Minnesota was once a leader in corporate philanthropy. Is that still true?
Local companies drew praise for launching the Five Percent Club nearly five decades ago.
By Kelly Smith
Published in Star Tribune July 7, 2023
Minnesotans have stood out for their generosity for generations.
Nearly five decades ago, the Five Percent Club put the state on the map nationally as a leader in philanthropy. Target and 22 other Minnesota companies vowed to give away 5% of their pre-tax earnings to charity — the first group of its kind in the nation.
Do any local companies still give that much to charity? And how does Minnesota's overall charitable giving stack up with other states? Tane Danger of Minneapolis contacted Curious Minnesota, the Star Tribune's reader-driven community reporting project, to find out.
Working in the nonprofit sector for most of his career, Danger heard about Minnesota's tradition of corporate philanthropy stemming from the Five Percent Club and how Minnesota donors give and volunteer at higher rates than other states' residents.
"One of the things I love bragging about Minnesota is we're a charitable state," said Danger, whose husband, Eric Roper, oversees Curious Minnesota. "Organizations and companies really seem to care about the place. And they're willing to invest their time and treasure."
In short, Danger is right that Minnesota is often among the top states for its percentage of donors and volunteers. And the Five Percent Club still exists, though it's now called the Minnesota Keystone Program and honors companies that give 2% or more.
It is the only program of its kind in the nation, said Cheri Gengler, who oversees the Keystone Program at the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce.
"It's our Minnesota legacy," she said. "It's always been part of our culture here to give back."
Promoting corporate giving
The Dayton family, who built the department store empire that spawned Target, is credited with inspiring the creation of the Five Percent Club. Starting in the mid-20th century, the Daytons gave 5% of their earnings before taxes back to the community.
When Dayton Hudson Corp. executive Wayne Thompson learned that Cleveland had a 1% club, he decided Minneapolis should establish a 5% club, Gengler said. David Koch, then the CEO at Graco Inc., and incoming president at the Chamber, started promoting the Five Percent Club in 1976.
The club soon expanded to honor companies that gave 2% to showcase those that were still giving above the national average and incentivize them to work toward 5%, Gengler said.
When philanthropist John D. Rockefeller III visited the Minneapolis Chamber in 1977, he compared the community to the Emerald City in the Land of Oz, commending companies for giving back. If the Minneapolis business community's spirit took hold across business and government sectors, "what a profound difference it would make" in the welfare of society, Rockefeller said, according to a Minneapolis Star editorial that year.