Mars Wrigley Foundation

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OVERVIEW: The Mars Wrigley Foundation funds makes grants for oral health education, the environment and global development in cocoa and mint growing regions around the world.

IP TAKE: The Mars Wrigley Foundation is a well-known corporate funder that offers multi-year support for several large, global NGOs working in development and health. In the U.S., it gives to a much broad range of organizations, but these grants tend to be smaller. This funder likes to keep its cards close, not offering much information on grant strategies. Nor is it accessible funder, but if your organization works in oral health education or environmental education, it might be worthwhile to reach out with an introduction. It will be hard to get on this corporate funder’s radar unless you are a potential partner that can proof it can scale at least nationally, if not globally.

PROFILE: The Mars Wrigley Foundation is the philanthropic entity of Mars, Inc., a global manufacturer of confections, pet food, drinks and other food products. Mars, Inc. is one of the largest privately held multinational companies in the U.S. and is owned by the grandchildren of its founder, Franklin Clarence Mars. The foundation seeks to nurture wellbeing to “improve lives and inspire happiness in our communities. We nurture wellbeing by cultivating physical, emotional and social resilience.”

Grants for Public Health and Global Health

The Nurturing Wellbeing Through Physical Resilience, an evolution of a previous, related initiative, seeks to build “physical resilience in underserved communities with oral health education and treatment.” The program was launched in 2010 and, according to the foundation’s webpage, has reached “more than 8 million individuals.”

The foundation’s main global partner in this work is Save the Children. Other grantees include the Chicago Dental Society, the Irish Dental Association, the New Zealand Dental Association and the Union Française pour la Santé Bucco-Dentaire.

Grants for Global and Community Development

The foundation’s Nurturing Wellbeing Through Social and Emotional Resilience initiative works to inspire “happiness by improving lives in mint- and cocoa-growing communities and creating vibrant spaces that strengthen social connections.”

The foundation’s main partner in this global work is Pratham USA, an NGO that improves education in India through “innovative interventions to address gaps in the education system.” Other global development grants have gone to Give2Asia, Save the Children Federation and Myriad USA.

Many grants have also gone to community organizations in the Chicago area, where it has supported Keep Chicago Beautiful, the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Casa Central, Junior Achievement of Chicago and Heartland Alliance Health. Elsewhere, the foundation has made grants to the Charities Aid Foundation of America, New York City’s Local Initiatives Support Corporation, City Year of Boston and the Greater Hall Chamber Foundation of Gainesville, Georgia.

Grants for Disaster Relief and COVID-19

Mars Wrigley does not name disaster relief as an area of priority, but made many grants and donations in this area, especially during the COVID-19 crisis. It committed $3 million to “provide emergency grants to local NGOs meeting the basic needs of local site communities around the world,” prioritizing “the most vulnerable populations and most critical needs.” The foundation’s giving in this area included an emergency grant to the Hubei Red Cross Foundation in partnership with Give2Asia for protective gear for frontline healthcare workers in Wuhan, China. 

Important Grantmaking Details:

Mars Wrigley grants mainly range from $25,000 to $500,000.

  • This funder’s largest grants go to large global NGOs, which usually receive ongoing support from the foundation.

  • Grants have gone to organizations of all sizes in the U.S.

  • The foundation names Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Kenya, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia, Spain, Taiwan, United Kingdom, the United States and Vietnam as “markets with active programs.” Chicago appears to be an area of priority in the U.S.

  • This funder does not run an application program or encourage grant seekers to get in touch.

  • For information about past grantmaking, see the foundation’s recent tax filings.

General inquiries may be directed to Mars, Inc. via its contact page.

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