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Non-profit

Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy

Website:

mncenter.org/
Location:

SAINT PAUL, MN
Tax ID:

23-7412105
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2023):

Revenue: $4,471,398
Expenses: $4,302,185
Assets: $5,661,517
Type:

Environmental Advocacy
Executive Director:

Kathryn Hoffman

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The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA) is a nonprofit environmental advocacy group that advocates for environmental issues through legal action and legislative policy proposals. 1 The organization has been criticized by industry and development interests for utilizing the legal system to halt or delay major infrastructure projects, including data centers and resource extraction proposals, due to their potential environmental and energy-grid impacts. 2  3  4

Background

The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy emerged from the work of its predecessor, the Project Environmental Foundation (PEF), and was officially established in 1974. Founded by lawyers and environmentalists, including Chuck Dayton, the MCEA’s core mission was to ensure enforcement of the state’s environmental protection laws. This included the Minnesota Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), which the MCEA utilizes frequently. 5  6  7

Financials

In 2024, the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy reported revenue of $2,817,765, expenses of $4,026,895, and a net loss of $1,209,130. The organization had net assets of $3,905,750. Contributions accounted for $2,544,126 or 90.3 percent of revenue. Program services revenue was $244,398 or 8.7 percent. Investment income was $64,229 or 2.3 percent. On the expenses side, other salaries and wages totaled $2,642,064 or 65.6 percent. Executive compensation was $162,096 or 4 percent. Total assets were $4,492,106 with liabilities of $586,356. 8

In 2023, the United States Energy Foundation, an environmentalist left-of-center “pass through” charitable foundation, gave a $325,000 donation to the MCEA to “support education and outreach to build a clean energy future.” 9  10

In 2023, the McKnight Foundation, a Minnesota-based left-of-center foundation, made a $300,000 donation to the MCEA for “strategy leadership to transform the energy sector, decarbonize building, maximize implementation of new laws, and achieve equitable outcomes at the Public Utilities Commission.” 11

Litigation and Advocacy

The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy initiates litigation challenging industrial and infrastructure developments. The organization has taken legal action concerning the PolyMet/NewRange copper-nickel mining proposal, resulting in court-ordered reviews and permit suspensions. The MCEA has also pursued legal challenges to ensure stricter regulations of PFAS chemicals in Minnesota. In urban environmental cases, the organization was involved in the Roof Depot/East Phillips case and challenged environmental outcomes related to the Upper Harbor Terminal development. Additionally, the MCEA represented youth activists opposing the Line 3 pipeline project and secured a legal precedent for state agencies involving setting climate standards. 12

The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy joined over 500 advocacy groups in a July 16, 2025, letter opposing Congressional inquiries into groups receiving federal grants, calling them attempts to “weaponize” power against organizations that promote policies in opposition to the second Trump administration. 13  14

People

Kathryn Hoffman, the chief executive officer of the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy as of November 2025, earned her law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School and a master’s in public policy from the Humphrey Institute in 2006. She practiced complex litigation at Zelle LLP in Minneapolis for four years before joining the MCEA as a staff attorney in 2010 before being elevated to chief executive officer in 2017. She has worked as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Minnesota Law School and chaired the Environment, Natural Resources, and Energy Law Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association. 15  16

References

  1. Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, “Mission & Impact,” Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, accessed November 13, 2025, https://www.mncenter.org/mission-impact. 
  2. Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, “Mission & Impact,” Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, accessed November 17, 2025, https://www.mncenter.org/mission-impact. 
  3. “Lawsuit Calls for Environmental Review of Alleged Data Center Projects,” MPR News, August 6, 2025, https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/08/06/lawsuit-calls-for-environmental-review-of-alleged-data-center-projects. 
  4. Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, “Op-ed: The Problem with PolyMet Is Actually PolyMet,” Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, February 1, 2023, https://www.mncenter.org/op-ed-problem-polymet-actually-polymet. 
  5. Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, “Mission & Impact,” Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, accessed November 17, 2025, https://www.mncenter.org/mission-impact. 
  6. MCEA, “MCEA 50th Anniversary Timeline,” GitHub Pages, accessed November 17, 2025, https://mcea1974.github.io/MCEA-50th-timeline/. 
  7. Charles K. Dayton, quoted in “MCEA May Newsletter 2023,” Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, accessed November 17, 2025, https://www.mncenter.org/mcea-may-newsletter-2023. 
  8. ProPublica, “Minnesota Center For Environmental Advocacy – Nonprofit Explorer,” Nonprofit Explorer, accessed November 16, 2025, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/237412105. 
  9. United States Energy Foundation. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2023. Schedule 1, part 2, line 332. 
  10. Energy Foundation, “Home,” accessed November 16, 2025, https://www.ef.org. 
  11. McKnight Foundation. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2023. Part 14. 
  12. Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, “Legal Battles,” accessed November 17, 2025, https://www.mncenter.org/legal-battles. 
  13. “An Open Letter from America’s Nonprofits.” Politico, July 16, 2025. https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000198-119d-d661-a7ff-f3fd82f50000&nname=playbook&nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&nrid=30bc1122-4e68-4905-bd5b-728909fa0082. 
  14. Alex Isenstadt and Meredith McGraw. “Vance, White House Promise to Crack Down on ‘Radical Left Lunatics.’” Politico, September 15, 2025. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/15/vance-white-house-promise-to-crack-down-on-radical-left-lunatics-00564766. 
  15. Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, “Our Team,” accessed November 16, 2025, https://www.mncenter.org/our-team#Kathryn-Hoffman. 
  16. LinkedIn, “Kathryn Hoffman,” accessed November 16, 2025, https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathryn-hoffman-b8549447/. 
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: June - May
  • Tax Exemption Received: November 1, 1974

    • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2023 Jun Form 990 $4,471,398 $4,302,185 $5,661,517 $742,225 N $4,220,402 $245,843 $39,144 $177,173 PDF
    2022 Jun Form 990 $3,527,564 $3,804,243 $4,803,986 $187,673 N $3,303,093 $162,818 $28,908 $173,226 PDF
    2021 Jun Form 990 $3,744,555 $3,269,490 $5,290,947 $127,457 N $3,421,816 $205,200 $28,946 $167,929 PDF
    2020 Jun Form 990 $3,468,292 $2,585,422 $4,806,690 $449,569 N $3,233,376 $262,878 $56,332 $148,196 PDF
    2019 Jun Form 990 $1,902,430 $2,104,524 $3,484,928 $107,484 N $1,748,239 $146,500 $29,014 $143,166 PDF
    2018 Jun Form 990 $2,441,016 $2,024,307 $3,554,110 $103,120 N $2,237,760 $175,000 $27,952 $137,458 PDF
    2017 Jun Form 990 $2,032,348 $1,692,871 $3,053,900 $57,525 N $1,825,640 $175,000 $25,972 $173,105 PDF
    2016 Jun Form 990 $1,665,703 $1,686,002 $2,599,606 $65,760 N $1,303,153 $279,351 $27,531 $139,244 PDF
    2015 Jun Form 990 $1,851,860 $1,543,413 $2,683,110 $94,624 N $1,365,403 $358,700 $26,765 $128,120 PDF
    2014 Jun Form 990 $1,331,537 $1,513,617 $2,416,439 $88,123 N $964,331 $286,392 $34,014 $124,468 PDF
    2013 Jun Form 990 $2,013,346 $1,435,498 $2,435,113 $78,995 N $1,585,020 $338,272 $33,258 $117,746 PDF
    2012 Jun Form 990 $1,322,750 $1,466,710 $1,831,546 $115,567 N $860,111 $339,512 $25,391 $117,398 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy

    26 EXCHANGE ST E STE 206
    SAINT PAUL, MN 55101-1667