Annual Report 2023
Hello!
I am thrilled to celebrate the remarkable efforts of our donors in 2023. With more than $1 billion of combined grants, their generosity has surpassed all previous years with the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation. These grants resonated across communities far and wide, leaving lasting and significant results.
I am inspired by the unwavering commitment of our donors to prioritize grants that align with their values and passions. This year, one-third of grants from donor-advised funds were directed expressly for education – fostering growth and promoting academic excellence across our nation and close to home. Our donors have shared that donor-advised funds are easy to use and make giving, growing, and granting simple. What a compliment! We are energized by their kindness and grateful for the opportunity to help them maximize the impact of their charitable dollars. Our donors are a real force for generosity in Kansas City and beyond.
Debbie Wilkerson
President & CEO
Assets
Our assets are held in charitable funds established by donors with unique philanthropic goals and interests. This graphic highlights assets as of December 31, 2023, with nearly three-fourths of our assets held in donor-advised funds.
Total Assets: $5,468,354,923
*Other may include charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, unrestricted funds and administrative funds.
Contributions
In 2023, donors contributed more than $1 billion to the charitable funds of their choice. These contributions include cash, publicly traded securities and complex assets (that may include private business interests, real estate and cryptocurrency).
Total Contributions:
$1,191,527,240
Grants
Across 2023, donors used their charitable funds to grant more than $1 billion to their favorite causes. Nonprofit organizations across the nation received these grants to positively impact their communities.
Total Grants: $1,198,021,270
Funds
Donors established 701 new charitable funds across 2023, and donor-advised funds were the most preferred vehicle for giving. The graphic below highlights total funds as of December 31, 2023.
Total Funds: 6,872
*Other may include charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, unrestricted funds and administrative funds.
Donor-Advised Funds
Donors use donor-advised funds as an investment account for their charitable dollars, setting aside money for tax-free growth to maximize donations to nonprofit organizations. Donor-advised funds allow customization to help organize your charitable giving in a way that's most meaningful to you.
Donors support their favorite charities across the country. The following map shows where donors granted in 2023.
Every year, donors give to areas that appeal most to them, and 2023 follows that trend. The largest share of our donor-advised fund grants supported nonprofit organizations working to improve education and enhance human services.
Expanding Philanthropic Legacy through Donor-Advised Funds
Paul and Elizabeth have always been passionate about wildlife conservation and disaster relief. We helped them open a donor-advised fund as a centralized platform for all of their charitable contributions. In addition to their day-to-day grantmaking, Paul and Elizabeth have thoughtfully designed their legacy plans to ensure their charitable impact continues beyond their deaths. After they pass, half of their fund's assets will be evenly distributed as grants to three of their favorite nonprofit organizations. Their daughter, Sophia, will advise the remainder of the fund's assets. Donor-advised funds offer customization, allowing donors to organize their charitable giving in a personally meaningful way.
Agency Funds
Agency funds help nonprofit organizations build long-term assets, serving as a home for reserve funds. In 2023, funds were distributed to meet immediate nonprofit organizational needs.
*Includes assets returned to community foundations that previously utilized our accounting services.
Agency Funds: A Nest Egg for Nonprofits
A nonprofit dedicated to early childhood education was looking for a meaningful way to celebrate its 50th anniversary. They established an agency fund with us when they decided to focus on planned giving initiatives and endowment-building programs to help secure their future for the next 50 years. The fund allows the nonprofit to generate investment income without burdening them with the complexities and responsibilities of market analysis and investment decisions. Instead of worrying about what's happening with their nest egg, this nonprofit puts its energy toward educating pre-K students with the income its agency fund will generate for decades to come.
Field-of-Interest Funds
Field-of-interest funds support a specific cause or community. Many of our field-of-interest funds are set up to carry out a donor's legacy after they pass, with an advisory committee providing oversight. We consistently work to ensure donor objectives and goals are met.
Field-of-Interest Funds Cultivate Community Growth
A historic community gathering space will be transformed into a public park where families and friends can come together. While public sources provide some of the funding, certain aspects, such as constructing an accessible playground and installing memorial benches, rely on contributions from donors. The community leaders on the project approached us for assistance channeling charitable donations to nonprofits and governmental units that can bring these elements to life. We helped them open a field-of-interest fund that holds the contributions and allows the assets to grow tax-free. With the field-of-interest fund in place, the project's leaders continue to play a critical role in ensuring the grantmaking decisions align with the desire to make the park a true reflection of the community's aspirations and values.
Designated Funds
Designated funds support one specific charity, distributing donations to the charity over time. Designated funds are especially popular with donors who choose to make a charitable distribution from an IRA.
Consistent Support Nonprofits Can Rely On
One of Arnold's favorite childhood memories was listening to his father read to him every night. Now, as an adult, Arnold desires to offer young children the joy of experiencing books read aloud, primarily by emerging authors. To bring this vision to life, we worked with Arnold to establish a designated fund dedicated to supporting an emerging authors' book series at the local library. We helped connect Arnold and the library, so they can work together to feature a different children's author each quarter. The designated fund's grants to the library will cover the associated costs, including program logistics and the author's travel expenses. Having a designated fund ensures the library can rely on consistent support for the program year after year, creating a lasting impact on young minds by fostering a love for books and reading.
Scholarship Funds
Through scholarship funds, donors provided direct assistance to more than 2,300 students across the 2023 - 2024 school year.
Donors who establish scholarship funds determine the criteria for their scholarship awards and can serve on selection committees.
Empowering Futures: How Scholarship Funds Transform Lives
When an individual or organization tells us they're interested in supporting students through scholarships, our ears perk up! A few years ago, we worked with a professional organization serving architects to establish a scholarship fund for Black undergraduate students pursuing careers in architecture. The organization designed the scholarship to pay tribute to an architectural pioneer and aims to expand educational access for underrepresented students and, ultimately, contribute to a more inclusive and innovative industry.
Corporate Giving
We work with employers of all sizes who want to foster a corporate culture of giving. Many companies choose to set up corporate donor-advised funds to serve as their corporate foundations. We offer a comprehensive suite of services that include donor-advised funds for employees, employee matching gift programs, and strategic planning assistance to expand corporate giving footprints.
More than 4,000 employees used their employers' matching dollars to donate more than $10 million to their favorite charities.
Total Corporate Giving in 2023:
$38,377,620
Corporate Foundations Cultivate Positive Change
Over the years, we have been constantly inspired by the great work companies do to give back to their communities in big ways. For nearly a decade, we have worked with a marketing firm to help them execute a giving program with a corporate donor-advised fund that serves as their company's foundation. As part of their philanthropic activities, we assist them in making quarterly grants to nonprofit organizations in the communities where employees live and work and an employee matching gift program. This company leans on our expertise and services to create a comprehensive program that amplifies its founder's philosophy of responsible corporate citizenship.
Grantmaking Services
Across 2023, we provided grantmaking services to 25 private foundations, businesses, and other local and national funders. They hold more than $266 million in assets.
Our custom approach equips them with the tools and resources to make the impact they deem most valuable. Grantmaking clients also work with us to hone their giving strategies and engage multiple generations in their philanthropy.
Investments
Assets in charitable funds are invested and grow tax-free. Donors can customize their funds' investments to meet their charitable goals by investing in our pools or in financial advisor managed accounts. Currently, we work with more than 840 financial advisors.
About Our 2023 Annual Report:
Assets, funds and investments are as of December 31, 2023. Due to rounding, percentages may not total 100.
Financials are subject to change upon completion of the 2023 audit and appraisals.
Data reflects Greater Kansas City Community Foundation and Greater Horizons consolidated financials.
Fund stories referenced throughout illustrate how some donors choose to use their funds.