The Minneapolis-based McKnight Foundation has announced a hundred and eleven second-quarter grants totaling $20.7 million.

More than twenty grants totaling $6.5 million were awarded through the Midwest Climate & Energy program in support of efforts to strengthen democratic participation, transform the energy system, and electrify transportation and buildings. Recipients include the Great Plains Institute for Sustainable Development, which was awarded $1.46 million over two years in general operating support for its efforts to achieve a net-zero carbon economy; the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, which will receive a two-year, $500,000 grant to help secure pre-2030 retirement for the remaining coal plants in Minnesota, prevent investment in new fossil fuel plants, and promote investment in the renewable energy sector; and the Sierra Club Foundation as the fiscal sponsor of Clean Energy for All Midwest, which was awarded a two-year, $600,000 grant to unite grassroots advocates to move the country beyond coal by advancing the retirement of existing coal plants and removing fossil fuels from the rest of the economy.

The foundation also awarded grants through its Arts, International, and Vibrant & Equitable Communities programs as well as to organizations including the Center for Effective Philanthropy, the Healing Justice Foundation, and the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.

"The McKnight Foundation, in partnership with others, has a powerful role to play in transforming our energy system," said McKnight Foundation president Tonya Allen. "Together, we can reduce carbon pollution, at scale, in a way that equitably creates millions of jobs and billions of dollars in new investments."

(Photo credit: McKnight Foundation)