W.K. Kellogg Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s funding initiatives include thriving children, working families and equitable communities. Across all areas, this funder prioritizes vulnerable, underserved and underrepresented people and communities.
IP TAKE: This is a fairly accessible funder that accepts letters of inquiry on an ongoing basis. It restricts grants to organizations serving and based in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, New Orleans, Haiti and Mexico; however, tax filings show that it has funded organizations in California and New York City. This funder is approachable and open-minded regarding its grantmaking.
PROFILE: The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930 by “breakfast cereal pioneer” Will Keith Kellogg. Based in East Battle Creek, Michigan, this foundation “supports children, families and communities as they strengthen and create conditions that propel vulnerable children to achieve success as individuals and as contributors to the larger community and society.” Its funding priorities include thriving children, working families and equitable communities, which the foundation understands to be “dynamic and always interconnected.”
Grants for Education
Most of Kellogg’s education grantmaking happens through its Thriving Children program, which focuses on early childhood education. The program occasionally supports K-12 education when the program or organization’s mission overlaps with Kellogg’s priorities.
Grants for Early Childhood Education
Kellogg’s Thriving Children program invests in high quality early childhood education for vulnerable children. To this end, the foundation supports schools and community programs that “are rooted in a community’s culture and language,” and that foster parent involvement in education. In Biloxi, Mississippi, the foundation supported the public school district’s expansion of pre-K programming for underserved children. Another grantee, the Detroit Educational Television Foundation, used funding to develop broadcast programming, digital content and roadshow events. Kellogg has also invested in the National Association for the Education of Young Children, which works toward “advancing and redefining the field of early childhood and professionalizing its workforce.”
Grants for K-12 Education
While support for K-12 education is not a stated component of Kellogg’s Thriving Children program, the foundation has been known to make grants in this area in the past. Previous grantees in this space include the New Schools Fund, Hope for Haiti, Inc. and Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children.
Grants for Work and Opportunity
The Kellogg Foundation’s Working Families program area supports efforts to “widen pathways to stable, high-quality jobs and more equitable employment opportunities,” “expand support for tribal-, minority-, and women-owned business enterprises,” and “inform policies and change systems to create greater economic stability for families and communities.” In Haiti and Mexico, it supports “local efforts that develop, improve, and strengthen agricultural production, product development, value chains, and micro-enterprises.” Past grantees include the Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation, the Mississippi Center for Justice and Santa Fe Community Foundation. Outside of the U.S., the foundation has supported the St. Boniface Haiti Foundation and Fundación Mexicana de Apoyo Infantil, which supports Haitian migrant families in Mexico.
Grants for Racial Equity and Indigenous Rights, and Violence Prevention
Grants for racial equity, Indigenous rights and violence prevention stem from the foundation’s equitable communities priority area. In the violence prevention grantmaking space, Kellogg supports efforts to ensure safe and healthy communities for children and families. Specifically, WKKF “supports community-based efforts to heal the historical wounds from racism and to uproot conscious and unconscious biases,” that prevent people from receiving equal access to quality education, equal housing opportunities, and quality healthcare. It has given $20 million to Indian Law Resource Center as part of a global effort to ensure Indigenous people have property rights over their land. Past violence prevention grantees include the Selma Center for Non-Violence, Truth and Reconciliation; and the Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency.
Important Grant Details:
Kellogg grants range from $40,000 to about $1.5 million depending on the size and scope of funded projects. The foundation does not set specific geographic limitations to its philanthropy, but prioritizes organizations operating in Haiti, Mexico, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, and New Orleans, Louisiana. A database of past grants is available on its website.
This funder accepts letters of inquiry on an ongoing basis and links detailed guidelines for submission to its website. The foundation generally responds to letters within 30 days, and will invite some organizations to submit full proposals. Questions about the application process may be submitted to the foundation via email.
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