Subscribe to learn more from WKKF
Δ
For the fiscal year ending Aug. 31, 2024, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) distributed an estimated $408 million for charitable purposes. New grant commitments during the fiscal year totaled $262 million with 58% benefiting WKKF’s priority places of Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans in the United States, and internationally in central and southwest Haiti and in the highlands of Chiapas and the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.
Our continued fiscal responsibility and focused management of market risk, including adjustments for our core holding of Kellanova stock, remained central to our investment and financial planning strategy. In August 2024, it was announced that Mars Incorporated made an offer to purchase all outstanding Kellanova shares, with the transaction closing in early 2025. Due to the acquisition announcement, our core holding in Kellanova increased about 40%, or $1 billion. The investment portfolios for the foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Trust (the trust) combined were valued at $9.4 billion, a year-over-year increase of 17.6%, which provides resources for spending on grants, program-related activities and administration costs.
WKKF’s Mission Driven Investments portfolio, valued at $98.6 million of cash equivalents, fixed income and private equity, seeks to provide social impact in support of our mission, as well as achieve market-rate returns. Another tool the foundation uses to support grantmaking is program-related investments (PRIs), which are strategic investments that align with our mission and are typically below market-rate loans to organizations or charitable equity investments. As of Aug. 31, 2024, the foundation had $63 million in PRIs on our balance sheet, an increase of approximately 7%.
The foundation’s trustees are provided with bimonthly financial statements and reports on achieving key performance indicators. Annual fiscal operating plans prepared by management are reviewed and accepted by our board. Results of the examinations by independent accountants and the foundation’s internal audit office are reviewed and accepted by the full board. Mitchell Titus, LLP, serves as the independent accountant for the foundation and the trust. For tax technical expertise, advisory services and return filings, the foundation and trust utilize Crowe, LLP.
A full set of the 2024 audited financial statements is available for download, and the 990-PFs are also available at wkkf.org.