How the Hormel Foundation Supports Minnesota Nonprofits

The Spam Museum in Austin, Minnesota. Steve Cukrov/shutterstock

Hormel Foods is a global company with over 20,000 employees and products sold in stores in over 80 countries. However, the affiliated corporate philanthropy organization, the Hormel Foundation, maintains a local focus around the company’s headquarters in Austin, Minnesota. The corporate foundation is a separate entity from Hormel Foods Corporation and has been operating since 1941 to further the company’s community goals.

Here are some things Minnesota grantseekers should know about the Hormel Foundation.

A strong local focus  

The Hormel Foundation carries on the legacy of George Hormel, who created the Hormel company, and his son Jay Hormel. It has become the fourth-largest giver in the state of Minnesota among community and public grantmakers. The larger givers are in the Twin Cities region, and this funder stands out because of its commitment to the Minnesota town of Austin, which has a population of only around 25,000 people. Over the years, the Hormel Foundation has poured major grantmaking dollars into the area and throughout Mower County.

Millions committed annually

In 2022, the Hormel Foundation approved a record $14.7 million in donations. In other recent years, total giving has been closer to the $8 million mark.

The foundation has made major contributions to the Austin Assurance Scholarship, the Austin Community Rec Center and the Austin High School Annex and MacPhail Center for Music. Recent support went to the Cedar River Watershed district to build large projects in the Dobbins Creek headwaters, and for the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s refurbishment and replacement of bridges on I-90, including safety and aesthetic improvements.

Broad community interests

Unlike many corporate funders, the Hormel Corporation does not have a very specific or narrow focus when it comes to its grantmaking. Historically, many grants have gone toward basic community needs such as food, shelter, clothing, education, healthcare and quality of life. Recent grants have gone to public schools, hospitals, a parenting resource center, a community college, a local chapter of the United Way, a YMCA facility, and a cancer and biomedical research center.

An accessible online application

The Hormel Foundation is an accessible grantmaker with an open application period that typically runs between June and September. The funder provides its grant requirements in great detail on its website along with a link to an online grant application. Occasionally, the foundation’s board will consider emergency grant requests from local nonprofits. Meanwhile, foundation staff are available by email and phone for general questions.

More information can be found about this funder and others that give in Minnesota in our Upper Midwest and Plains funding guide.