Follow the money: McKnight Foundation
Leftist nonprofits in Minnesota can count on a steady funding stream from a Minneapolis-based foundation.
Funded by the fortune earned by William McKnight, the long-time CEO and board chair of the 3M company (Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing), the Foundation was established in 1953. Its total assets have grown to $2.4 billion, according to the organization’s tax returns (2018).
Under the Foundation’s “Midwest climate and energy” program, the organization appears to be dedicated to the proposition that neither mining nor manufacturing should ever occur again in Minnesota. Here are a few snapshots of the efforts being funded.
Under the guise of “climate advocacy,” McKnight has donated more than $3 million in recent years to the far-left political nonprofit TakeAction Minnesota.
The group goes well beyond policy work. It endorses and campaigns on behalf of Democratic political candidates:
Likewise, McKnight funds another political group in the state, Conservation Minnesota. Of late, the group has been advocating for “build back better” policies at the state and federal levels.
The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy mostly fights its battles on the legal front. For example, even in the face of likely blackouts this summer, the group is fighting against the construction of a new power plant by Minnesota Power.
The McKnight Foundation has given MCEA more than $1.7 million in recent years to further their work.
McKnight also funds a more radical environmental group, MN350, the local chapter of the national 350.org.
MN350 is also in the business of endorsing and campaigning for Democratic candidates:
Rather than lobbying for lower utility rates, CUB lobbies for more expensive and unreliable renewable energy and against new, conventional power plants:
3M headquarters is located on Innovation Boulevard, just east of McKnight Road in St. Paul, Minnesota.