The William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust
/OVERVIEW: This private family funder supports education (mostly higher ed), arts, arts education, and basic human needs in North Carolina, as well as in Kentucky, St. Augustine, Fla., and Lockport, NY.
IP TAKE: Higher education is the biggest funding interest of this charitable trust, but North Carolina groups should take note of Kenan’s art funding, which has supported organizations that reach broad audiences with participatory and educational programs. The trust does not accept unsolicited requests and does not provide a direct way to get in touch, so networking with the foundation’s board of trustees or past grantees will be key here.
PROFILE: The William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust, based in Chapel Hill, N.C., was established in 1966. It was formed from a bequest of $95 million from William R. Kenan Jr.’s estate. He was a successful chemist and industrialist who was born in Wilmington, N.C., and passed away in 1965. During Kenan’s lifetime, education was always at the heart of his giving. He was a math and science teacher, later a chemical and mechanical engineering consultant, and also part owner and president of the Flager System companies.
Kenan’s stated areas of grantmaking interest are arts and culture, community development, health and human services, K-12 education and higher education. Higher education is the number one cause for this funder, with funding distributed through professorships, scholarships and fellowships at colleges, universities and affiliated arts institutions. Much of the education funding flows to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. And although the Chapel Hill area remains a prime geographic focus, funding is also regularly granted to locations in which Kenan took an interest during his lifetime, like St. Augustine, Fla., Kentucky and Lockport, N.Y. About 80 percent of funding per year supports groups in these four states.
In North Carolina, Kenan has been very active on the local arts scene. Overall, most of the arts and art education grants are focused on North Carolina. For example, it awarded two grants totaling $125,000 to NC Arts in Action to expand programming to five additional schools in Wake County. Kenan grants like this support program needs, as well as leveraging more donor support for continued growth. The funder has also prioritized support for youth development programs for young black men.
At the end of a recent fiscal year, the foundation reported over $621 million in assets and has distributed over $511 million since the grants program began. A recent year saw $28.8 million in total grant awards, and more than $10 million of that commitment supported higher education. K-12 education typically receives the next largest show of support, followed by basic needs and then the arts. For additional information about this funder’s past work, see its grantee voices page or its recent tax filings.
Unfortunately for grant seekers, this foundation does not accept unsolicited grant proposals and does not provide a direct avenue for getting in touch.
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