Which foundation was established by the former chairman of 3M, William L. McKnight?

The foundation established by former 3M chairman William L. McKnight is the McKnight Foundation.

William L. McKnight and his wife, Maude L. McKnight, established the foundation in Minneapolis in 1953. McKnight was one of 3M’s early leaders and rose through the company from assistant bookkeeper to president, chief executive, and board chair.

The foundation was shaped by McKnight’s belief in initiative, experimentation, and giving capable people room to act. After Maude McKnight’s death, their daughter Virginia McKnight Binger took on leadership in 1974 and helped build the foundation’s formal grantmaking and community-based approach.

The McKnight Foundation is independent and is not a charitable arm of 3M, a distinction that is often overlooked. Its programs have supported the arts, neuroscience, climate and environmental work, communities, and economic opportunity. The Kresge Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust are separate philanthropic organizations.