Who We Are

Miller-Dwan Foundation Overview

We are the only independent, public, medical foundation in the region, and we're here, as a public charity, to support your commitment to the health of our communities. We're here to promote the well-being of the people of northeastern Minnesota, northwestern Wisconsin and northern Michigan. We carry out the wishes of our donors while improving the delivery of health care services, supporting health care education and advancing treatment through medical research.

In other words, we're here to help you take care of the people you care about.

As the area's largest medical foundation, we have been able to provide more than $26,000,000 in grant support to Essentia Health Duluth (formerly Miller-Dwan Medical Center), Polinsky Medical Rehabilitation Center, and more than fifty other regional nonprofit organizations which address community health concerns.

Since its inception in 1973, the Miller-Dwan Foundation has shared an outstanding legacy of significant and noteworthy individual philanthropy. From the generous bequest of Duluth's first mayor, A. M. Miller, whose gift created Miller-Dwan Medical Center, to the expansive interests of Mary C. Dwan, charitable and civic-minded individuals have helped shape the Foundation over the years. Currently, we represent thousands of donors who have fulfilled their charitable desire to advance the health and well-being of the people of our region.

We partner with individuals, families, businesses and organizations, and together, we are making our region a better place to live and work. We match donor interests with local health care needs, and we have the flexibility to respond to the changing face of health care.

Our funding makes a difference to the people of our region. It supports excellence in health care, and brings us access to leading-edge technologies, and reaches out to meet health care needs of the most disadvantaged members of our communities.