Mankato Clinic Foundation: Giving | Growing | Thriving | Together

Our mission is to encourage and support the health and well-being of our community through health initiatives that promote and improve community wellness.

Giving back to the community is part of the fabric that makes Mankato Clinic what it is.

A small, dedicated group of physicians started the Mankato Clinic Foundation in 1965, making it one of the oldest foundations in Minnesota. Since that time, the Foundation has expanded its reach by supporting health-related initiatives and programs that address the social determinants of health.

The foundation receives the majority of its funding from Mankato Clinic physicians, along with giving by Mankato Clinic staff and the greater Mankato community.

Building a Thriving Community:

  • Community grant program—provides funds to local non-profit organizations with programs focused on health and wellness.
  • ImPACT®—a concussion management program provided to school and community athletic programs to safely determine when athletes can return to play.
  • First Steps—a community initiative that links new or expecting parents to free or low-cost services and resources. Click here for more information.
  • Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota—Mankato Clinic Tree of Forts Climber
  • Scholarships—offered to greater Mankato students entering health care programs.

J. Scott Sanders, MD, Scholarship

The J. Scott Sander, M.D., Memorial Scholarship is open to Greater Mankato high school seniors.

J. Scott Sanders MD Memorial Scholarship

Community Grants

Mankato Clinic Foundation Grant Application

If you are an area non-profit organization in need of funding for a program or initiative that promotes health and wellness in our communities, please use the button above. We have partnered with the Mankato Area Foundation for grant applications. If you already have an account, you may log in. Others will need to create an account.

Questions: Contact Marie Wood at mariew@mankatoclinic.com or 507-389-8716.

Due DateDisbursement
March 1Mid-April
June 1Mid-July
September 1Mid-October
December 1Mid-January

Ways to Give

If you would like to help build a healthier tomorrow for our greater Mankato communities, you can give to the Mankato Clinic Foundation in a variety of ways:

  • Annual Mankato Clinic Foundation Golf Tournament
  • checks and memorials
  • property, securities, and other appreciated assets
  • bequests or testamentary trusts
  • charitable gift annuities with a return for the remainder of the donor’s life
  • unitrusts, charitable remainder trusts
  • life insurance designations

Donations can be mailed to: 

Mankato Clinic Foundation
ATTN: Marcia Bahr
1400 Madison Avenue, Suite 324B
Mankato, MN 56001

To learn more, call the Foundation office at 507-389-8770.

In the last 10 years, Mankato Clinic Foundation has awarded more than $2 million in grants.

Funding went to the following organizations in 2023:

  • Aging Services for Communities
  • Apple Tree Dental
  • Blue Earth County Library
  • Catholic Charities of Southern Minnesota
  • Centenary United Methodist Church – Holy Grounds Breakfast
  • Connections Ministry Emergency Shelter
  • Camp Sweet Life Adventures
  • Saint Peter Recreation Department
  • Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota
  • Educare Foundation
  • Feeding Our Communities Partner
  • Friends of Learning
  • Greater Mankato Area United Way
  • Greater Mankato Diversity Council
  • HACER – Anti-bullying workshops for Latino families
  • imagineOne
  • Junior Achievement of Greater Mankato
  • Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial Elementary School
  • Life-Work Planning Center
  • Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota
  • Mankato Area BMX – Helmets
  • Mankato Area Public Schools
  • Mankato Youth (MY) Place
  • MNSU Foundation – Rec ‘N Read program
  • MN Brain Injury Force
  • MRCI Worksource
  • New Foundations St. Peter: Project Let’s G.O.
  • St. Peter North Elementary
  • Southern MN Crisis Nursery/Ivy House
  • SMILES – Adaptive bicycles
  • Wellcome Manor Family Services
  • WellShare International 
  • YWCA Mankato – Girls on the Run scholarships

Mankato Clinic Foundation is aslo a long-term supporter of:

  • Greater Mankato Area United Way – First Steps program
  • Jonathan Zierdt Cancer Fund
  • ImPACT – Concussion management program
  • Mankato North Mankato Youth Football – Helmets
  • South Central College Foundation: Scholarships for students entering health care