Mankato businessman and billionaire Glen Taylor is bolstering his family foundation with another $100 million for rural communities in southern Minnesota and northwest Iowa.
Taylor, Minnesota’s wealthiest man, announced on Jan. 6 that he’s donating that amount in farmland and securities to his philanthropic initiative, the Taylor Family Farms Foundation.
Rent from the land, which follows a $172 million transfer last year, will be used to support grants for rural communities in southern Minnesota and northwestern Iowa, the Taylor Family Farms Foundation said Tuesday.
The donation could benefit rural Minnesota for generations to come, said Jeremy Wells, senior vice president of philanthropic services at the St. Paul and Minnesota Foundation and a member of the Taylor Family Farms Foundation board.
Most donors who give land expect it to be sold for immediate cash, but Taylor wanted to ensure that the donated properties stay available for farmers, Wells said.
“We’re supporting local farms. The farmers can continue to farm the land; we just take the rent and make grants out of that,” Wells said.
Proceeds from the rented farmland are disbursed to the Mankato Area Foundation, Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation and the St. Paul and Minnesota Foundation to give to charitable causes.
Millions of dollars of income generated from last year’s proceeds have paid for grants to help rural fire departments and child care centers, the foundation said Tuesday.
