About PFund Foundation
In 1987, four gay friends in Minneapolis pooled $2,000 of their own money to establish a permanent endowment fund to provide support for gay and lesbian people in Minnesota experiencing hardships because of the AIDS epidemic.
The idea for the foundation occurred to the friends during the process of estate planning. They approached local mainstream community foundations hoping they would provide the safekeeping and administration for such a cause, but were denied. The mainstream foundations’ policies at the time did not include support for LGBTQ-specific causes, nor did they approve of terminology such as “gay, queer or homosexual” in the mission of naming funds. Not to be stopped, PFund’s four founders forged ahead and established the Philanthrofund Foundation—today known as PFund.
Over the years, PFund has grown with the support of small, large, and sustaining contributions from individual, corporate, and foundation donors. The foundation has expanded beyond its modest roots to become the only queer community foundation serving the Upper Midwest region of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa and the First Nations therein.
In keeping with the spirit of community support that the founders envisioned, PFund builds community and provides resources and support for LGBTQ+ organizations and individuals through grants and scholarships, by developing leaders, and by inspiring giving.
PFund builds community and provides resources for LGBTQ+ individuals across the upper Midwest and the First Nations therein.
Prioritized Communities
The LGBTQ+ community of the upper Midwest is not monolithic. Factors such as age, race/ethnicity, geography, disability, income, and gender all influence the challenges facing queer individuals. PFund Foundation recognizes that some subpopulations of the queer community may need elevated levels of support to achieve equitable outcomes. To address this need, PFund Foundation has identified three prioritized communities who are especially important to our work:
Queer People of Color
LGBTQ+ people who also belong to minority racial and ethnic groups experience additional oppression and discrimination—both inside and outside of queer communities.
PFund demonstrates its commitment to queer people of color through its programs. 55% of 2022 PFund Scholars identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color. During the worst months of the COVID-19 pandemic, PFund launched a $90,000 emergency fund (now known as the Equity Fund) for queer entrepreneurs of color in Minneapolis to help their businesses survive the economic impacts of the coronavirus and unrest following the murder of George Floyd. In 2022, PFund offered a second round of grants from the Equity Fund for queer BIPOC business owners in Minneapolis.
Gender-Expansive People
Transgender, gender-expansive, and nonbinary individuals are being made the targets of discriminatory legislation and scapegoating at the regional and national levels. The pandemic has also disproportionately impacted transgender and gender non-conforming college students: the Williams Institute at UCLA found that transgender students were six times more likely to have been seriously ill or hospitalized with COVID-19 than their cisgender peers. 55% of 2022 PFund Scholars identify as transgender, gender non-conforming, genderqueer, or nonbinary.
Queer People in North and South Dakota
LGBTQ+ people living in North or South Dakota face a unique set of challenges, including the ongoing impacts of high COVID-19 rates, political environments actively hostile to queer and trans individuals, and fewer nonprofit resources for queer communities (especially outside of large cities). PFund estimates there are at least 82,000 queer individuals living in the Dakotas and the foundation is in the process of building a new targeted outreach program to LGBTQ+ people in rural areas the upper Midwest in 2022.
Mission
PFund Foundation builds equity with LGBTQ+ communities across the upper Midwest by providing grants and scholarships, developing leaders, and inspiring giving.
Vision
PFund Foundation invests in thriving and more equitable communities for queer people in the upper Midwest.
Our Impact
Since 1987, PFund Foundation has distributed over $1 million in grant funds to hundreds of LGBTQ+ students in the Upper Midwest. For the 2021 cohort of PFund Scholars, over half identified as people of color, and two-thirds as transgender, gender-nonconforming, or nonbinary.
PFund distributed $90,000 in Queer BIPOC Business Capacity Grants to LGBTQ+ small business owners of color in Minneapolis in 2020-21 and will be offering a second round of capacity-building grants in 2022.
PFund is launching a rural-focused grants program in 2022 that will distribute over $125,000 in funds to LGBTQ+ organizations based in or serving rural communities in the upper Midwest.
For more information on how PFund Foundation is making, please read our 2022 Impact Report and Strategic Plan.
Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination Policy
Philanthrofund Foundation does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status, familial status, sexual orientation, status with regard to public assistance, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients. For questions or concerns, please contact us at info@pfundfoundation.org.