Mankato Free Press (March 11, 2025) — Charitable giving nationwide has been down in the last few years, but nonprofits in this region say support remains strong.
“We’re blessed to have the community we’re in being so giving,” said Barb Kaus, chief executive officer of the Greater Mankato Area United Way.
“It’s in their heart to step up and give to those less fortunate. It’s not common for many other communities.”
Ashley Eimer, vice president of philanthropy for the Mankato Area Foundation, said they saw another record last year for the amount of grants they could give to local groups.
“It’s not normal to have that level of growth, and it really speaks to the community and their giving.”
Sondra Herman, executive director of Habitat for Humanity South Central Minnesota, says they continue to receive strong volunteer efforts and funding.
“We have some really great supporters. There’s strong philanthropy here. It is a really great and supportive community for nonprofits.”
While generous financial support from local businesses is important, so is having quality leaders heading up all the nonprofits in the area.
Mankato Area Foundation
The foundation dispersed $1 million to area nonprofits a few years ago. Then it grew to $2 million and $3.5 million.
“It was $4.2 million last year. It was record breaking,” Eimer said.
The foundation, which mostly helps individual donors match their giving to their passions, has been steadily broadening the number of people they work with.
Those “donor-guided” funds allow a donor to set up a fund with the foundation, then the foundation helps them identify needs and nonprofits the donor may want to give to.
Eimer, who came to the foundation in 2022 after serving as a director of development at Minnesota State University, said the foundation last year celebrated its 50th anniversary and wanted to do something special for the community.
“We supported the Mankato Community Collage, done by Josh Madson. It was a big deal and people really seemed to love it. It’s hard to look at it and not feel joy,” she said of the project that displays thousands of photos of local residents.
Eimer works with many area nonprofits and said there are traits that make the leaders of them special.
“Passion. They work with purpose, they believe in what they do and they’re committed to what they do. There are a lot of similarities to what makes a good nonprofit leader and a good leader in general. They show up and do what they say they’ll do. Nonprofit leaders really have to believe in what they do.”
She said area nonprofits have generally had stable leadership, but with more leaders looking at retiring, potential new leadership is needed.
“I think in the next 10 years we’ll see more younger leaders coming up, and we need to support and prepare those younger leaders.”
United Way
Kaus, whose agency disperses funds to a wide variety of local groups, agrees the nonprofits have strong leaders.
“The reason we need strong nonprofit leaders is we need strong nonprofits to have a strong community. We wouldn’t have the community we have without the strong nonprofit leaders we have.”
She said those who head nonprofits need to love what they do.
“They believe in the work of their nonprofit. They have a servant heart, putting others before themselves. They’re always looking to see what more they can do to improve more lives.”
Kaus said those leaders also need a strong business sense to guide their nonprofit successfully and be able to adapt and grow the organization to meet changes that arise.
Eimer and Kaus said the groups they work with are concerned about potential funding cuts following the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
“I’m hearing concerns about what might happen or not happen,” Kaus said. “So agencies may get less and that’s where the United Way can help.”
They hit their campaign goal and are still accepting donations because the need is so great.
The latest campaign increased the goal by $100,000 to a total of $2,350,000.
“By going over our benchmark, we can give out more.”
Habitat for Humanity
Herman took over as director of the home-building organization three years ago.
“I spent 25 years in public accounting and finance work in the construction sector and did public health work after that.
“I really like serving communities, and this position came up and I can use my background in it.”
Habitat has different sources of funding, including federal and state funds, with its Restore business in Mankato being the largest source of funding. They also have smaller fundraisers and get donations from the public.
They use teams of volunteers and some in-kind materials to build homes that the new homeowner gets with an affordable mortgage.
“We put in the first mortgage that is less than 30% of their income,” Herman said. The nonprofit also has a number of other ways to help with a down payment and ensure the mortgage is affordable for the homeowners.
Habitat also started a program called Aging in Place that provides safety and other upgrades to the homes of seniors so they can stay in their own house longer.
She said they build about three new homes each year but are looking to expand.
“We’re looking to grow significantly. The housing crisis is not getting any smaller. We’re one of the few organizations supplying affordable housing and helping people stay in their home longer.”
Herman believes being a good nonprofit leader is putting the right people in the right position and powering success of the nonprofit.
“All the nonprofits locally do a good job of supporting each other.”