The Ralph Manwarren Charitable Trust concentrates its modest giving on regional agricultural and rural community causes in southwest Minnesota, favoring campus-based ag programs and collegiate agricultural organizations. Most dollars go to a single institutional recipient (Southwest Minnesota State University) for an agriculture fund, with smaller support for an agricultural fraternity foundation and a regional initiative foundation endowment.
The Ralph Manwarren Charitable Trust directed its largest recent grant, $250,000 in 2025, to Southwest Minnesota State University Foundation for the Nursing Pre Licensure Program. That single award stands out in a small local portfolio and shows a willingness to make concentrated support when it backs an institutional program. The trust’s recent giving also includes $39,000 to the same foundation in 2023 for its Ag fund, linking the trust to campus-based education in southwestern Minnesota. Across the recent grants list, the trust appears to favor established organizations tied to local higher education and regional community infrastructure. Southwest Initiative Foundation received support in both 2025 and 2024, while Alpha Gamma Rho Lambda Chapter Educational Foundation appears as a smaller recipient in 2023. The pattern points to a trust that funds a narrow set of Minnesota institutions rather than a broad range of nonprofits. Its annual grants, total assets, and recent awards place it in the category of a modestly sized private trust with highly focused grantmaking.
Campus-based education is a recurring theme in the trust’s grantmaking. In 2025, it gave $250,000 to Southwest Minnesota State University Foundation for the Nursing Pre Licensure Program, showing support for a named university program rather than general operating work. Agricultural education also appears in the recent record. The same university foundation received $39,000 in 2023 for its Ag fund, aligning with the trust’s rural and agricultural emphasis in southwest Minnesota. Beyond the university setting, the trust supported regional civic infrastructure through $35,000 to Southwest Initiative Foundation in 2025 for General Operations and $2,500 in 2024 for its Endowment Fund. It also made a $10,000 grant in 2023 to Alpha Gamma Rho Lambda Chapter Educational Foundation for General Operations, indicating some support for collegiate agricultural organization activity.
Grant size is uneven. The typical gift sits at $10,000 median, with a lower quartile of $6,250 and an upper quartile of $24,500, while the recent list also includes one very large outlier at $250,000. The trust’s recent record shows repeat support to the same institutions across multiple years, especially Southwest Minnesota State University Foundation and Southwest Initiative Foundation, which suggests a recurring relationship pattern rather than one-off awards. It is a charitable trust, does not fund individuals, and does not make program-related investments. No application process is shown in the provided data.
$285K
$545K
$13K
$304K
Most grants fall between $6K and $25K, with a median of $10K.
25th Percentile
$6K
Median
$10K
75th Percentile
$25K
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Concentrated, local-focused giving with very few grants: one large grant dominates the portfolio, supplemented by one mid-sized grant to a collegiate organization and a small endowment gift. Grants appear targeted and institutionally focused rather than broadly distributed.
Notable grantees: Southwest Minnesota State University Foundation, Alpha Gamma Rho Lambda Chapter Educational Foundation, Southwest Initiative Foundation
All recent grants in the data went to recipients in Minnesota, and the grant-count distribution is 100% in the trust’s HQ state. Marshall appears as a recipient city through Southwest Minnesota State University Foundation, while Hutchinson is represented by Southwest Initiative Foundation. St. Paul also appears through Alpha Gamma Rho Lambda Chapter Educational Foundation. The giving is therefore tightly concentrated within Minnesota, with no out-of-state or international recipients in the recent sample.
The trust gives to Minnesota institutions tied to education and regional community infrastructure. Recent grants went to Southwest Minnesota State University Foundation for a Nursing Pre Licensure Program and an Ag fund, Southwest Initiative Foundation for General Operations and its Endowment Fund, and Alpha Gamma Rho Lambda Chapter Educational Foundation for General Operations.
Typical grant size is relatively modest. The posted distribution shows a 25th percentile of $6,250, a median of $10,000, and a 75th percentile of $24,500. The recent record also includes a much larger $250,000 grant, so the trust can make highly concentrated awards when it chooses.
No. The grant data shows 5 grants and 100% of them went to recipients in Minnesota. Cities represented in the recent grants include Marshall, Hutchinson, and St. Paul.
Yes. Southwest Minnesota State University Foundation appears in both 2025 and 2023, and Southwest Initiative Foundation appears in 2025 and 2024. That pattern indicates ongoing support to a small set of Minnesota recipients rather than a one-time grant pattern.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Minnesota State University Foundation | Marshall, MN | $250,000 | 2026 | Nursing Pre Licensure Program |
| Southwest Initiative Foundation | Hutchinson, MN | $35,000 | 2026 | General Opersations |
| Southwest Minnesota State University Foundation | Marshall, MN | $105,000 | 2025 | Ag fund. |
| Southwest Initiative Foundation | Hutchinson, MN | $2,500 | 2024 | Endownment Fund |
| Southwest Minnesota State University Foundation | Marshall, MN | $39,000 | 2023 | Ag fund. |
| Alpha Gamma Rho Lambda Chapter Educational Foundation | St Paul, MN | $10,000 | 2023 | General Operations |
Nursing Pre Licensure Program
Ag fund.
Alpha Gamma Rho Lambda Chapter Educational Foundation
$10,000General Operations