“There is a responsibility with leadership that is so important in community. It takes real courage to break through the old guard.”
– Richard M. Tsoumas, Board Chair
seeing with
Fresh Eyes
Our DNA In Action
2019 Annual Report
seeing with
Fresh Eyes
Our DNA In Action
2019 Annual Report
“There is a responsibility with leadership that is so important in community. It takes real courage to break through the old guard.”
– Richard M. Tsoumas, Board Chair
“There is a responsibility with leadership that is so important in community. It takes real courage to break through the old guard.”
– Richard M. Tsoumas, Board Chair
“Our DNA is not something we fund, but something we do – foundational skills embedded in every aspect of our programming.”
– La June Montgomery Tabron, President & CEO
“Our DNA is not something we fund, but something we do – foundational skills embedded in every aspect of our programming.”
– La June Montgomery Tabron, President & CEO
“Our DNA is not something we fund, but something we do – foundational skills embedded in every aspect of our programming.”
– La June Montgomery Tabron, President & CEO
WKKF Priorities
& Our DNA
Our grantees recognize that children are at the heart of everything we do at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF). But they also know that children live in families and families live in communities. As a result, WKKF’s three program priorities — Thriving Children, Working Families, Equitable Communities — are intricately connected. We know that lasting, transformational change for children happens when we link their well-being to the stability of their families and the broader opportunities available across communities.
Every year, grantee experiences deepen our understanding of how to create conditions where children can thrive. When they do, they add to lessons accumulated across decades of Kellogg Foundation efforts — some of which are so consistent and profound they are embedded in all of our work. We call these fundamentals our DNA because they characterize WKKF’s commitment and codify what we understand to be necessary for creating transformational change on behalf of children.
Community
Engagement
Engaging communities in solving their own problems.
Community Engagement
Engaging communities in solving their own problems.
Racial
Equity
Advancing racial equity and racial healing.
Racial
Equity
Advancing racial equity and racial healing.
Leadership
Developing leaders as they serve their communities.
Leadership
Developing leaders as they serve their communities.
Priority
Places
WKKF works throughout the United States and with sovereign tribes, concentrating up to two-thirds of our grantmaking in the priority places of Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans. Internationally, the foundation’s priority places are in Chiapas Highlands and the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, and in the Central and South regions of Haiti.
Our DNA
In Action
In the following stories, you will see the many ways grantees are embedding racial equity, community engagement and leadership into the models and approaches they create. Although each is unique, together they illustrate the growing impact of our DNA in action.
If Kids Can See It, They Can Be It
Summer Reading Club = Safe Space for Community Healing
Unlocking Opportunities for Justice-Involved People, Families
Leveraging Lived Experience to Expand Opportunity
Seeding the Next Generation of Cultural Farmers
A Landscape of Racial Healing Spaces
Five WKKF CLN Class One Fellow Profiles
Rewriting the Narrative for New Orleans Children
Haitian Scholarship Spawns Leaders for Community Growth
Equity and Leadership Spur Dental Therapy Tipping Point
A Good Career is a Good Series of Jobs
Our DNA
In Action
In the following stories, you will see the many ways grantees are embedding racial equity, community engagement and leadership into the models and approaches they create. Although each is unique, together they illustrate the growing impact of our DNA in action.
If Kids Can See It, They Can Be It
Summer Reading Club = Safe Space for Community Healing
Unlocking Opportunities for Justice-Involved People, Families
Leveraging Lived Experience to Expand Opportunity
Seeding the Next Generation of Cultural Farmers
A Landscape of Racial Healing Spaces
Five WKKF CLN Class One Fellow Profiles
Rewriting the Narrative for New Orleans Children
Haitian Scholarship Spawns Leaders for Community Growth
Equity and Leadership Spur Dental Therapy Tipping Point
A Good Career is a Good Series of Jobs
Year In Review
2018
September, 2018
At Detroit’s Homecoming
Three entrepreneurs discuss opportunity and obstacles for Detroit’s business owners of color with President & CEO La June Montgomery Tabron and Mary Kramer of Crain Communications.
September, 2018
Vogue Magazine
Highlights Indigenous women’s ceremonial dress design for nursing mothers.
November, 2018
20 Global Change Leaders Join WKKF’s Solidarity Council on Racial Equity (SCoRE)
December, 2018
WKKF Comments on ‘Public Charge’ Rule that threatens well-being of children
2019
January, 2019
National Day of Racial Healing
Reaches wider audience in livestream curated by Ava DuVernay.
February, 2019
80 Dynamic and Diverse Leaders
Selected from 800 Applicants as Fellows for Class Two of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Leadership Network with the Center for Creative Leadership®.
March, 2019
New Book Released
“Oral Health in America: Removing the Stain of Disparity,” shares voices, data, models and innovative approaches to address oral health inequities in the U.S.
March, 2019
WKKF Reaffirms Commitment to Haiti
March, 2019
$1.5 million Grant Awarded to Motown Museum
To inspire and transform generations of children and families.
March, 2019
The American Library Association and the Association of American Colleges & Universities
Co-host librarians and educators for a workshop on leading Racial Healing circles.
April, 2019
In Drew, Mississippi
WKKF, KaBOOM!, We2gether Creating Change, the City of Drew and numerous volunteers build Drew’s first community playground.
April, 2019
La June Montgomery Tabron Promotes Expanding Equity in Capital Markets
May, 2019
WKKF President and CEO Joins Milken Institute Global Conference
May, 2019
National Urban League’s 2019 State of Black America
May, 2019
WKKF Highlights 2020 U.S. Census
At Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference.
May, 2019
WKKF President and CEO La June Montgomery Tabron
Keynotes American Psychiatric Association Convocation of Distinguished Fellows, calling for more champions to expand equity and well-being for children, their families and communities.
May, 2019
Grand Valley State University, Battle Creek Public Schools
Together with WKKF announce partnership to create more career pathways to high-demand jobs and widen access to educational opportunities.
June, 2019
WKKF’s Hometown of Battle Creek, Michigan
Is one of only 10 U.S. cities to win the 2019 All-America City designation from the National Civic League.
June, 2019
First Mission Driven Investment Portfolio Summit
Showcases key drivers for moving more capital to communities of color.
July, 2019
New Resource, Mission Aligned Framework for Investing
Offers impact investing tool to evaluate the social effect of investments.
July, 2019
Advancing Philanthropy Magazine
July issue spotlights Kellogg Foundation President and CEO
La June Montgomery Tabron’s reflections on leadership.
July, 2019
1,200 Attendees of Institute for Educational Leadership’s Annual Conference
Have a first look at WKKF’s Family Engagement report – a how-to guide for school transformation based on the experiences of 30 grantee partners in 17 states and the District of Columbia.
July, 2019
Facebook Video Premier Event
Reaches more than 50,000 people, connecting local viewers at the Pueblo de Cochiti in New Mexico with a national audience.
July, 2019
Informed by Door-to-Door, Community-Wide Canvassing
Mississippi’s governor; the mayor of Jackson, MS; Jackson Public Schools and WKKF celebrate release of the school district’s five-year strategic plan to transform the city’s education system.
August, 2019
Sembrando Alianzas (Sowing Alliances)
Gatherings in Chiapas and Yucatán, Mexico, bring together scores of grantees to connect and collaborate.
August, 2019
WKKF Statement
Calls on leaders across the country to stand in solidarity for children.
Financials +
Grantmaking
To best support what children need to thrive, we must be responsible stewards of the financial resources with which we have been entrusted.
Financials +
Grantmaking
To best support what children need to thrive, we must be responsible stewards of the financial resources with which we have been entrusted.
2019 by the
Numbers
446
New GrantCommitments
1,246
Average Number of Active Grants/Days
$7.8 Billion
Total Assets
$213,275,136
Total New Commitments
1,249
Grantees
Our Board of Trustees
Board of Trustees: Celeste A. Clark (Battle Creek, Michigan), Milton Chen (San Francisco, California), Richard M. Tsoumas (Battle Creek, Michigan), Khan Nedd (Grand Rapids, Michigan), La June Montgomery Tabron (Battle Creek, Michigan), Ramón Murguía (Kansas City, Kansas), Cathann Kress (Columbus, Ohio), Roderick D. Gillum (Detroit, Michigan)