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Investing in Support of Stronger Communities

The Sunderland Foundation focuses on improving the quality of life in the communities it serves, funding organizations that strengthen community institutions, support systems and social services. The Foundation has granted more than $1 billion in its lifetime. Today, the Foundation is deepening its focus on its founding location, Greater Kansas City, initiating a planned spend-out of a significant portion of the Foundation’s remaining assets by 2030 to make a meaningful and lasting impact within the community.

Learn About Our Spend-Out 

Funding Focus Areas

Guided by some of Greater Kansas City’s most urgent needs, the Foundation will focus its giving across five strategic priority areas: affordable housing, economic stability, health and behavioral health, youth development and select legacy relationships. The Foundation will also be transitioning to an invitation-only grantmaking process.

Learn About Our Strategic Focus Areas
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The History of the Foundation 

Founded in 1945, the Sunderland Foundation has granted more than $1 billion to nonprofit organizations across the Midwest and Pacific Northwest. The Foundation has focused on investing in organizations with the expertise and on-the-ground experience needed to create lasting impact in their communities.

Learn More About Us
Historic black-and-white photograph of horse-drawn wagons lined up outside the Sunderland Brothers Coal, Brick, and Cement yard, with workers standing beside carts on a busy industrial street.
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To our nonprofit and philanthropic partners, 

For five generations, The Sunderland Foundation has been our family’s way of giving back to the communities that supported the Ash Grove Cement Company. Lester T. Sunderland established the Foundation in 1945 while president of Ash Grove. He envisioned the Foundation as a way to invest in the people and places that supported the business. As Ash Grove expanded, the Foundation grew alongside it, awarding more than $1 billion over its lifetime to organizations across the Midwest and the Pacific Northwest.  

After thoughtful reflection about the future of the Foundation, our trustees have made the decision to initiate a sunset of the Foundation by 2030. The plan anticipates that a significant portion of the Foundation’s assets will be spent out in the Greater Kansas City area, returning to the community where the Foundation began. The remaining assets will continue to be stewarded by individual trustees in order to empower the next generation of family philanthropy. We believe that by accelerating our giving, the Foundation can provide more effective and meaningful support to organizations making a lasting impact on some of the community’s most urgent needs.

As part of executing the spend-out, we will move to an invitation-only grantmaking approach. This will allow us to steward remaining funds with care while supporting organizations working across our five strategic priority areas: housing affordability, youth development, health and behavioral health, economic stability and select legacy relationships previously supported by the Foundation. While historically we have focused on funding capital building projects, we look forward to considering a broader range of initiatives in alignment with these strategic priority areas. 

This planned spend-out is an intentional evolution of our grantmaking. It is designed to accelerate our impact by putting a significant portion of our assets in the hands of trusted partners whose on-the-ground expertise can foster meaningful change for Greater Kansas City, now and into the future. 

We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to support our community and look forward to the important work our partners will continue to lead in building a stronger Greater Kansas City for everyone who calls it home. 

Sincerely,

The Sunderland Foundation Trustees

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