mhc_fy25_annual_report - Flipbook - Page 32
Supporters
Committed to Connections
MHC supporters can choose to extend
MHC relies on generous national, regional, and local sponsors and
their commitment to Minnesota’s cultural donors who believe in our work. Amplifying the stories of people and
life through legacy gifts such as bequests communities in our 87 counties would not be possible without the
financial support of these committed individuals, corporations,
or beneficiary designations. Planned
foundations, and organizations:
gifts are often one of the most accessible
ways to make a lasting impact, regardless $50,000+
Federation of State Humanities Councils
Minneapolis Foundation
of gift size, while maintaining flexibility
National Endowment for the Humanities
during one’s lifetime. Learn more at
Northwest Area Foundation
mnhum.org/legacy.
$15,000-$49,999
A legacy gift is not about a moment,
Blandin Foundation
Hardenbergh Foundation
it’s about meaning.
Ruth A. Reister (1936–2015) was a pioneering leader whose career
spanned law, finance, and public service at a time when women faced
significant professional barriers. From being the only woman in her
law school graduating class to serving in senior roles at the Federal
Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and as Deputy Undersecretary at the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Ruth forged a path defined by excellence,
determination, and service. Her lifelong commitment to education,
history, and civic life reflected a deep belief in the role of the
humanities in public life.
Together with her husband, Raymond A. Reister (1929–2005), a
distinguished attorney, civic leader, and former Minnesota Humanities
Commission Board member, the Reister’s shared a profound commitment
to the humanities, intellectual life, and community engagement. Their
shared interests in history, literature, and public discourse shaped a
legacy grounded in curiosity, learning, and service to others.
In 2016, Ruth’s legacy was transformed into lasting public impact
through a bequest to the Minnesota Humanities Center that established
the Ruth & Ray Reister Award for Historical Contributions to the
Humanities, supported by the Reister Endowment, established through
the generosity of the Ruth A. Reister Revocable Trust. This annual award
recognizes historians whose work deepens understanding of our state’s
past and brings history into public conversation, ensuring sustained
support for public historical scholarship in Minnesota.
2025 Reister Award Recipient Spotlight: Dr. Christopher Lehman
Dr. Christopher Lehman’s award-winning scholarship, including
Slavery’s Reach: Southern Slaveholders in the North Star State, examines
how histories of race and power shaped Minnesota’s development. His
work invites Minnesotans to engage more fully with our shared past,
centering voices and experiences long excluded from dominant narratives
and enriching public understanding of history.
Nominations for the 2026 Ruth & Ray Reister Award for Historical
Contributions to the Humanities will open in Spring 2026. Through this
award, MHC continues the Reister’s shared commitment to recognizing
scholarship that expands how Minnesotans understand, and engage
with, our shared history.
Initiative Foundation
The Teagle Foundation
$5,000-$14,999
Minnesota Diversified Industries (MDI)
Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota
Robins Kaplan LLC
Saint Paul and Minnesota Foundation
Thrivent Financial
$1,000-$4,999
Susan Corridoni, via the Corridoni Foundation for
Agency and Self-Determination
Mary Hilfiker
Alex Johnston, via the Johnston Education Fund at Fidelity Charitable
Minnesota Justice Research Center
Mutual of America
Old National Bank
Park Street Public
Rebecca Lynn Petersen
Patricia L. Ploetz
Sherry Sanchez Tibbetts
Kim & Darren Schaufenbuel
University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts
$500-$999
Susan H. Gross
Margaret Ann Hennen
Matthew Kuskie
Theresa Lippert
Eric Misbe
Nancy A. Aronson Norr, via the Nancy Aronson Norr Charitable Gift
Account at Fidelity Charitable
Carolyn Roby
Jay Sieling
Karen Suzukamo
Missy Staples Thompson, via the Missy Staples Thompson
Fund at Fidelity Charitable
32 | Minnesota Humanities Center | Learn more about MHC’s impact and ways to give at mnhum.org/ways-to-give/..
