The Ripley Memorial Foundation, Inc. is a private foundation governed and staffed by a volunteer Board of Trustees composed of women representing a variety of professional and volunteer interests in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. Since its inception in 1957, the Foundation’s grant making has focused on the welfare of women and children -a mission consistent with the interests of the Foundation’s namesake, Dr. Martha Ripley--a tireless advocate for professional medical care for both married and unmarried mothers and their infants. Dr. Ripley spearheaded the establishment of Maternity Hospital in Minneapolis in 1887 and remained active in its concerns until her death in 1912. The hospital, later renamed Ripley Memorial Hospital, was the first city hospital to institute a social service department, to offer parenting and natural childbirth classes, and to permit infants to “room in” with their mothers. When the hospital closed in 1956, its board voted to incorporate as The Ripley Memorial Foundation and to dedicate the funds realized from the sale of the property to grant making.
In 1993, the Foundation narrowed the focus of its grants to support programs demonstrating an intent to prevent first or second adolescent pregnancies.
