Gifts to the Minnesota Environmental Fund support leading nonprofit organizations working to protect, conserve, and restore Minnesota’s environment. Our members are leading the charge on all of the most important environmental issues in the state, and MEF makes it easy to support all of these causes with just one gift. Learn more about the impacts of your donations on our key issue areas below.
Impact
10,000 reasons why
Clean Water

1,000
16
18,000,000
- Defending waters from pollution and toxic threats and ensuring safe and affordable drinking water for all Minnesotans through: water quality research, public education, organizing citizens to advocate for clean water, working with legislators to ensure just policy decisions, and litigation when necessary.
- Conserving and caring for our lakes, rivers, forests and wetlands by working with public and private land owners as well as local communities and businesses to improve land and water management practices and place vulnerable areas under protected status.
- Ensuring that impaired waters are restored and protected through the promotion of healthy water practices by training the next generations of farmers, winter road maintenance professionals, landscapers, and community water stewards to reduce runoff from farmland, roadways, and urban areas.
Climate Change

1,300,000
15
36
- Advocating for energy efficiency and emissions standards, reducing hazardous emissions from coal-fired power plants, and promoting transitions to renewable energy through policy and law.
- Helping Minnesota citizens, businesses, and government entities transition to renewable and climate-friendly technologies and practices, including cleaner heating and energy options, climate-friendly agricultural practices, and supporting policies and infrastructure for cycling and electric vehicles.
- Organizing Minnesotans to engage in solutions to climate change and building climate literacy among diverse groups including youth, farmers, local government officials, business and community leaders, and policy makers, among others.
- Audubon Minnesota
- Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota
- Clean Water Fund
- Environmental Initiative
- Izaak Walton League of America, MN Division
- Land Stewardship Project
- Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy
- North American Water Office
- Sierra Club Foundation
- Tree Trust
Environmental Justice

MEF members helped
close a metal processing plant
in North Minneapolis that was falsifying pollution records to evade standards enforcement.
MEF members
documented elevated mercury levels & planted medicinal plants to counter mercury poisoning
in White Earth Nation communities.
MEF members are
fighting a plan to bring 1,000 public works vehicles/day
to a South Minneapolis neighborhood already over-burdened with industrial pollution; and advocating for a community-led plan for an urban farm and market on the site.
- documenting cumulative impacts of traffic, lead exposure, and industrial pollution on the health of affected communities through toxic site mapping and health impact surveys; pursuing remediation and pollution control enforcement in these areas; and representing communities in court when necessary.
- partnering with indigenous tribes on the impact of mining on wild rice and tribal water resources, and mercury contamination of tribal fish stock; representing them in court; planting natural medicines which counter the effects of toxic exposures.
- supporting the organizing of communities affected by development along the Mississippi river and industrial pollution in low-income urban neighborhoods; amplifying their voices and advocating for community needs and desires.
- organizing for racial justice in rural Minnesota through annual racial justice leadership cohorts and integrating racial justice into work on sustainable agriculture and rural development.
- Friends of the Mississippi River
- Land Stewardship Project
- Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy
- North American Water Office
- Women’s Environmental Institute
Protecting Wildlife & Wild Places

210,000
135,000
330,000
- Protecting cherished lands and waters by working with private and public land owners, acquiring land to add to parks and protected areas, and ensuring industrial projects and new development prioritize keeping Minnesota’s special outdoor places pristine, ensuring long-term ecological and human health, and putting community desires first.
- Caring for and restoring Minnesota’s prairies, wetlands, forests, and shores by removing invasive species and debris, planting trees, pollinator-friendly flowers, and other native plants, and restoring habitat for critical species.
- Defending Minnesota’s clean water, public lands, and wildlife through research and advocating for environmental policies built on scientific foundations.
- Audubon Minnesota
- Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness
- Friends of the Mississippi River
- Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance
- Land Stewardship Project
- Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy
- Mississippi Park Connection
- Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota
- Sierra Club Foundation
- Tree Trust
- The Trust for Public Land
- Voyageurs Conservancy
Access to the Outdoors

54,000
#1/#3
775,000
- Protecting, improving, and expanding our world-class system of parks, trails, and preserves.
- Providing the bridge to allow people of all backgrounds, incomes, and abilities to get outdoors with confidence through organized outings, access to equipment, and outdoor skills training.
- Building a community of environmental stewards through volunteer coordination that focuses on park and trail maintenance and cleanup and restoration of natural areas.
- Ensuring all Minnesota youth enjoy outdoor experiences and consider careers in environmental sciences through field trips, environmental education, and job training programs conducted in partnership with Minnesota schools.
- Audubon Minnesota
- Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota
- Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness
- Friends of the Mississippi River
- Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance
- Mississippi Park Connection
- Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota
- Sierra Club Foundation
- Tree Trust
- The Trust for Public Land
- Voyageurs Conservancy
- Wilderness Inquiry
Healthy Food & Farming

1200
600
36
- Training new farmers in sustainable agriculture and organic farming through workshops, classes, mentorships and access to land.
- Building community support for local food and farmers by using urban organic food sites to create entrepreneurial opportunities and living wage jobs.
- Preserving agricultural traditions by promoting the nutritional and medicinal benefits of wild foods and fruits.
- Promoting healthy food access through urban farming projects, farmers markets, farmer-eater exchanges, and classes on growing and preserving your own food.
- Advancing policy to protect farmers and natural resources through research of alternative farming site and advocacy against frac sand mining and large-scale factory farms.
- Clean Water Fund
- Environmental Initiative
- Friends of the Mississippi River
- Land Stewardship Project
- North American Water Office
- The Trust for Public Land
- Women’s Environmental Institute
When you support the Minnesota Environmental Fund, you join a community of people working together to protect, conserve, and restore Minnesota’s environment. Join us today in protecting Minnesota’s beauty for future generations.