fr Bigelow Foundation Funds
In community and economic development, Fr Bigelow Foundation backed neighborhood infrastructure and place-based revitalization, including $250,000 to Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation for the East Metro Main Street Revitalization Program and $100,000 to Neighborhood Development Center Inc for Revitalizing Frogtown. In housing, it supported $75,000 to Frazier Recovery Foundation for a housing support grant. Arts and culture also appears as a recurring theme: the foundation gave $75,000 to Victoria Theater Arts Center for purchase and renovation and $100,000 to Playwrights Center Inc for the All Narratives Campaign. Youth and family support is visible in a $100,000 grant to Amherst H Wilder Foundation for Activate Opportunity: Wilder’s Campaign for Families.
How Fr Bigelow Foundation Gives
Typical grant size is tightly clustered: the 25th percentile is $25,000, the median is $30,000, and the 75th percentile is $30,000. That pattern suggests a large number of grants at or near the same level, with some larger outliers for capital, partnership, and operating support. The foundation is a regular funder rather than a DAF, and it makes grants in a local geographic scope. Recent records show repeated support for the same organizations across multiple years, including Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, Coalition of Asian American Leaders, Amherst H Wilder Foundation, Playwrights Center Inc, and Victoria Theater Arts Center. It also runs an invite-only multi-year systems change program and an unsolicited Community Solutions Grant Program.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$8.4M
Total Assets
$180.8M
Total Revenue
$8.8M
Total Expenses
$10.5M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $25K and $30K, with a median of $30K.
25th Percentile
$25K
Median
$30K
75th Percentile
$30K
Geographic Reach
Local7 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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