The mission of the Constellation Fund is to fight poverty in the Twin Cities by raising the living standards of individuals and families living below the poverty line in our seven-county metropolitan area. Since our founding a little over five years ago, we’ve taken an outcome-based approach to this critical effort, prioritizing evidence over anecdotes in order to find, fund, and empower poverty-fighting services that create transformational impact in our community.

Where We’ve Been

Over the past five years, we’ve built what I believe is a world-class quantitative toolkit—over 230 customized metrics designed to help maximize the measurable impact of every donated dollar. We’ve assembled a portfolio of top-performing nonprofits that collectively turn each dollar invested into $8 worth of long-term impact. Through Beyond Dollars, we’ve connected corporate talent with the pressing needs of social entrepreneurs. And through CoLab, our research arm, we’re investing in long-term evaluations to uncover lasting insights on fighting poverty.

The benefits of these investments have reached hundreds of thousands of our neighbors experiencing poverty in the Twin Cities. We’re not just investing in amazing nonprofits, but in lasting social solutions that generate sustained improvements in health and incomes.

And here’s what excites me most: we’re just getting started.

Where We’re Going

This year marks an important evolution for Constellation. We’re moving beyond identifying what works to actively scaling proven solutions and influencing how resources—both philanthropic and public—are deployed to fight poverty.

That certainly includes expanding our evidence-based grant-making. In our latest grant-making round, we’re welcoming four exceptional organizations to our portfolio: Al-Maa’uun’s culturally responsive career training in North Minneapolis, Children’s Dental Services‘ expansion of oral health care to thousands more low-income children, CommonBond’s integrated youth programming in public housing, and Improve Your Tomorrow’s targeted mentoring for young men of color. Each represents a proven intervention addressing critical gaps our community faces.

It also means deepening our research through CoLab into the interventions that truly create upward mobility. We’re not just measuring impact—we’re building the evidence base that can guide larger investments and policy decisions.

And critically, it means working to influence how the public sector uses data to maximize effectiveness. With federal cuts threatening families and state budget constraints eliminating services, there’s never been a more important time to demonstrate what evidence-driven resource allocation can accomplish. Real scale requires coordination with our friends in the public sector.

The Power of Giving Through

As a donor myself, I don’t think about giving to Constellation—I think about giving through it. This distinction matters. When you give through Constellation, you’re leveraging an evidence-driven process that centers not on donor preferences, but on what the data shows is working best for our community.

Gandhi said the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. I’ve come to understand that means letting go of what moves me personally and surrendering to what the evidence shows is working best.

This year, let’s show more than ever that Minnesota’s generosity, when paired with rigorous evidence and modern tools, can turn good intentions into measurable, lasting change—and can influence the broader systems needed to bring effective solutions to true scale.

Here’s to building on what we’ve learned.