W.K. Kellogg Foundation announces recipients of $13.7 million investment to empower parents as leaders and key decision makers in education

Thirty organizations from 18 states and the District of Columbia to create opportunities that connect schools, communities and families for economic and early school success

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The W.K. Kellogg Foundation

Apr 17, 2014, 12:01 ET

BATTLE CREEK, Mich., April 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) is pleased to announce a total investment of $13.7 million to 30 exceptional organizations developing and implementing transformative family engagement programs in the field of early childhood education.

In September 2013, WKKF received more than 1,130 applications for this investment, the most ever received for a single funding opportunity in the foundation's 83-year history. The unprecedented interest and clear demand from the field was an important indication about both the need and opportunity to invest in efforts that would result in increased family engagement in a child's academic life.

"This was an eye-opening moment for us. We knew there was a need and a value around the issue of family engagement, but we didn't realize the extent of the shared value around families' desire to more deeply engage in their children's education," said La June Montgomery Tabron, president and CEO of the Kellogg Foundation. "We are actively seeding and cultivating authentic family leadership programs that create opportunities for parents to be engaged from the very beginning of their children's education."

The 30 organizations share WKKF's commitment to family engagement, which:

  • Is defined as a shared responsibility between families, schools and communities for student learning and achievement;
  • Is a continuous process from birth to third grade and beyond that occurs in multiple settings where children learn;
  • Takes place in environments where empowered parents and families are leaders; and
  • Requires a shift in national conversations so that all families are viewed as powerful assets for their children's education.

"All too often families are not at the table when it comes time to make major decisions impacting their children's education," said Carla Thompson, vice president for program strategy at WKKF. "These organizations recognize that family engagement is a core strategy connected to improving learning outcomes and are working tirelessly to lift up the voices of families in an effort to set all children on a path to success."

A complete list of the 30 winners is provided below, with details on each grant available here:

About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal pioneer, Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to help break the cycle of poverty by removing barriers based on race or income that hold back children, so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life.

The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Mich., and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special emphasis is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti.

SOURCE The W.K. Kellogg Foundation

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