Jeffers Foundation

About Jeffers Foundation

Jeffers Foundation’s largest recent grant went to environmental preservation work, a signal that protection of natural places sits alongside its education-focused giving. In 2023, the foundation awarded $125,000 to Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc for Environmental Preservation Programs, followed by support for classroom-based conservation education through $45,000 to Minnesota Trout Unlimited for Trout in the Classroom 2022-2023 School Season. That pairing shows a pattern of funding both the places and the learning experiences tied to them. The foundation also backed the field infrastructure that supports environmental education in Minnesota, including general operating support for the MN Association for Environmental Education. Its stated program areas center on environment and education, with emphasis on outdoor education, school gardens, teacher professional development, and early childhood nature play. The active grant programs reinforce that orientation: they are built around outdoor classrooms, outdoor learning spaces, transportation to environmental learning sites, and schoolyard gardens used as educational resources. Grants are primarily made in Minnesota, and the foundation’s recent recipients include schools, environmental education organizations, and conservation-oriented partners.

What Jeffers Foundation Funds

Outdoor learning is the clearest throughline in the foundation’s program design. Minnesota schools and 501(c)(3) organizations can apply for the Outdoor Classroom Grant, the Innovation in Outdoor Education Grant, and transportation support for classes traveling to nature centers, regional parks, scientific natural areas, and residential environmental learning centers. School gardens are another defined area: the Garden Grant and Starter Grants support gardens used as educational resources for students, including creation or improvement of schoolyard garden spaces. The foundation also supports conservation education that connects students to natural systems. A recent $45,000 grant to Minnesota Trout Unlimited funded Trout in the Classroom 2022-2023 School Season, tying aquatic habitat education to K-12 learning. It also funded general operating support for the MN Association for Environmental Education, indicating support for the broader educational network behind these programs.

How Jeffers Foundation Gives