About Fredrikson & Byron Foundation
Fredrikson & Byron Foundation’s recent giving is anchored in access to legal services, with a $100,000 grant in 2025 to Mid-minnesota Legal Aid and repeated support for The Fund for Legal Aid, which received $100,000 in 2024 and $90,000 in 2023. That pattern sits alongside grants to law schools, legal clinics, and advocacy organizations, showing a foundation that uses charitable dollars to support legal education and service capacity rather than broad cross-sector funding.
The foundation’s grants also point to sustained relationships with organizations in the same communities where firm members live and work. Volunteer Lawyers Network received $50,000 in 2025 after prior awards of $50,000 in 2024 and $45,000 in 2023, while The Advocates for Human Rights received $35,000 in 2024, $25,000 in 2025, and $23,000 in 2023. Other recent recipients include Mitchell Hamline Law School, Legal Services of North Dakota, and Drake University. Across the list, support is mostly general support, with some special-project awards and one scholarship grant.
What Fredrikson & Byron Foundation Funds
Legal aid is the clearest theme in the foundation’s recent grants. Mid-minnesota Legal Aid received $100,000 in 2025 for general support, and Legal Services of North Dakota received $25,000 in 2025 and another $25,000 in 2024.
Legal education is another major line of giving. Mitchell Hamline Law School received $90,000 in 2025 for general support, while the University of Iowa College of Law Foundation received $30,000 in 2025 for a special project. The University of Iowa College of Law also received $15,000 in 2024 for a special project.
The foundation also supports organizations tied to volunteer and community legal work. Minnesota Justice Foundation - Pass received $26,000 in 2025, and Legalcorps received $15,000 in 2025. In community nonprofit support, Metropolitan Economic Development received $20,000 in 2025.
How Fredrikson & Byron Foundation Gives
Grant size clusters around moderate awards: the p25 is $7,500, the median is $11,500, and the p75 is $18,000. At the same time, the recent list includes larger support for a few organizations, including six-figure awards and recurring general-support grants.
The pattern is episodic but not one-off. Several recipients appear in multiple years, including Volunteer Lawyers Network, The Fund for Legal Aid, The Advocates for Human Rights, Legal Services of North Dakota, and Minnesota Justice Foundation - Pass. The foundation is structured as a foundation funded by firm members, and its grants are described as supporting organizations where firm members volunteer. It does not accept unsolicited requests in the active grant program shown.