Mardag Foundation

Mardag Foundation

Agnes Ober established the Mardag Foundation through her will, formalizing a philanthropic vehicle that launched in 1969. Her husband, Edgar Ober, was among the earliest backers of 3M, and the family's legacy is now stewarded by descendants including Board President Kelsey LaValle and Treasurer Nate Ober, who also holds ties to Ecosystem Investment Partners. The foundation directs grants toward improving quality of life for underserved groups in the East Metro and Greater Minnesota, with a particular focus on children, seniors, and at-risk populations. Its programmatic interests span education and arts, and the organization also supports broader community initiatives through strategic partnerships with local philanthropy. Mardag does not publicly report an asset-allocation mix, but its structure aligns it closely with the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, which manages its back-office functions and investment operations. Mardag Foundation operates alongside the F. R. Bigelow Foundation as a partner entity within the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation network, sharing staff and resources. While the foundation's total professional headcount is not disclosed, this shared-services architecture allows it to run lean. The combined entity is a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, embedding ESG considerations across the pool of assets it stewards for Mardag and its affiliate foundations. The foundation's structural differentiator is its complete operational integration into a larger community-foundation chassis. Rather than maintaining an independent investment office or grantmaking apparatus, Mardag relies entirely on the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation's infrastructure, creating a governance layer that separates the Ober family's board oversight from day-to-day execution while embedding the foundation's assets inside a multi-billion-dollar institutional investment program.