About Kopp Family Foundation
A $300,000 grant to Normandale Community College Foundation sits at the top of Kopp Family Foundation’s recent giving and points to a pattern of concentrated support for Minnesota institutions. The foundation’s largest awards are paired with repeat gifts to the same partners, including Second Harvest Heartland and Sisters Rising Worldwide, which suggests a small set of core relationships rather than broad, scattered grantmaking. Its work reaches across education, hunger relief, housing, and women’s and girls’ issues, with a clear emphasis on organizations serving Minnesota.
The foundation also uses its grants to support both local and international work. In the recent grants list, it funded Sisters Rising Worldwide in two consecutive years, alongside Minnesota-based higher education and human services organizations. Awards such as $250,000 to Sisters Rising Worldwide and $200,000 to Project for Pride in Living show that the foundation is comfortable making substantial commitments to a limited number of nonprofits. The recent record also includes support for community college foundations, public schools, housing organizations, and food security groups, giving a picture of a funder that prioritizes targeted, mission-aligned relationships over many small awards.
What Kopp Family Foundation Funds
Education is one of the clearest threads in the foundation’s recent grantmaking. It gave $300,000 to Normandale Community College Foundation and $70,000 to Century College Foundation, while also supporting Metropolitan State University Foundation with $60,000 in 2024 and $50,000 in 2025.
Food security and hunger relief are another visible area. Second Harvest Heartland received $250,000 in 2024 and $200,000 in 2025, and Veap received $100,000 in 2024.
Housing appears as a third focus. The foundation awarded $200,000 to Agate Housing & Services in 2024 and another $100,000 in 2025, as well as $200,000 to Commonbond Communities in 2024 and $150,000 in 2025.
Women and girls are part of the portfolio as well. Sisters Rising Worldwide received $250,000 in both 2024 and 2025.
How Kopp Family Foundation Gives
Kopp Family Foundation’s recent awards cluster around larger, targeted gifts. The provided grant-size distribution shows a p25 of $1,500, a median of $2,500, and a p75 of $7,000, but the recent grants list includes several six-figure awards, indicating a concentrated pattern at the top end of the portfolio. Repeat grants are common: Second Harvest Heartland, Sisters Rising Worldwide, Commonbond Communities, Agate Housing and Services, and Normandale Community College Foundation each appear across multiple years. The foundation funds general operating, program, and capital campaign support, and it accepts unsolicited applications.