Patrick and Aimee Butler Family Foundation

What Patrick and Aimee Butler Family Foundation does

The Patrick and Aimee Butler Family Foundation is a private family foundation established in 1951 in Saint Paul, Minnesota by founders Patrick and Aimee Mott Butler and governed today by three generations of their descendants. The foundation's mission is to foster safety, opportunity, and growth for individuals and families by supporting effective nonprofit organizations in three priority areas: arts, environment, and human services. Its grantmaking is geographically concentrated in the Twin Cities metropolitan area and East Metro suburbs, with environment grants eligible statewide across Minnesota.

The foundation operates three distinct grant programs. Community Grants are two-year awards ranging from $20,000–$30,000+ per year for general operating support or specific programs to 501(c)(3) nonprofits; Special Projects Grants are $100,000+ multi-year commitments for capital campaigns, major program innovations, and systems change initiatives, restricted to existing Community Grants recipients; and Invited Grants are discretionary awards to organizations of special interest without solicitation. All programs are administered through the Grant Interface online application platform, which handles Letter of Inquiry, renewal applications, proposal submission, and reporting.

The foundation's revenue is derived from returns on its approximately $102.3 million investment portfolio. Net investment income was $6.0 million in 2024 (down from $9.2 million in 2023), and total expenses were $4.8 million, of which $4.2 million was disbursed as charitable grants. Operating overhead is minimal: management and general expenses were just $35,611 in 2024, reflecting a small staff of 1–10 employees led by Co-Director Robert Hybben and Community Grants contact JoAnne Peters. The foundation does not sell products or services and has no traditional go-to-market motion; its distribution model is an application- and invitation-based system targeting vetted regional nonprofits.

Name

Patrick and Aimee Butler Family Foundation

Legal name

Patrick and Aimee Butler Family Foundation

Website

https://butlerfamilyfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1951

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Patrick and Aimee Butler Family Foundation is a private, multi-generational family foundation established in 1951 in Saint Paul, Minnesota that awards grants to 501(c)(3) nonprofits in arts, environment, and human services across the Twin Cities and Minnesota.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Family Offices & Philanthropic Advisors (Grantmaking) (BPAGAKAD)

Keywords

• Family foundation grants
• Community grantmaking
• Nonprofit funding programs
• Human services grants
• Arts environment philanthropy

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Paul

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Investment Income: The foundation generates revenue primarily through investment returns on its endowment portfolio. Net investment income was $6,003,216 in 2024 and $9,171,565 in 2023. This supports the foundation's grantmaking activities across arts, environment, and human services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Patrick and Aimee Butler Family Foundation is a private family foundation that makes grants to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations working in arts, environment, and human services in the Twin Cities metropolitan area (Saint Paul, Minneapolis, and East Metropolitan suburbs; environment grants may work anywhere in Minnesota). It offers three grant programs: Community Grants (two-year awards for general operating or program support), Special Projects Grants ($100,000+ for capital campaigns, program innovation, and systems change), and Invited Grants (discretionary awards to organizations of special interest).

Product overview

The Patrick and Aimee Butler Family Foundation operates as a private family foundation established in 1951, offering three grant programs: Community Grants (two-year general operating or program support for nonprofits in arts, environment, and human services in the Twin Cities and Minnesota), Special Projects Grants (grants of $100,000+ for capital campaigns, major innovations, and systems change for existing grantees), and Invited Grants (discretionary awards to organizations of special interest). The foundation also maintains an online application system for grant management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Grants Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Community Grants alternate annually between Arts/Environment and Human Services focus areas, ensuring consistent coverage across all three priority areas over time
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• McKnight Foundation: Large Minneapolis-based private foundation with a multi-billion-dollar endowment focused on Minnesota, the Midwest, and climate. Operates in the same Twin Cities ecosystem and shares the arts/environment priorities of the Butler Foundation at materially greater scale.
• Bush Foundation: Saint Paul-based regional foundation investing in Minnesota and the Dakotas across community development, education, and arts. Comparable regional grantmaker but with significantly larger scale and broader programmatic mandate.
• Otto Bremer Trust: Major Minnesota-based private foundation with broad grantmaking across human services, education, and community development statewide and in the Upper Midwest. Comparable in Minnesota geography but operates at larger scale.

Direct peers

• The Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation: Minnesota community foundation serving Saint Paul and surrounding metro with comparable grantmaking across human services, arts, environment, and education. Closest overlap in geographic scope and program structure.
• Mardag Foundation: Minnesota private foundation focused on human services and community needs in the Twin Cities. Comparable in endowment size, grant sizes, and human-services priority area.
• HRK Foundation: Saint Paul-based family foundation supporting human services and community initiatives in the Twin Cities. Closely aligned in mission and geographic scope with smaller scale.
• F. R. Bigelow Foundation: Saint Paul-based private family foundation with a similarly sized endowment and grantmaking focus on human services, arts, and community needs in the Twin Cities. Directly comparable in mission, geography, and grant scale.
• Jerome Foundation: Saint Paul-based family foundation historically focused on arts and humanities grants for emerging artists and organizations in Minnesota. Comparable in family-foundation structure, Twin Cities geography, and arts-grantmaking focus.
• Robina Foundation: Minnesota-based family foundation supporting criminal justice reform, arts, and human services. Comparable as a private family foundation with grantmaking overlapping arts and human services verticals.

Regional players

• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation: Minnesota health-focused foundation that funds health equity and human services statewide. Comparable regional funder with thematic overlap in human services but with a more narrowly health-focused mandate.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/patrick-and-aimee-butler-family-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Patrick and Aimee Butler Family Foundation