Kellogg Foundation

The W. K. Kellogg Foundation located in Battle Creek, Michigan, has been funding community-based approaches to health and well-being since its inception in 1930. Established by Will Keith Kellogg (1860–1951), the founder of a global ready-to-eat cereal company and one of the world's largest philanthropists, it was originally named the W. K. Kellogg Child Welfare Foundation and focused its attention on the health needs of children living in Michigan's rural communities by providing hearing tests, eye exams, immunizations, and school lunches under the aegis of its Michigan Community Health Project (MCHP). Since that time, the foundation has provided seed funding and ongoing support for education, service, and research in public health, including food security and health professions education, as well as agriculture and community development. In keeping with Kellogg's intention to use a portion of his fortune to help people help themselves, its priorities have consistently leaned toward empowerment strategies and sustainable development. In recent years, it has diversified its funding, directing more money toward projects in the developing world, particularly Southern Africa (10% of total giving in 2006) and Latin America (8% of total giving in 2006).

The Kellogg Foundation's mission is to help people help themselves through the practical application of knowledge and resources to improve their quality of life and that of future generations. In 2007, the foundation refined its mission to focus more closely on vulnerable children. Its operations are rooted in several core values, including fidelity to the spirit and intent of its founder, a belief that individuals have an inherent capacity to effect change in their lives, organizations, and communities and that inno-vativeness in thoughts and action leads to enduring and positive change in both formal and informal systems. The foundation operates under the guiding principles of partnership, empowerment, and community development. Throughout its history, this orientation has influenced its role in public health and health services research.

By its 25th anniversary in 1955, the Kellogg Foundation's assets stood at $124 million. From an annual payout of $26,000 in 1930, it was now able to give $4.4 million. In 1980, its 50th anniversary year, the foundation made grants of more than $52 million. In 2005, its 75th anniversary year, its assets had grown to $6 billion, and its annual grant making totaled $243 million. As of August 2007, the foundation's assets were over $8.4 billion.

A review of the Kellogg Foundation's first decade sheds light on its operations over history. Most activities during the 1930s were directed toward filling the gaps in service resulting from the financial hardships and community dislocations caused by the Great Depression. Even during these early years, the foundation showed its commitment to innovative solutions to public health problems, most notably by hiring Margarite Wales as nursing director. Wales had experience in the landmark Henry Street Settlement House, widely regarded as having given birth to the discipline of public health nursing while improving neighborhood conditions and the personal health of residents of New York City's Lower East Side. The foundation's commitment to nursing continues to this day.

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