The W. K. Kellogg Foundation was created in June 1930 as the W. K. Kellogg Child Welfare Foundation by Will Keith Kellogg, who was a pioneer in making breakfast cereal. In 1934, Kellogg gave more than $66 million worth of Kellogg Company stock and other investments to the W. K. Kellogg Trust. Ninety years later, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation manages more than $8.7 billion in assets and is one of the largest charitable foundations in the world.

Grants

The foundation gives money, called grants, to many groups in the United States and other countries to help with different issues.

In 2016, the Kellogg Foundation supported more than 40 projects in Native American communities, with a total of over $30 million in open grants. The foundation’s website says it has supported 380 Native American projects since 2008. Many of these grants help with health, education, and language programs for children and young people. In 2009, the foundation gave the third-largest amount of money to Native American projects, after the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

In 1996, the foundation gave a grant worth $750,000 (equivalent to $1.38 million in 2024 dollars) to begin mass salt fluoridation programs. These programs were carried out by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and covered 350 million people in Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela. This project was part of a plan started by PAHO in 1994 to "fluoridate the entire region of the Americas." Recently, the foundation has given money to HealthCorps to help prevent childhood obesity by encouraging students to take responsibility for their health and wellness.

One group that received a grant is the Birth to Five Policy Alliance. This group works to increase public and private support so young children, especially those facing challenges, can get high-quality services to help them succeed.

The foundation has also given grants to well-known educational institutions, including:

• Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona, California
• Grand Valley State University
• Kellogg College, Oxford, which is a part of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom
• Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan

Programs

The foundation helps children grow and develop properly by supporting many programs. It helps with oral hygiene by starting a dental therapy program in 2010 in five states. This program teaches children and their families about the importance of healthy teeth. Mobile dental vans visit rural areas to provide dental care to families who may not have easy access. The foundation also gives grants to help minority students go to school to become dentists.

The foundation also supports the New Options Initiative (For Youth), which creates new ways to help young adults who are not in school find jobs. This initiative connects young people aged 16–24 with meaningful career opportunities.

Perception

Waldemar A. Nielsen, a philanthropy expert, stated that the Kellogg Foundation is much better than people usually think.