Our Mission

Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies (MACP) supports efforts to enhance quality of life and prevent and relieve suffering of children, families, and seniors; preserve and promote the environment and the arts; and encourage the humane treatment of animals.

Founded by the late Margaret A. Cargill, MACP actively partners with capable organizations to make a lasting difference for individuals and communities, with particular attention to overlooked causes. MACP’s combined assets (Margaret A. Cargill Foundation and Anne Ray Foundation) place us among the top ten foundations in the United States.

MACP develops and implements integrated grantmaking strategies across seven programmatic areas we call domains: Arts & Cultures, Disaster Relief & Recovery, Environment, Animal Welfare, Quality of Life, Teachers, and Legacy & Opportunity.

Our grantmaking approach is rooted in direction from our founder and reflects our Philosophy of Grantmaking.

Grant proposals are by invitation only, and we do not consider unsolicited requests for support.

Within our domains, our program strategies are anchored in compelling issues where we want to make a meaningful, measurable, and sustainable difference in a defined period of time.

We limit the number of issues we choose to address, set clear goals for the difference we wish to make on each one, and allocate our resources accordingly. We pay special attention to underserved or low-attention areas and causes, and we favor community-based, on-the-ground programs rather than policy initiatives or endowments.

We continually hone strategies within our domains, investing in evaluation efforts and making substantial learning grants to inform decision-making and program development.

Core to our approach is strengthening the effectiveness and capacity of our key grantee partners by investing in their leadership, management, and operational capabilities.

We believe the best way to make a lasting difference on issues we care about is by investing in long-term relationships with key grantees, strengthening our combined abilities to make a meaningful difference in the world. Because of this, we look to our key grantees as partners, and they help us shape what we do. We work with these partners to find solutions that are consistent with the objectives and values of both our organization and theirs.

Our grantmaking reflects our values and Margaret Cargill’s guiding principles and is always directed toward our mission and core purposes.

We expect our grantmaking to have these characteristics:

• We lead with our values, internally and externally.
• We partner with capable organizations that have demonstrated their ability to work successfully in our interest areas and in a manner consistent with our values. We look to our grantees as partners and co-learners.
• We provide meaningful support to strategic grantees.
• We support work in and with communities toward sustainable solutions.
• We pay special attention to underserved or low-attention areas, populations, or issues.
• We value and affirm the integration of all functions of the Philanthropies in our grantmaking.
• We make measurable impact on focused goals.
• We evaluate our work, reshape our approaches as we learn, share and apply our learning to future grantmaking.

All this we do, not to bring recognition to ourselves, but to support our grantees in the work they do to provide meaningful assistance and support to society, the arts, and the environment, in a manner consistent with our founder’s wishes and intent. Done well, this will distinguish us.