About Think Small
Think Small’s mission is to advance quality care and education of children in their crucial early years.
Focus Areas
early childhood educationprofessional development and trainingearly childhood policy and advocacyfamily supports and resourcespublishing for early childhood professionals (Redleaf Press)
Who They Fund
studentspostsecondary/college studentsscholarship recipients
Funding Style
scholarship/grantmakingindividual financial supportrestricted-purpose awards
Topics
About Think Small
Think Small’s recent grantmaking is dominated by very large scholarship awards to early childhood education providers and related organizations in Minnesota. The biggest grants on file went to New Horizon Child Care Inc, including $7,740,094 in 2024 and $7,550,121 in 2025, both labeled for scholarship-related support. KUEHG Corp also received multimillion-dollar awards across 2023, 2024, and 2025, showing that some relationships are sustained over multiple years rather than limited to one-off gifts. Beyond the largest awards, the foundation’s recent recipients include child care centers, community action agencies, and family-serving nonprofits such as Parents in Community Action Inc, Community Action Partnerships Ramsey & Washington Counties, La Creche Early Childhood Centers, and The Family Partnership. The grant purposes repeatedly reference scholarships, grants and scholarships, or scholarship support, which points to a funding model centered on restricted-purpose aid rather than broad general operating grants. That pattern aligns with Think Small’s stated mission to advance quality care and education of children in their crucial early years, and its portfolio also includes organizations serving the early learning ecosystem through training, resources, and support services.
What Think Small Funds
A clear thread in the recent record is scholarship support for child care and early learning organizations. Think Small gave $1,336,220 in 2025 to Parents in Community Action Inc for scholarships, and $1,088,701 in 2025 to Community Action Partnerships Ramsey & Washington Counties for scholarships, alongside earlier scholarship awards to both organizations in 2024 and 2023. Family support organizations also appear in the grant list. The foundation awarded $516,857 in 2025 to The Family Partnership for grants and scholarships, showing that its support can combine categories within a single award. Early childhood centers are another recurring theme. La Creche Early Childhood Centers received $726,659 in 2025 for grants and scholarships and $541,901 in 2024 for scholarship support. In addition, Babies Space a Place to Grow received scholarships in 2023, 2024, and 2025, indicating continued support for organizations working directly with young children and the adults who care for them.
How Think Small Gives
Think Small’s typical grant size sits at $10,460 at the 25th percentile, a median of $22,050, and $53,544 at the 75th percentile. The recent list also shows that it makes much larger scholarship awards alongside those smaller typical grants, especially for a set of recurring recipients. Several organizations appear in multiple years, including New Horizon Child Care Inc, KUEHG Corp, Parents in Community Action Inc, Community Action Partnerships Ramsey & Washington Counties, La Creche Early Childhood Centers, YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities, Babys Space a Place to Grow, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St Paul and Minneapolis, and Khcd II Inc. The repeated awards suggest ongoing relationships rather than isolated gifts. Think Small does not fund individuals and does not make program-related investments. The available record points to restricted-purpose scholarship and grant awards rather than open individual applications.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$26.2M
Total Assets
$10.6M
Total Revenue
$41.9M
Total Expenses
$39.5M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $10K and $54K, with a median of $22K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$22K
75th Percentile
$54K
Geographic Reach
Local9 states funded
About 98% of grants go to recipients in MN.
Intensidad de financiamiento
BajaAlta
Sede
Leadership
Cisa Keller
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