Avocet Foundation
This organization is a private foundation dedicated to supporting a wide range of causes aimed at improving community welfare and individual lives. Its mission includes enhancing oral health for those with special dental needs, promoting women's human rights, and fostering educational opportunities for under-resourced students. The foundation also focuses on environmental conservation, economic self-sufficiency, and ensuring access to essential health services. It serves various populations, including low-income individuals, students, and women, through strategic grants to nonprofits and community organizations. The foundation's activities are primarily concentrated in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Source: Zeffy Agent · Mar 2026
Ideal Applicant
A mid‑sized nonprofit working in Minnesota or the St. Croix Valley with programs in youth development, education, community economic support, women’s rights, health access, housing, or land conservation and an existing track record or referral.
Good Fit
- • Primary operations or impact in Minnesota (or direct benefit to the St. Croix Valley).
- • Program areas matching past grants (youth leadership, education, housing, women’s rights, health access, conservation, voter education).
- • Established track record with audited financials and a tax‑exempt letter available.
- • Existing relationship, introduction, or prior small grant history with the foundation or its grantees.
- • Planned request sized in the typical grant range observed (roughly mid‑four to low‑five figures, with occasional grants up to ~60k).
Geography
Giving is regionally concentrated: roughly 70% of dollars go to Minnesota recipients, with a few grants to Wisconsin and other states, indicating a state‑level/regional footprint rather than a national one.
Recipient Variety
Each year the foundation funds about 15–17 distinct independent nonprofits across varied sectors (education, health, conservation, housing, democracy), so the observed recipient set is broad for the funder’s size despite some dollar concentration among top grantees.
New Applicants
The foundation explicitly declares it funds only preselected applicants and behavior shows very low newcomer entry (one new recipient in the latest year and a high returning‑grantee rate), so unfamiliar organizations are unlikely to gain funding without a direct introduction or relationship.
Source: Zeffy Agent · Mar 2026
