3M Foundation
/OVERVIEW: 3M’s grantmaking supports STEM education, skilled trades, community development, sustainability, and climate change. 3M also broadly funds human services and arts programs across its communities.
IP TAKE: 3M boasts an extensive grantmaking portfolio focused on St. Paul, Minnesota, where 3M is headquartered, along with dispersed grantmaking in 70 other communities where 3M is active. It has been described as a “wonderful longtime partner,” but getting through the door will be a challenge for grantseekers who don’t have an “in” with the company. The longtime corporate foundation is not currently accepting unsolicited grant proposals in its three core funding areas; its website states, “at this time, 3M is an invitation-only funder.” Yet grant programs frequently change, and unsolicited opportunities were offered as recently as 2021. It’s worthwhile to check back for updates, particularly for grantseekers in Minnesota or other communities, like Austin, Texas, where 3M has a significant presence. In short, 3M is an active and somewhat transparent funder, but not accessible, and those sending unsolicited queries without first building relationships within the company will be unsuccessful. 3M does have an open matching gift program for current and former employees.
PROFILE: The philanthropic arm of the global corporation, the 3M Foundation was established in 1953. Indeed, 3M was one of the first corporations to establish a foundation. The foundation “improves lives and builds sustainable communities through social investments and thoughtful engagement of 3Mers worldwide.” 3M funds programs in STEM and Trade Education, Climate Change and Circular Economy, and Hometown Needs. While recent grantmaking overlaps with previous programs on education, the environment and community needs, this funder’s giving has become more focused in recent years.
Grants for STEM Education and Opportunity Development
Heavily focused on all aspects of STEM education, the foundation’s STEM and Trade program awards academic institutions and organizations that increase student achievement in STEM, attract and retain postsecondary students, and promote equity and education in all communities. This program, particularly focused on supporting underrepresented groups in STEM, seeks to “create 5 million STEM and skilled trades learning experiences designed to inspire curiosity, improve educational outcomes and provide transformational opportunities” to fill racial opportunity gaps by 2025.
Borrowing from the impact framework from the London Benchmarking Group, the 3M Foundation works to achieve its goal by “investing in organizations and/or initiatives that inspire interest in STEM and skilled trades, improve academic outcomes in these areas and provide transformational opportunities.”
3M measures the impact of these funding investments by working with Ecotone Analytics to capture their “social return on investment (SROI) using data from evidence-based research,” which revealed that “every $1 (3M) invests…generates nearly $3 worth of social impact,” exceeding 3M’s initial internal target of $2.50 return for every dollar invested.
Through the same program, 3M makes grants for education, which it calls Science Encouragement programs, at both the K-12 and Higher Education levels:
Grants for K-12 STEM and Higher Education
The 3M Foundation grants for K-12 STEM address schools and community organizations in the U.S. and abroad. Its giving primarily seeks to increase student achievement in STEM, promote equity in the field, and support postsecondary programs that attract and retain students as well as help to develop graduate students. In addition to STEM and science education programs, grants support teacher development, scholarship and fellowship programs.
3M partners with FIRST to help “young people discover and develop a passion for STEM through team sponsorship and with the support of 3M volunteers, FIRST LEGO League and FIRST Robotics Competition teams.”
3M also offers scholarships, including endowed scholarships at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, the University of Pennsylvania and others.
3M also partnered with UNCF 3M Science. Applied to Life. Scholarship Program to provide need-based scholarship support to underrepresented high school seniors in St. Paul, Minnesota and the surrounding area who are interested in pursuing a STEM degree, or college freshmen already enrolled in a STEM degree program.
Visiting Wizards, designed for students in grades 1 through 6, encourages youth interest in science and technology through science demonstrations and hands-on experiments on a variety of topics to show the impact of science on everyday life.
TechTalks feature 3M volunteers from a variety of technical job positions, degree levels and backgrounds, describing the route they took to their current position and seek to take the “mystery out of STEM careers and turn curiosity into opportunity.”
3M TWIST (Teachers Working in Science and Technology) gathers middle and high school math, science and technology teachers for six weeks in the summer to work on 3M research projects, allowing educators to expand their tool set for their school curricula.
STEP (Science Training Encouragement Program) shows “high school juniors and seniors the ropes in applied science. Today's students want the opportunity to help solve important problems. In STEP, we make science accessible so they have those opportunities down the line.”
Grants for Skilled Trade and STEM Careers
The foundation’s STEM and Trade program works mainly through Skilled Trades signature programs that reflect partnerships with grantees. 3M supports several national programs designed to help those interested in the skilled trades find careers:
SkillsUSA serves middle school, high school and college/postsecondary students through apprenticeship models that prepare students for careers in trade, technical and skilled service occupations. The partnership serves 350,000 middle school, high school and postsecondary students and educators annually with online training programs, webinars, and 19,000 training classrooms.
National Coalition of Certification Centers works to develop highly skilled, job-ready professionals through a “growing network of educational partners and global industry leaders. An industry partner of 3M, NC3 brings industry and trade leaders, professional organizations and educational institutions together to drive workforce development and improve technical education.”
Previously, 3M partnered with DoSomething to create the STEM Works For Me campaign to educate students from underrepresented backgrounds about STEM careers, but it has ended.
The 3M Manufacturing and Academic Partnerships program, or MAP, was created as 3M “began to see a concerning trend at some of its plants: As the older workforce began to retire at a higher rate, there weren’t enough young, skilled trade workers to fill those vacancies.”
Previously, 3M sponsored notable programs such as WorldSkills, which “showcases the value of skills and raises recognition of skilled professionals worldwide,” and the Frontline Sales Initiative, a broad partnership that “enhances sales education at colleges with the goal of elevating sales as a discipline and profession.”
Grants for Climate Change and Climate Justice
The foundation’s Climate Change and Circular Economy program expanded from 3M’s previous focus on more general environmental grantmaking, which centered on the sustainable management and maintenance of at-risk habitats and improving the lives of indigenous peoples; however, much of its previous environmental work has expanded through a climate change lens. This grantmaking work prioritizes natural climate solutions, renewable energies, and circular economies, which increases access to recycling infrastructure in underserved communities and supports waste collectors' livelihoods.
3M’s climate change grantmaking also focuses on Climate Justice, further evidence of its growing interest in racial equity and indigenous rights, through a partnership with Forum for the Future and its American Climate Futures program, a “national program that works to ensure the needs and voices of those most impacted by climate change in the U.S. are at the forefront of goal-setting, planning and solutions development.”
Previous environmental funding and partnerships:
Some of this program’s previous environmental initiatives included a focus on Canada’s boreal forests, as well as 3M Eco Grants, which helped “students connect science, technology, engineering and math to the world around them.” 3M has also partnered with the Closed Loop Fund, which invests in recycling infrastructure to create a circular economy.
Grants for Arts and Culture, Disaster Relief and Food Security
The 3M Foundation gives toward arts and culture through its Hometown Needs program in 70 communities across the U.S. While 3M still offers grants for the arts, it has expanded its giving for food security and disaster relief.
Humanitarian aid grants have separate guidelines and are often given in real time. When disaster strikes a 3M community, the foundation offers in-kind product donations and has partnered with leading NGOs Direct Relief and MAP International to donate relevant goods, including respirators, safety glasses, first aid tapes and bandages.
Arts grantmaking is dedicated to increasing community vitality through programs that “improve the quality of life in underserved families,” “increase access to youth development programs for underrepresented children,” and “provide access to vibrant and diverse art opportunities.” This includes both arts education opportunities and community artistic institutions such as theaters and museums. Past grantees include Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Society and Minneapolis Institute of Art.
Grants for Theater
The 3M Foundation primarily supports major arts institutions in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area. Grantees include Ordway Center for Performing Arts and Minnesota Opera.
Grants for Music
The 3M Foundation primarily supports major arts institutions in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area. Grantees include the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Society and Minnesota Orchestra.
Grants for Dance
The 3M Foundation primarily supports major arts institutions in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area. Grantees have included Ordway Center for Performing Arts.
Grants for Arts Education
The 3M Foundation primarily supports arts education initiatives in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area. Past grantees include The Arts Partnership, Minneapolis Institute of Art, and Children’s Theatre Company.
Important Grantmaking Details:
Grants may typically range from $5,000 to $500,000, sometimes in the millions.
The foundation primarily awards grants to organizations located in areas in which 3M has a business presence.
Grant seekers whose work concerns education or the environment should apply through 3M’s corporate giving program rather than the 3M Foundation.
The 3M Foundation does not accept unsolicited grant applications or requests for funding from organizations located in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Austin, Texas.
Applicants located in other states must direct their funding requests to their local 3M office. Application periods are from April to November, depending on the giving area.
Contact:
3 M Center
224 05 N 40
St Paul, Mn 551441000
651-737-3610
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