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Constellation FundConstellation Fund
  • Who We Are
    • Mission and Values
    • Our Team
    • Grantees
  • What We Do
  • Impact
    • Impact Overview
    • Impact Reports
    • Metrics
    • Annual Report 2024
    • Apply for Funding
  • Beyond Dollars
  • CoLab
  • Donate

    WHAT WE DO

    THE CHALLENGE

    Minnesota is among the most charitable states in America yet, despite our generosity, there are over 620,000 residents of the Twin Cities living in poverty, a number that has risen by 60% over the past two decades. Our communities of color have borne the brunt of this unacceptable trend: for example, you are nearly six times more likely to be poor in the Twin Cities if you are Black than if you are white, the largest such disparity of any major metropolitan area in the country. This all adds up to a startling reality: one-in-five residents of the Twin Cities is currently living in poverty.

    If that is not a reason to update our approach to fighting poverty as a community, then what is?

    A Brighter Path Forward

    The Constellation Fund is designed to do just that. Our work is a key piece of a brighter path forward. One that acknowledges that doing good is simply not good enough. One that harnesses the power of modern tools alongside on-the-ground insights to help guide the way. One that helps to change the way we change our community.

    At Constellation, we believe that smart philanthropy is kind philanthropy, and we invite you to join us.

    Illustration of a woman reading a book while riding a bus.

    What Does it Mean to Give Bright?

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    100% Impact

    Our Board of Directors and Leadership Funders cover all of our operating and administrative costs so that every dollar you give to Constellation is directly invested into organizations shown by evidence to be creating transformational impacts for individuals and families experiencing poverty in the Twin Cities. Make a donation with 100% impact.

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    Rigorous Evaluation

    Constellation leverages the power of modern analytics to conduct careful benefit-cost analyses, using the best available evidence to better understand the poverty-fighting impact of every dollar that you invest. We balance this quantitative analysis alongside thoughtful qualitative considerations, including on-the-ground insights about pressing community needs. We believe that following the evidence – the quantitative and the qualitative, the science and the stories – can point us toward the best outcomes. Dive into our metrics.

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    Evidence-Driven Investments

    Having carefully evaluated the projected poverty-fighting benefits, Constellation compares the impacts of different direct-service programs in the Twin Cities. This allows us to carefully invest your donations into the programs with the largest expected impacts. Since we do not have an endowment, every dollar donated to Constellation is allocated with a sense of urgency into top poverty-fighting nonprofits. Meet our portfolio of impactful nonprofit grantees.

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    Capacity Building

    Constellation’s nonprofit grantees are provided not only with funding, but also with access to best-in-class pro bono services from leading companies through our Beyond Dollars program, which creates curated, skill-specific teams of volunteer employees to deliver unparalleled services that bolster the impact of your generosity. Nearly all of our grantees opt in to the program, viewing it as an extraordinary opportunity to access resources otherwise unavailable to most community organizations. Explore our innovative Beyond Dollars program.

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    World-Class Research

    Through our research arm, Constellation Lab (“CoLab”), we aim to reduce intergenerational poverty and support thriving communities by funding and supporting actionable, longitudinal research on programs, practices, and their effects. Unlike most research that typically only follows outcomes for a year or two, CoLab-funded evaluations assess outcomes over many years while sharing lessons along the way. Through its investments in world-class research, CoLab supports evidence-informed funding and community efforts to strengthen and scale solutions. Discover more about our groundbreaking research partnership.

    Illustration with stylized text: Give Bright

    CONTACT US

    The Constellation Fund
    323 N. Washington Ave.
    Suite 200
    Minneapolis, MN 55401 info@constellationfund.org

     

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    Constellation supports poverty-fighting nonprofit service providers in the Twin Cities. Click below for information on our unique application process.

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    • Who We Are
      • Mission and Values
      • Our Team
      • Grantees
    • What We Do
    • Impact
      • Impact Overview
      • Impact Reports
      • Metrics
      • Annual Report 2024
      • Apply for Funding
    • Beyond Dollars
    • CoLab
    • Donate