How to Get a W.K. Kelogg Foundation Grant

Will Keith Kellogg started the W.K. Kellogg Foundation at the beginning of the Great Depression. Also the founder of the Kellogg Company, now famous for introducing Corn Flakes cereal as an American breakfast staple, he used the Foundation to better focus his charitable giving. That mission still directs the Foundation today. As you prepare your grant application, follow the steps below to ensure the accuracy and appropriateness of your request.

Instructions

Program Content

1. Confirm that your grant project falls within one of the Foundation's interest areas in the United States. Interest areas include improving individual and community health quality and accessibility; safe, wholesome food production as a viable business; youth and education programs from preschool through college; the support and advancement of the philanthropists and volunteers; and charitable projects in Battle Creek, Michigan, the hometown of W.K. Kellogg.

2. Verify that a facet of your project's mission will foster learning opportunities within the W.K. Kellogg foundation in one of the following fields: leadership, technology, diversity or social and economic development.

3. Understand that the foundation usually awards grant money for line items like loans, operating expenses, capital expenditures, remodeling, equipment, conferences, campaigns, awareness projects and research. It will only fund specific items integral to the program (for example, a general item like "miscellaneous overhead costs" will be rejected).

Application

1. Submit an initial letter of inquiry online if you are still formulating your idea and feel unsure about whether your project will meet the standards of the Kellogg Foundation.

2. Submit a pre-proposal for financial assistance. See the online form for a complete list of all required information, including contact information; organization statistics like size, age, scope, tax status and ID; and details of the project such as its purpose, the dollar amount requested, the proposed budget, any planned activities, the target area and expected outcome.

3. Submit an online response to the Foundation's request for proposals (RFP). If your organization is eligible to participate, it should have prior knowledge of the specific RFP topic. The program code is required.

4. Expect that the initial review may take up to 3 months to complete. Prepare to submit a more detailed proposal if requested.

Tips & Warnings

• The Foundation also has interest areas in southern Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

• Submit the application online, which the Foundation prefers. If mailing the application, print it on portrait-sized light-colored paper.

• The online application can be submitted in English, Spanish or Portuguese.

• The Foundation discourages personal visits during the preliminary stages of the process.

• The recipient organization must qualify under the United States Internal Revenue Service regulations.

Resources

• Visit the W.K. Kellogg Foundation website to submit your online application and get answers to many frequently asked questions.
• Examine qualifying regulations from the United States Internal Revenue Service.
• Receive training from the ePhilanthropy Foundation in the ethical and efficient use of the Internet for philanthropy.