A Look at the Medtronic Foundation’s Commitment to Minnesota

Medtronic is a major global medical technology company involved with health solutions ranging from remote technology to artificial intelligence and robot-assisted surgery. The company employs over 90,000 people in 150 countries, but it is based in Minneapolis and also pays attention to what’s happening close to home.

The Medtronic Foundation is the company’s affiliated corporate philanthropy. It’s very well-established, having been on the scene since 1979. Here’s a look at how the Medtronic Foundation prioritizes the needs of local organizations, with a focus on Minnesota and the broader Upper Midwest.

Major topics of interest

The Medtronic Foundation has a global health program that focuses on chronic care, acute care, and patient and frontline health worker empowerment in countries around the world. But close to Medtronic’s Minneapolis headquarters, the foundation takes a slightly different approach.

Locally, STEM education is an important area of interest for the Medtronic Foundation — it seeks to support programs that address the root causes of inequities and create new opportunities for economic advancement through STEM studies. Recently, the funder announced 13 new partnerships to support K-12 students and committed to investing nearly $4 million within a two-year timespan to serve over 60,000 students.

Civic engagement is another big interest area for the Medtronic Foundation. The foundation aims to deepen civic engagement in local Minnesota communities and beyond through employee volunteerism, community grants for culturally relevant programs and disaster relief when emergencies occur.

Geographic priorities

Minnesota is a top-priority location for the Medtronic Foundation, especially the Minneapolis metro area. Local Minnesota grantees include Science from Scientists, Starbase, Wallin Education Partners and Project Lead the Way. With regard to STEM education, both Minnesota as well as northern California and Puerto Rico are the top places of interest.

These locations were chosen because of existent racial and economic disparities, and also because they’re close to where Medtronic employees work and can thus get involved with grantees. Civic engagement grants also go to communities where Medtronic employees live and work, including the Minneapolis area.

An invitation-only grants policy

Unfortunately for local grantseekers, the Medtronic Foundation is not very accessible to grantees that have not previously received funding and/or lack a personal connection to Medtronic employees. The foundation accepts applications on an invitation-only basis and does not review unsolicited requests. Instead, it reaches out to potential partner organizations on its own.

To learn more about this funder and to search for staff contact information, check out IP’s full profile of the Medtronic Foundation.

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