• Our Mission

    Rooted Philanthropic supports the people of Saint Paul’s East Side communities to unlock their potential by investing in their capacity, growth, and innovation.

  • Our Vision

    By deliberately and thoughtfully engaging the communities of Saint Paul’s East Side, building on the innovation and entrepreneurship already there, partnering with others to build capacity, and investing with revolutionary tools and resources, Rooted Philanthropic will be an innovative leader in philanthropy in the Twin Cities and beyond.

  • East Side Born and Raised

    Charles (Chuck) Runyon and Shannon Runyon have deep roots on Saint Paul’s East Side. They both grew up on the East Side to working class families. Shannon graduated from Hill-Murray High School and Chuck graduated from Johnson High School. They both have fond memories of the East Side as a diverse neighborhood where kids could play freely and neighbors cared for one another. This nurturing spirt of the East Side remains with Shannon and Chuck today. In 2002, Chuck and his business partners founded Anytime Fitness. Over the last two decades, they have grown their franchising businesses under the umbrella company, Self-Esteem Brands. Today, Anytime Fitness is the world’s largest fitness club brand.

    Rooted Philanthropic was founded in 2014 as a way to support causes and issues of importance to them and their family. The foundation provided a limited number of grants in its first few years. Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, the Runyons decided they could and should do more to support their community. They made a commitment to expand the work of the foundation and increase their annual grantmaking.

  • People handing out and picking up supplies under a pop-up tent

    Our Values

    Equity – We recognize that social and economic imbalances require intentional inclusion where all can participate and prosper.

    Community-Led – We engage with and listen to community because the solutions to community needs are best addressed by those most impacted by these issues.

    Sustainability – We invest in people and organizations with the belief that it creates exponential opportunities for sustainable and generational asset building.

    Entrepreneurial – We believe that people have the power to create their own destinies.

    Outcome Learning – We recognize that to improve the lives of individuals and community, we must track outcomes, learn from our grantmaking activities and regularly adjust strategy.

    Generosity – We believe that the urgency of the moment requires we give more of our time, talent and treasure than is legally required.

The Rooted Philanthropic Team

Our Staff

Our Board of Directors

  • Chuck Runyon, President

    Co-Founder
  • Shannon Runyon, Treasurer

    Co-Founder
  • Tony Nicholson, Director

    Board Member

Our Advisory Board

  • Andre Creighton

    Advisory Board Member
  • Indira Garmendia Alfaro

    Advisory Board Member
  • Marcq Sung

    Advisory Board Chair
  • James Terrell

    Advisory Board Member
  • Kayla Yang-Best

    Advisory Board Member
Meet our Advisory Board

Rooted Philanthropic is governed by a Board of Directors that are primarily members of the Runyon family. An Advisory Board of representatives from the community who bring lived experience of the East Side, content expertise of the funding areas and/or knowledge of philanthropic practices, supports the Board of Directors but functions with a separate charter and operating practices. In general, members of the Board of Directors and Advisory Board members cannot be members of or connected to an existing or future grantee or recipient of Rooted Philanthropic funds unless a strict conflict of interest has been identified and mitigated.

Foundation Grants and Annual Reports

The foundation respectfully shares these yearly grantmaking lists and annual reports for your download and review.

  • 2023 Impact Report

    Rooted Philanthropic is pleased to present our 2023 Impact Report on the work of the foundation in 2022.

    Download
  • 2023 Grants

    A complete list of all grants made in FY2023 with links to each organization.

    Download
  • 2022 Grants

    A complete list of all grants made in FY2022 with links to each organization.

    Download

Foundation Annual Financial Documents

The foundation respectfully shares these financial statements for your download and review.

  • 2023 – 990PF – Rooted Philanthropic

    Download
  • 2023 – 990PF – Runyon Family Foundation

    Download
  • 2022 – 990PF

    Our FY2022 year-end financial statements

    Download
  • 2021 – 990PF

    Our FY2021 year-end financial statements

    Download
  • 2020 – 990PF

    Our FY2020 year-end financial statements

    Download
  • 2019 – 990PF

    Our FY2019 year-end financial statements

    Download
  • 2018 – 990PF

    Our FY2018 year-end financial statements

    Download

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