Beim Foundation

Beim Foundation is a small, family-run Minneapolis private foundation, established over 70 years ago by Norwegian immigrant Nels Christian Beim, now stewarded by descendants bearing the Russell, Packard, and McKim surnames who make up its all-volunteer board (most directors are compensated $0-$550/year, per IRS filings). It runs two distinct tracks, and conflating them is the single biggest mistake applicants make. The Minnesota Legacy Program, covering the seven-county Twin Cities metro, is strictly invitation-only — the Foundation's own guidance states it will contact organizations it wants to learn more about, and unsolicited proposals are not reviewed. The Regional Grant Program, by contrast, is a genuinely open, competitive application covering roughly nine to ten named counties outside Minnesota (in Maine, Michigan, Washington, California, Indiana, and Massachusetts), with awards fixed in the $5,000-$15,000 range. First-time applicants without an existing relationship should target the Regional track, not the Legacy track. The Foundation explicitly favors 'small, community-based, and developing organizations' over large institutions, and evaluates proposals through a strengths-based, prevention-oriented lens: it wants participant-designed solutions, leveraged community resources, and a demonstrable 'ripple effect' beyond the immediate program. For 2025 and 2026, both programs have been narrowed to a single funding theme — environmental education serving children and youth from under-resourced communities — so organizations outside that theme, however mission-aligned historically, are unlikely to be competitive in the current cycle regardless of past funding areas (arts, broader education, human services). The Foundation does not accept board-presentation requests, does not commit to multi-year funding, and processes decisions twice yearly around its spring and fall board meetings, with funded organizations receiving a letter and check within six weeks of the relevant meeting. Given total annual disbursement in the $500K-$900K range historically, competition for the roughly 30-40 grants awarded per year is real, and county-level geographic eligibility is enforced strictly — a strong environmental-education program based outside the named counties will be declined regardless of quality.

Beim Foundation's endowment has grown slowly and steadily on investment returns alone: total assets rose from $10.0M (FY2012) to $11.45M (FY2023), with the current IRS filing showing $11.99M in assets and $2.31M in reported income. Notably, contributions_received is $0 in every fiscal year on record (2011-2023) — this is a closed, perpetuity-funded family foundation with no active donor pipeline, meaning its giving capacity is dictated entirely by market performance of its investment portfolio (net investment income swung from $210,741 in FY2012 to $1.73M in FY2021). Total giving has ranged from $565,057 (FY2011) to $891,378 (FY2021) over the last decade-plus, averaging roughly $684,000/year, with grants-paid figures (a narrower line item) ranging $447,200-$724,000. The Foundation's own 2025 grant report — more current and more granular than the historical IRS aggregate data — shows $493,589 disbursed across 36 grants: $131,000 via 7 Minnesota Legacy grants (averaging roughly $18,700 each) and $362,589 via 29 Regional Grant Program awards (averaging roughly $12,500 each, consistent with the stated $5,000-$15,000 band). By dollar volume, that's roughly a 27%/73% split between Legacy and Regional funding in 2025. The platform's own grantee-level database records a single aggregated entry ('See Attachment 1') covering 4 grants totaling $2,330,410 (average $582,603) to Minnesota recipients — this is an IRS Form 990-PF attachment placeholder rather than 4 real individual grants, and should not be read as evidence of large individual awards; it likely represents a multi-year or multi-recipient rollup. For funding-pattern analysis, the Foundation's own published 2025/2026 program pages are the more reliable source: expect grant sizes in the $5,000-$25,000 range per award, roughly 30-40 total awards per year, and total annual disbursement in the $500K-$900K band depending on portfolio performance that year.

Beim sits at the small end of the Minnesota family-foundation spectrum, closely matched to Marbrook Foundation in both asset size (~$12-14M) and grantmaking philosophy — both are legacy family funds that have moved their flagship program to invitation-only status while retaining one narrower open door (Beim's Regional Program; Marbrook's LOI process). Hugh J. Andersen Foundation, by contrast, operates at nearly 20x Beim's asset base and giving volume with a fully open, calendar-driven quarterly cycle, illustrating how much more competitive and structured larger St. Croix Valley-region funders can be. For grant seekers, the practical takeaway is that Beim's Regional Grant Program — a genuinely open track with a defined $5,000-$15,000 award band — is unusually accessible for a foundation its size, since most peers at this asset level (like Marbrook) have gone fully invitation-only.

The most concrete recent activity comes directly from the Foundation's own site rather than press coverage — no news outlets appear to have covered Beim Foundation in 2025 or 2026, consistent with its low public profile. In 2025, the Regional Grant Program portal opened June 16, 2025, closed July 18, 2025, and results were communicated by mid-November 2025; the Foundation ultimately funded 36 organizations (7 Minnesota Legacy, 29 Regional) totaling roughly $493,589, all under an environmental-education-for-underserved-youth theme. Looking ahead, the 2026 Regional Grant Program follows the same rhythm one month later on the calendar: portal opens June 15, 2026, applications due July 17, 2026, decisions announced December 2026. The bigger structural change is on the Minnesota Legacy side: for 2026, the Foundation confirmed it will invite proposals from only a limited, pre-identified pool of organizations in the seven-county Twin Cities metro, with invitations going out in early March 2026 — formalizing what was likely already an informal invitation-only practice. No leadership transitions were identified; the board (Scott Russell as President, Jack Stephenson as Treasurer, and directors including Allison Villani, Erik Arnold, Jim McKim, Stefanie McKim, Julie Packard, Peter Russell, Annie Russell-Weaver, and Sam Packard) appears stable across the filings reviewed, with directors drawing little to no compensation ($0-$550/year), typical of a lean, hands-on family board rather than a staffed institution.

Timing is unforgiving: the Regional Grant Program opens for barely a month (roughly June 15/16 to July 17/18) once a year, with no secondary or rolling cycle — mark the exact 2026 window (June 15 - July 17) and do not wait until the final week. Confirm the current-year theme before drafting anything: for 2025 and 2026 that theme is environmental education serving under-resourced children and youth, and the Foundation has shown it will apply this single theme across both of its programs simultaneously rather than maintaining its broader historical arts/education/human-services mandate — a strong proposal outside the active theme is unlikely to be funded this cycle regardless of past alignment. Never submit an unsolicited proposal to the Minnesota Legacy Program; the Foundation is explicit that it reaches out to organizations it wants to learn more about, so if you're a Twin Cities metro nonprofit without an existing relationship, the better long-term play is visibility — board connections, peer nonprofit referrals, community reputation — rather than a cold application, since Legacy invitations for 2026 are already being decided in early March. On the Regional track, respect the fixed $5,000-$15,000 award band in your budget ask; requesting outside that range signals unfamiliarity with the program. Geographic eligibility is a hard filter, not a soft preference — your organization must be both located in and actively providing services in one of the named counties (Cumberland ME, Kalamazoo MI, King WA, Los Angeles CA, Marion IN, Middlesex MA, Orange CA, St. Joseph IN, St. Joseph MI, Worcester MA); a Minnesota-based environmental-education nonprofit with no presence in these counties does not qualify for the Regional Program regardless of program quality. In your narrative, mirror the Foundation's own evaluative language: emphasize prevention over remediation, participant/community-designed program elements, leveraging of existing community assets, and a measurable ripple effect beyond direct beneficiaries. Do not request a board presentation or site visit — offer information but let the Foundation initiate follow-up. Finally, do not build multi-year budget projections assuming renewal: the Foundation states funding decisions are made fresh every year with no multi-year commitments, so each cycle should be treated as a new, standalone ask. Direct any procedural questions to info@beimfoundation.org or 612-825-1404 well before the deadline.