Mission Statement: The Mission of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Foundation is to provide scholarships and educational grants to benefit animal health and ensure the future of Veterinary Medicine.

Student scholarships and grants have been MVMF’s vehicles for living out its mission since its inception. This important work was made possible by MVMF’s founders. Beginning conversations about the creation of the Foundation took place two years prior to formation in 1990. The people involved in the investigation, research, and early discussions included:

Quinn Tierney – Development Officer at CVM
Gary Persian – Attorney
Rod Wicklund – Accountant
Fran Phelan – Accountant
Mary Olson – Board of Directors
Barbara O’Leary – Board of Directors
Linda Lacher – MVMA Staff
MVMA Board of Directors

The paperwork for the IRS was compiled by Gary Persian and for the accountants with help from Linda Lacher. It took almost a year to finalize paperwork. Ralph Molnau was instrumental in providing the largest contribution to the Foundation to date. The Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association (MVMA) was one of the heirs to the Hilma Spannaus estate and received $72,000 from the estate as well as approximately $3,800 in federal and state tax returns from the estate. The MVMA gave this money to the Foundation to invest for scholarships.

The MVMF is a 501 ( c ) (3) nonprofit organization created to serve as the philanthropic partner of the Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association.