嘉吉基金会成立75年来首度走出双城，向亚特兰大与威奇托扩展资助
明尼阿波利斯消息——嘉吉基金会（Cargill Foundation）10月13日宣布，将把资助范围扩展至佐治亚州亚特兰大与堪萨斯州威奇托，这是该基金会成立75年来首次在双城都会区以外开展资助。据商业电讯（Business Wire）发布的公告，2026年基金会将向双城地区投入1450万美元，并分别向亚特兰大与威奇托各投入100万美元，两地各遴选六家非盈利合作伙伴。
嘉吉基金会成立于1951年，总部随嘉吉公司设于明尼苏达州，迄今累计投入超过3亿美元，长期聚焦儿童营养、教育与社区发展。基金会执行主任凯蒂·克拉克·西本（Katie Clark Sieben）表示，亚特兰大与威奇托都是嘉吉设有重要业务的城市，扩展资助是希望把公司长期经营所在社区的公益投入做深。
公告称，两个新城市的首批合作机构将围绕儿童福祉与家庭支持展开项目。公益界人士指出，大型企业基金会把资助版图扩至总部以外的经营地，正成为近年美国企业慈善的一个趋势。
嘉吉公司总部设在明尼阿波利斯都会区的韦扎塔（Wayzata），是全球规模最大的农产品与食品企业之一，其在亚特兰大与威奇托都有大型加工与物流设施，当地雇员人数可观，这也是基金会此次选择这两个城市作为首批扩展点的原因。基金会介绍，两个城市的100万美元将通过各六家合作机构发放，首批项目侧重儿童营养、课后教育与家庭经济稳定等领域，合作名单将分批公布。双城地区的既有受助机构表示，基金会此次并未削减本地投入，1450万美元的双城预算仍高于往年。公益观察人士指出，明尼苏达州向来有深厚的企业慈善传统，多家财富500强企业总部设于双城，企业基金会的一举一动对本地非盈利生态影响显著。
图片来源：明尼阿波利斯市中心夜景，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 2.0，Wendy
Cargill Foundation Expands Grantmaking Beyond Twin Cities for First Time in 75 Years
MINNEAPOLIS — The Cargill Foundation announced on October 13 that it will expand its grantmaking to Atlanta, Georgia, and Wichita, Kansas — the first time in its 75-year history that it will fund work beyond the Twin Cities. According to the announcement carried by Business Wire, the foundation will invest $14.5 million in the Twin Cities in 2026, plus $1 million each in Atlanta and Wichita, with six nonprofit partners selected in each new city.
Founded in 1951 and based in Minnesota alongside Cargill, the foundation has invested more than $300 million to date, focusing on childhood nutrition, education and community development. Executive Director Katie Clark Sieben said Atlanta and Wichita are both major Cargill operating communities, and the expansion deepens the company's philanthropic commitment where its employees live and work.
The first grants in the two new cities will center on child well-being and family support. Philanthropy watchers note that corporate foundations increasingly extend funding beyond headquarters towns to the communities that host their operations.
Cargill is headquartered in Wayzata, in the Minneapolis metropolitan area, and is among the world's largest agriculture and food companies, with major processing and logistics operations — and sizable workforces — in both Atlanta and Wichita, which is why the foundation chose them as its first expansion cities. The $1 million for each city will flow through six nonprofit partners, with initial grants focused on child nutrition, after-school learning and family economic stability; partner lists will be announced in stages. Existing Twin Cities grantees noted that local funding was not cut, and the $14.5 million Twin Cities budget remains above prior years. Minnesota has a deep corporate-philanthropy tradition, with several Fortune 500 headquarters in the Twin Cities, so foundation moves carry outsized weight in the local nonprofit ecosystem.
Photo: Minneapolis skyline at night, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, Wendy
图片来源：明尼阿波利斯市中心夜景，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 2.0，Wendy
