After nearly a decade with the St. Paul & Minnesota Foundation, President and CEO Eric J. Jolly announced Wednesday that he plans to retire this year.
Throughout his tenure with the foundation, Jolly focused on generosity, advancing equity and investing in community-led solutions, the foundation said in an announcement.
Eric J. Jolly plans to retire from his position as President and CEO of the St. Paul and Minnesota Foundation, he announced Jan. 15, 2025. A nationwide search will begin for his successor as he plans to retire midyear. (Courtesy of Minnesota Philanthropy Partners)
“His leadership and unabashed commitment to equity, long before these conversations took priority on a national scale, have been instrumental in driving our work forward and ensuring the success of our many initiatives,” Board Chair Joseph Lee said.
“I have had the extraordinary opportunity to lead this great organization for almost a decade,” Jolly said in the release. “I am proud of the work of the organization, and while I am personally ready for this transition, I also know that the organization is in an ideal position to move forward.”
Before joining the foundation in 2015, Jolly served for 10 years as president of the Science Museum of Minnesota and, prior to that, he worked as vice president and scientist at the Education Development Center in Massachusetts.
Jolly’s retirement announcement comes on the heels of the foundation’s recently approved new five-year strategic plan and a redesign of the foundation’s grant process to better disburse community resources.
The St. Paul & Minnesota Foundation, F.R. Bigelow Foundation and Mardag Foundation will offer new applications for response-level and system-level grants beginning in 2026 to provide more clarity and visibility into timelines and decision-making processes.
Jolly plans to remain in Minnesota once retired and continue to serve the community through his involvement with local organizations. Jolly also plans to travel and spend time with family and his two new grandchildren, according to the retirement announcement.
Since its inception in 1940 following the Great Depression, the foundation has given over 9,500 grants and $1.8 billion in combined charitable assets, making it the largest community foundation in the state.
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The foundation has also been at the forefront of initiatives like GiveMN, a first-of-its-kind website that launched in 2009 that gave Minnesotans a simple way to donate to their favorite causes.
In a letter penned to the community, Jolly writes that he plans to retire by midyear and the hope is for his successor to be in place before his departure. A nationwide search for the foundation’s next leader would begin immediately, Lee indicated in the release.
“I am confident of the enduring legacy of the last 10 years and faithful for even greater success the next leader will bring to our community,” Jolly said.
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