Inside Philanthropy

Go beyond 990s.

GHR Foundation

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OVERVIEW: The Minneapolis-based GHR Foundation supports Alzheimer’s prevention, the global Catholic Church, Catholic education and select local initiatives in the Twin Cities.

IP TAKE: GHR is a laser-focused funder. While GHR is a large, it’s a difficult funder to crack. Three of its four current programs are closely tied to the Catholic Church or Catholic education, while its Alzheimer’s program backs major research institutions, clinical networks and disease organizations. GHR does not accept unsolicited requests and says it builds deep relationships with a focused group of partners, making cold outreach unlikely to get far.

For prospective grantees, the better route is through an existing GHR ecosystem: an Alzheimer’s research collaboration, Catholic institutional network, Twin Cities education partnership or funder collaborative such as GroundBreak. Recent tax filings also show grants for child welfare, racial and economic opportunity and other work that does not fit neatly within GHR’s four current program headings, but these should not be mistaken for open grant programs.

PROFILE: Based in Minneapolis, the GHR Foundation was established in 1965 by Gerald and Henrietta Rauenhorst, founders of the business that became the Opus Group. His wife, Henrietta, helped him establish and run the company, especially in its early years. The foundation says its philanthropy is inspired by the couple’s Catholic social values and entrepreneurial approach. Today, GHR says it forms “deep connections with a focused set of partners” capable of transformational impact. Its four current program areas are Alzheimer’s Prevention, Global Church Vitality, Thriving Local Community and Catholic Higher Education.

Grants for Alzheimer’s Prevention and Research

GHR’s Alzheimer’s Prevention program supports research aimed at detecting and treating Alzheimer’s disease earlier in order to delay or prevent cognitive decline. The foundation has backed major research efforts involving biomarkers, early diagnosis and prevention trials.

  • A longstanding partner is Washington University in St. Louis, where GHR helped launch the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Trials Unit, or DIAN-TU. The foundation has also partnered with Washington University and C2N Diagnostics on blood-based testing intended to make Alzheimer’s diagnosis more accurate and accessible.
  • Recent grants demonstrate the scale and scientific focus of this work. In 2024, GHR awarded the Alzheimer’s Association $2.05 million for a DIAN open-label extension, $1 million for the APEX study, $600,000 for research on blood-based biomarkers in Veterans Affairs memory clinics and $500,000 for an Alzheimer’s Disease Strategic Fund. Other large recent recipients include Mayo Clinic, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
  • GHR’s Alzheimer’s grantmaking is best suited to established universities, medical centers, research collaborations and organizations with specialized expertise in Alzheimer’s detection, biomarkers, clinical trials and prevention. General health organizations without a strong connection to this research agenda are less likely prospects.

Faith-based Grants

Through its Global Church Vitality program, GHR supports the Catholic Church and related organizations as they strengthen their institutions and adapt to changing needs. The foundation names safeguarding, synodality and operational systems as its primary areas of focus.

  • This work is international and frequently supports organizational capacity rather than traditional religious programming. GHR highlights its support for the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, where flexible, long-term funding has supported organizational redesign, as well as the Jesuit Refugee Service, which has incorporated reconciliation into organizational operations, staff training and services.
  • Recent tax filings show additional grants for Catholic institutional infrastructure. In 2024, GHR awarded $725,000 to the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See for a human resources development plan. Other recipients have included Caritas Internationalis for capacity building and safeguarding and organizations working on safeguarding systems, synodality, reconciliation and institutional strengthening.
  • Catholic humanitarian and social-service organizations also appear among GHR’s grantees, but grant purposes often relate to capacity, child-welfare systems, safeguarding or institutional development rather than general humanitarian relief. Organizations seeking support here should have a strong connection to Catholic institutional networks and one of GHR’s stated priorities.

Grants for Catholic K-12 Education and the Twin Cities

GHR’s Thriving Local Community program currently focuses on strong Catholic schools where students can thrive. The foundation highlights Ascension Catholic Academy, a consortium of Catholic schools serving children in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, as well as a St. Catherine University program that introduces Cristo Rey High School students to healthcare careers through certified nursing assistant training.

  • Recent grants have supported Twin Cities Catholic schools and education intermediaries including Ascension Catholic Academy, Aim Higher Foundation and other Catholic schools, along with programs that provide academic, career and student support.
  • GHR’s current local education grantmaking is strongly concentrated in Minneapolis and St. Paul, although the foundation does not appear to publish a formal geographic eligibility boundary. Grantseekers should therefore think of this as a Twin Cities-focused program rather than assume that GHR has formally restricted eligibility to those two cities.
  • Recent filings also show a broader set of Twin Cities grants beyond Catholic schools. Recipients have included the African American Leadership Forum, All Square, the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation and the Minneapolis Foundation. GHR also invested in the GroundBreak Coalition, a major Twin Cities initiative focused on building wealth and increasing economic opportunity. GHR is listed among GroundBreak’s investors, and its 2024 tax filing reports a $1.5 million grant to the Minneapolis Foundation for the GroundBreak Coalition Fund.
  • This broader local giving matters for prospect research, but GHR no longer lists the earlier Access and Opportunity strategy as a separate program on its website. Organizations should not treat racial equity, entrepreneurship or community development as a standing open grant program simply because such grants appear in recent filings.
  • For nonprofits working in these areas, participation in GroundBreak or relationships with organizations already operating within its ecosystem may offer a stronger route to visibility than approaching GHR cold.

Grants for Catholic Higher Education

GHR’s Catholic Higher Education program reflects Gerald and Henrietta Rauenhorst’s ties to their own Catholic universities. The foundation says it makes long-term commitments to its founders’ alma maters and currently highlights Marquette University, St. Catherine University and the University of St. Thomas.

  • At Marquette, GHR supports work through the Opus College of Engineering. At St. Catherine, funding supports health and nursing education, academic pathways and experiential learning. At the University of St. Thomas, GHR backs the Opus College of Business and the GHR Fellows Program, which provides select business students with full tuition for four years as well as career coaching, global service learning, social entrepreneurship and other professional opportunities.
  • The foundation’s 2024 grants included $2 million to St. Catherine University for its Campaign for Academic Excellence, another $1 million legacy grant to St. Catherine, $1 million to Marquette University for Engineering for the Difference and $1 million to the University of St. Thomas for student, faculty and staff success.
  • This is not a broadly accessible higher education program. The dedicated Catholic Higher Education strategy is built around the founders’ institutional relationships. GHR does occasionally fund other universities—including institutions involved in its Alzheimer’s, local education and other initiatives—but universities outside the three named schools should not view this particular program as a conventional prospect.

Other Grantmaking for Children and Families

GHR’s current website does not list a standalone Children in Families program, but recent grants and external partnerships indicate continuing activity related to children, family-based care and child-welfare systems.

GHR is a participating funder in the Children’s Policy and Funding Initiative, a pooled philanthropic effort supporting policy advocacy, expertise, networks and participation by affected communities on issues involving children and youth. The initiative identifies GHR as a leading voice for improving care for children, particularly children with disabilities, orphaned children and other marginalized young people.

GHR’s 2024 filing also shows grants related to the transition from institutional care to family-based care and improvements in national child-welfare systems. These include international organizations working in Africa and Asia as well as funding routed through the Children’s Policy and Funding Initiative.

This appears to be continuing or collaborative grantmaking rather than a publicly advertised fifth GHR program. No open application route for this work could be identified.

Important Grant Details:

The GHR Foundation reported about $1.08 billion in net assets at the end of 2024. Its latest Form 990-PF was filed in November 2025.

  • GHR paid roughly $36.4 million in grants in 2024. This should not be confused with its approximately $45.1 million in total charitable disbursements, which also include expenses other than grants.
  • GHR’s latest tax filing states that the foundation only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds. There is no general application, LOI process or public application deadline.No current public GHR RFP, rapid-response fund or open competitive grant program could be identified.
  • The historical BridgeBuilder challenge, which previously offered an open competition through OpenIDEO, should not be treated as a current grant opportunity.
  • Three of GHR’s four current programs have explicit ties to Catholic institutions or Catholic education. Alzheimer’s Prevention is the major exception and supports both secular and religiously affiliated research institutions.
  • GHR’s recent grantmaking also includes Twin Cities economic opportunity, racial equity and child-welfare work outside the foundation’s four current public program headings. Those grants are useful indicators of relationships and ongoing commitments, but they do not establish separate open programs.
  • The foundation’s tax filings show grants both to very large institutions and to smaller local nonprofits. However, its largest strategic grants tend to involve established organizations with specialized expertise, significant institutional capacity or an existing relationship with GHR.
  • Prospective grantees should not send an unsolicited proposal. The most realistic strategy is to build relationships within a GHR-funded network and seek a warm introduction when there is a compelling programmatic fit.
  • Contact information and staff are available through the foundation’s website, but GHR does not invite grant requests through its general contact channels.
  • General questions may be sent to info@ghrfoundation.org.

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