By the Numbers by Don Williamson, chief financial officer and treasurer,
for the 2023 Annual Snapshot
For the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation made new grant commitments totaling more than $467 million. Of this total, nearly 56% benefited 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. The majority of the remaining new grant commitments impact all 50 states in the U.S., supporting organizations working at the local, state, tribal and federal levels.
Our continued fiscal responsibility and focused management of market risk, including adjustments for our core holding of Kellogg Company stock, remained central to our investment and financial planning strategy. The investment portfolios for the foundation and Trust combined were valued at $8 billion, providing coverage for spending on grants, program-related activities, administration costs and inflation.
In October 2023, the Kellogg Company completed a tax-free spinoff that resulted in two independent public companies, Kellanova and W.K. Kellogg Co. The foundation and Trust continue to be governed by their own independent boards of trustees and are not managed or directed by either Kellanova or W.K. Kellogg Co.
The foundation’s Mission Driven Investments portfolio, valued at $101 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, 2023, the foundation had $59 million in PRIs on our balance sheet, an increase of approximately 21%.
The foundation’s trustees are provided 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.
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation and W.K. Kellogg Foundation Trust’s consolidated financial statements are audited by Mitchell Titus, LLP. A full set of the 2023 audited financial statements are available and the 990-PFs will be available by summer 2024.
Don Williamson
chief financial officer and treasurer
Explore other leadership letters in this year’s snapshot
Reflections by La June Montgomery Tabron, president and CEO
Reflections by Dr. Cathann A. Kress, chair of the board of trustees
