Treasurer’s Letter

Our continued fiscal responsibility and focused management of downside market risk, including adjustments for our core holding of Kellogg Company stock, remain central to our investment and financial planning strategy. The investment portfolio for the foundation and Trust, were valued at $8.2 billion, providing increased coverage for spending on grants, program-related activities, administration costs and inflation.

Also, the Trust distributed an additional $38 million, which combined with repurposed programmatic and operational dollars, permitted the foundation to distribute $50.6 million in COVID-19 response grantmaking. The Mission Driven Investments portfolio valued at $82.1 million of cash equivalents, fixed income and private equity, seeks to provide social impact in support of vulnerable children and their families, as well as market-rate returns.

Another tool the foundation uses to support grantmaking is program-related investments (PRI’s) that align with our mission and are typically below market-rate loans to organizations in the United States and internationally. As of Aug. 31, 2020, the foundation had $36.1 million on its balance sheet, an increase of approximately 20%. For the fiscal year, the foundation made new grant commitments totaling $252 million. Of this total, nearly 62 percent benefited WKKF’s place-based work in our priority places of Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans in the United States, and internationally in Haiti and Mexico.

The foundation’s trustees are provided bimonthly financial statements. Annual fiscal operating plans prepared by management are reviewed and approved by the board. Results of the examinations by independent accountants and the foundation’s internal audit office are reviewed and accepted by the full boards. Mitchell Titus, LLP serves as the independent accountants for the foundation and the Trust. For tax technical expertise, advisory services and return filings, the foundation and Trust utilize Crowe LLP.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s and W.K. Kellogg Foundation Trust’s financial statements are audited by Mitchell Titus, LLP. A full set of the 2020 audited financial statements is available for download, and the 990-PFs are also available at wkkf.org.