At Hats & Mittens, our mission is to warm the bodies and hearts of kids and adults everywhere by providing free hats and mittens to children in need during the cold winter months.
Hats & Mittens Association’s most distinctive pattern is direct winter-clothing support for organizations serving children and families across the Twin Cities seven-county metro area. Its in-kind program provides new and gently used hats, mittens, scarves, and neck warmers to schools, shelters, social service agencies, and youth organizations, with the aim of keeping people warm during the winter season. The foundation’s recent monetary grants sit alongside that clothing distribution work and show a local network of small, metro-based nonprofits and schools that receive support year after year. Recent recipients include Gmcc, which received $13,000 in 2025, and Mobile Loaves Twin Cities, which received $10,000 in 2025. The grant list also includes education and family-service organizations such as Metro Schools College Prep, North Memorial Health Foundation, Folwell Community School, and Parents in Community Action Inc. Grants are consistently awarded within Minnesota, and the recipient roster includes Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Coon Rapids, Brooklyn Center, and Apple Valley. The foundation describes its mission as warming the bodies and hearts of kids and adults in need during the cold winter months, and its grant history reflects that focus through both in-kind distributions and annual monetary awards to local organizations.
A central theme in Hats & Mittens Association’s giving is winter basic needs. The in-kind Request Hats & Mittens program supplies hats, mittens, scarves, and neck warmers to schools, shelters, social service organizations, and youth groups across the Twin Cities seven-county metro area. The foundation also supports children and youth organizations through monetary grants. In 2025, Metro Schools College Prep received $10,000, and Folwell Community School received $7,000, both in Minneapolis. Education appears in the grant record as well. American Indian Education Isd 196 in Apple Valley received $7,000 in 2023, and Kipp Minnesota in Minneapolis received $6,000 in 2023. The grant list also shows support for community-based family service organizations, including Parents in Community Action Inc. in Minneapolis and Community Action Partnership in Saint Paul. Taken together, the data shows a local funder working through both in-kind distributions and small monetary awards to organizations that serve children, families, and community members in winter months.
$83K
$147K
$210K
$294K
Most grants fall between $6K and $8K, with a median of $7K.
25th Percentile
$6K
Median
$7K
75th Percentile
$8K
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Typical grant size is tightly clustered: p25 is $6,000, median is $7,000, and p75 is $8,000. The recent grant list shows repeated support to some recipients across multiple years, including Leech Lake Twin Cities, Face to Face Health and Counseling, The New Freedom Store, Gmcc, and The Real Minneapolis. That pattern suggests ongoing relationships rather than one-time awards. Hats & Mittens Association is a public charity, not a private foundation, and it does not fund individuals. The grant record also includes an in-kind distribution program and a historical annual monetary award program for small or emerging local children’s nonprofits. The in-kind program accepts unsolicited requests.
Hats & Mittens Association gives locally, with 100% of grants to recipients in Minnesota and the top giving state also Minnesota. Recent grants are concentrated in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, with additional recipients in Coon Rapids, Brooklyn Center, and Apple Valley. The geographic footprint is the Twin Cities metro rather than a broader state or national reach. The in-kind program is specifically aimed at schools, shelters, social service organizations, and youth groups in the seven-county Minneapolis–Saint Paul metro area.
The foundation supports schools, shelters, social service organizations, and youth organizations through in-kind winter-clothing distributions. Its monetary awards have also gone to local children’s nonprofits, education-focused organizations, and community service groups in the Twin Cities metro area.
Yes for the Request Hats & Mittens in-kind distribution program, which accepts unsolicited requests from organizations in the Twin Cities seven-county metro area. The historical Annual Monetary Award program is listed as not accepting unsolicited requests.
Recent grant sizes are compact: the 25th percentile is $6,000, the median is $7,000, and the 75th percentile is $8,000. The recent grants list includes awards at $6,000, $7,000, $8,000, $9,000, $10,000, and $13,000.
Giving is local and entirely within Minnesota. The recipient distribution shows 25 grants, or 100%, to Minnesota organizations, with recent recipients located in Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Coon Rapids, Brooklyn Center, and Apple Valley.
Yes. The recent grants list shows repeat support to Leech Lake Twin Cities, Face to Face Health and Counseling, The New Freedom Store, Gmcc, and The Real Minneapolis across 2023, 2024, and 2025.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Current and upcoming funding from Hats & Mittens Association that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
Who can apply: Not specified on the homepage. The organization indicates that requests can be made for winter gear support.
Deadline: Requests are filled starting in the fall through March of the following year; donations are collected year-round.
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Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GMCC | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $13,000 | 2025 | FOR DISTRIBUTION. |
| TOYS FOR JOY INC | COON RAPIDS, MN | $10,000 | 2025 | FOR DISTRIBUTION. |
| NORTH MEMORIAL HEALTH FOUNDATION | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $10,000 | 2025 | FOR DISTRIBUTION. |
| MOBILE LOAVES TWIN CITIES | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $10,000 | 2025 | FOR DISTRIBUTION. |
| METRO SCHOOLS COLLEGE PREP | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $10,000 | 2025 | FOR DISTRIBUTION. |
| FACE TO FACE HEALTH AND COUNSELING | ST PAUL, MN | $8,000 | 2025 | FOR DISTRIBUTION. |
| THE NEW FREEDOM STORE | SAINT PAUL, MN | $7,500 | 2025 | FOR DISTRIBUTION. |
| FOLWELL COMMUNITY SCHOOL | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $7,000 | 2025 | FOR DISTRIBUTION. |
| LEECH LAKE TWIN CITIES OFFICE | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $7,000 | 2025 | FOR DISTRIBUTION |
| THE NEW FREEDOM STORE | SAINT PAUL, MN | $9,000 | 2024 | FOR DISTRIBUTION. |
| LEECH LAKE TWIN CITIES | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $8,000 | 2024 | FOR DISTRIBUTION |
| FACE TO FACE HEALTH AND COUNSELING | ST PAUL, MN | $7,500 | 2024 | FOR DISTRIBUTION. |
| CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER | BROOKLYN CENTER, MN | $7,000 | 2024 | FOR DISTRIBUTION |
| COMMUNITY ACTION PARTNERSHIP | ST PAUL, MN | $7,000 | 2024 | FOR DISTRIBUTION |
| GMCC | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $6,000 | 2024 | FOR DISTRIBUTION. |
| HIAWATHA COLLEGE PREP | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $6,000 | 2024 | FOR DISTRIBUTION. |
| THE REAL MINNEAPOLIS | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $6,000 | 2024 | FOR DISTRIBUTION |
| ST PAUL OUTREACH CENTER | SAINT PAUL, MN | $5,500 | 2024 | FOR DISTRIBUTION. |
| THE REAL MINNEAPOLIS | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $10,000 | 2023 | FOR DISTRIBUTION |
| COMMUNITY ACTION PARTNERSHIP | ST PAUL, MN | $9,000 | 2023 | FOR DISTRIBUTION |
| LEECH LAKE TWIN CITIES | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $8,000 | 2023 | FOR DISTRIBUTION |
| AMERICAN INDIAN EDUCATION ISD 196 | APPLE VALLEY, MN | $7,000 | 2023 | FOR DISTRIBUTION |
| FROST LAKE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL-SPPS | ST PAUL, MN | $6,900 | 2023 | FOR DISTRIBUTION |
| KIPP MINNESOTA | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $6,000 | 2023 | FOR DISTRIBUTION |
| PARENTS IN COMMUNITY ACTION INC | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | $6,000 | 2023 | FOR DISTRIBUTION |
GMCC
$13,000FOR DISTRIBUTION.
TOYS FOR JOY INC
$10,000FOR DISTRIBUTION.
NORTH MEMORIAL HEALTH FOUNDATION
$10,000FOR DISTRIBUTION.
MOBILE LOAVES TWIN CITIES
$10,000FOR DISTRIBUTION.
METRO SCHOOLS COLLEGE PREP
$10,000FOR DISTRIBUTION.
THE NEW FREEDOM STORE
$7,500FOR DISTRIBUTION.
FOLWELL COMMUNITY SCHOOL
$7,000FOR DISTRIBUTION.
LEECH LAKE TWIN CITIES OFFICE
$7,000FOR DISTRIBUTION
THE NEW FREEDOM STORE
$9,000FOR DISTRIBUTION.
LEECH LAKE TWIN CITIES
$8,000FOR DISTRIBUTION
CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER
$7,000FOR DISTRIBUTION
GMCC
$6,000FOR DISTRIBUTION.
HIAWATHA COLLEGE PREP
$6,000FOR DISTRIBUTION.
THE REAL MINNEAPOLIS
$6,000FOR DISTRIBUTION
ST PAUL OUTREACH CENTER
$5,500FOR DISTRIBUTION.
THE REAL MINNEAPOLIS
$10,000FOR DISTRIBUTION
LEECH LAKE TWIN CITIES
$8,000FOR DISTRIBUTION
AMERICAN INDIAN EDUCATION ISD 196
$7,000FOR DISTRIBUTION
FROST LAKE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL-SPPS
$6,900FOR DISTRIBUTION
PARENTS IN COMMUNITY ACTION INC
$6,000FOR DISTRIBUTION