Kc Peoples Fund

KC People's Fund (KCPF) operates a participatory gifting model that fundamentally distinguishes it from conventional private foundations. Founded as an independent organization in March 2024 after a three-year incubation as the Hadley Project pilot (2021), KCPF cedes grantmaking decision-making authority to a community-based Gifting Team composed of individuals with direct lived experience of systemic racism. Staff perform eligibility screening only; final funding decisions belong entirely to the Gifting Team. This is a meaningful structural distinction — your proposal will be read and evaluated by community members, not program officers with traditional academic or philanthropic institution backgrounds.

The organization funds exclusively within the Kansas City metro, specifically Jackson County, MO and Wyandotte County, KS. Organizations must use grassroots community organizing as their primary strategy, not simply as a component of broader programming. KCPF defines community organizing through four core elements that applicants should review at kcpeoplesfund.org/gifts/ and mirror directly in their LOI language.

Priority consideration goes to organizations with annual budgets under $1 million, making KCPF one of the most accessible regional funders for early-stage grassroots groups that typically struggle to attract institutional backing. Gifts are unrestricted beyond federal and state law compliance, and multi-year disbursement over two years gives grantees meaningful planning stability.

First-time applicants are explicitly welcomed — no prior KCPF relationship is required. However, organizations that received KCPF funding in the immediately prior year are ineligible, as the fund deliberately rotates investment across the organizing ecosystem.

The eight-step process (LOI submission → eligibility screening → full application invite → Gifting Team review → award) runs on a spring timeline. Office hours are available Tuesdays (10am–Noon CT) and Thursdays (1–4pm CT) via 30-minute staff sessions. Applicants must never contact Gifting Team members directly. The Sunderland Foundation's $24.75 million endowment gift in January 2026 transforms KCPF from a pilot-scale operation into a credible regional funder capable of sustained multi-cycle investment — making this a long-term funder relationship worth cultivating now while the portfolio is still forming.

KC People's Fund's financial trajectory reflects one of the more dramatic capitalization events in recent Kansas City philanthropy. In FY2023 — its first full year of formal operations — KCPF held just $154,096 in assets and distributed $105,533 in total giving on revenue of $250,000. Officer compensation of $50,976 is consistent with a single executive director. By FY2024, total assets had grown to $23,956,502 and total revenue reached $25,586,538, driven primarily by a $24,750,000 endowment grant from The Sunderland Foundation received in January 2026 and a preceding $250,000 operating grant in January 2025. No FY2024 grants paid figure is yet available in public 990 data, suggesting the large-scale disbursement program was still being structured during that fiscal year.

The stated gift ceiling is $100,000 per organization, disbursed over two years ($50,000 per year equivalent). Given FY2023 total giving of $105,533 across an early pilot cohort, initial average gifts likely fell in the $25,000–$50,000 range per organization. With approximately $23.9 million in assets, a standard 5% annual payout rate implies $1.1–$1.2 million available for distribution per cycle — sufficient to fund 12–24 organizations at the historical average, or 11 organizations at the stated $100,000 maximum.

Funding is geographically concentrated exclusively in Jackson County, MO and Wyandotte County, KS. Issue-area concentration is equally tight: racial equity, systemic change, and grassroots power-building only. Organizations with budgets under $1 million receive stated priority consideration, indicating the fund deliberately channels capital toward smaller, under-resourced groups rather than established mid-size nonprofits.

The Sunderland family connection is structurally important: Thomas Sunderland and Grant Sunderland sit on KCPF's board, and The Sunderland Foundation accounts for nearly all documented capitalization. KCPF's IRS-reported combined income of $50,834,135 confirms the endowment gift as the decisive financial event. Future giving trajectory will depend on whether KCPF attracts additional institutional donors or remains primarily a Sunderland family-capitalized operation.

The five asset-matched peers share an approximate $23.9M–$23.97M asset band but differ fundamentally in strategy, accessibility, and geographic scope.

KCPF is the only peer in this asset band with an explicit racial equity focus, a defined geographic concentration (Jackson County/Wyandotte County), and a publicly accessible LOI portal — a significant differentiator in a peer set where invitation-only or private family models are the norm. The Stabler, Croul, and Ron Rankin foundations have no public websites, characteristic of closed family foundations. The Morningside Foundation (MA) maintains a public presence but focuses on general philanthropy in Massachusetts with no documented overlap in issue area or geography with KCPF.

KCPF's participatory gifting model — ceding final funding decisions to a community-based Gifting Team — is rare at any asset level and virtually unique in this size band. For Kansas City grassroots organizing groups, KCPF represents the most accessible and mission-aligned funder among comparable-asset private foundations nationally.

KC People's Fund officially launched as an independent entity on May 2, 2025, after a multi-year incubation as the Hadley Project (2021–2024). Executive Director Denise St. Omer leads the organization; board members include Kathryn Evans, Thomas Sunderland, Grant Sunderland, and Andrew Eanes, with Emery Golson honored in memoriam.

The most consequential recent development was a $24,750,000 endowment grant from The Sunderland Foundation in January 2026, following a $250,000 operating grant from the same funder in January 2025. These two transactions explain KCPF's asset growth from $154,096 (FY2023) to $23,956,502 (FY2024) and establish The Sunderland Foundation as the primary capitalization partner. The Sunderland family's board presence (Thomas and Grant Sunderland) reflects the family-driven philanthropic origin of the organization.

Andrew Eanes represented KCPF at the 2024 ABFE (Association of Black Foundation Executives) conference, signaling alignment with the national trust-based philanthropy and racial equity funding movement. An Instagram announcement in May 2025 declared the organization's public launch. The Spring 2026 LOI portal was announced at kcpeoplesfund.org/gifts/, confirming active grantmaking operations. No leadership departures, program eliminations, or policy pivots were identified in publicly available sources during 2025–2026.

Lead with organizing, not services. KCPF's most important eligibility screen is whether grassroots community organizing is your organization's primary strategy. Applications that frame work as direct service delivery — food distribution, case management, legal aid — without a clear organizing theory of change will be screened out before reaching the Gifting Team. Review KCPF's four defined core elements of community organizing at kcpeoplesfund.org/gifts/ and match your LOI language directly to this framework.

Use office hours before submitting. KCPF staff offer 30-minute consultation slots Tuesdays (10am–Noon CT) and Thursdays (1–4pm CT). These sessions are your clearest pre-submission signal about whether your strategy passes the eligibility screen. Use them proactively, not as a last resort after you've already submitted.

Never contact the Gifting Team. KCPF states this explicitly in its application guidance. All applicant communication goes through staff only. Any attempt to reach Gifting Team members independently risks disqualifying your application.

Lead with your budget if it's under $1 million. Organizations in the sub-$1M budget range receive stated priority consideration. Reference the exact figure early in your LOI narrative — it is a competitive signal, not a weakness to bury.

Request strategically within the $100,000 maximum. Given FY2023 total giving of $105,533 across an early cohort, $25,000–$75,000 requests may be more competitive than requesting the full maximum on a first application. A strong first gift builds the relationship for a stronger follow-on cycle.

Time your eligibility window carefully. Organizations that received KCPF funding in the prior year are explicitly ineligible. Plan ahead: use non-KCPF funding years to build organizational capacity, then return in the next eligible cycle with documented growth.

Use trust-based philanthropy language. KCPF's model is grounded in trust-based philanthropy and racial equity frameworks. Language around community accountability, lived experience leadership, and anti-oppression frameworks will resonate with Gifting Team reviewers far more than outcome dashboards and logic model tables.