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Contact: Rebecca Noricks, 269.969.2171 rebecca.noricks@wkkf.org
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation announces publication of its 2012 annual report, entitled “Understanding Vulnerable Children: Who Knows What About Community?”
Creating community change raises challenging questions: Who needs to participate? What keeps community change going? How do you measure progress (or its absence)? How can you effectively use data to make decisions? What is the role of media?
This report features compelling perspectives of individuals grappling with how communities can help create authentic change for the benefit of vulnerable children and families.
Essayists include Mayor Mitch Landrieu from New Orleans; Maurice Lim Miller, president and CEO, Family Independence Initiative and MacArthur Fellow; Maria Hinajosa, journalist and founder, The Futuro Media Group; Sheriff Johnny Valdez from Cibola County, N.M.; Valerie Davidson, senior director of intergovernmental and legal affairs, Alaska Native Tribal Council; Malik Yakini, executive director, Detroit Black Community Food Security Network; Dr. Neal Halfon, director, UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities, among others.
“For the Kellogg Foundation, a “community” is much more than a subset of a larger geography. It is an arena for action and a critical component of the foundation’s strategy to build pathways to success for children in school, work and life,” said Joanne Krell, vice president for communications at the Kellogg Foundation.
“Equally, community is a repository for wisdom, knowledge and vision. In this publication, we’ve gathered the voices of individuals who have distinct experience and insight in creating community change. By doing so, we hope to support other communities in planning and implementing the kinds of change necessary to ensure that all children can realize their full potential,” added Krell.
The report also includes leadership messages from President and CEO Sterling Speirn and Board Chair Roderick Gillum; financial reports, and summaries of grantmaking investments for each programming area.
Grantmaking at a glance During the past fiscal year (Sept. 1, 2011, through Aug. 31, 2012), the foundation made $380 million in new grantmaking commitments.
In its home state of Michigan, the foundation made new grantmaking commitments of $102 million, with $21 million of that committed to its hometown of Battle Creek, Mich.
For its other priority places in the United States, the foundation made new grantmaking commitments of $13 million in Mississippi; $25 million in New Mexico; $10 million in New Orleans. International grantmaking commitments totaled $30 million.
The annual report is available on the foundation’s website at http://annualreport.wkkf.org.
About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation The W.K. Kellogg Foundation® (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal pioneer, Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life.
The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Mich., and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special emphasis is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti.