We disclose our work because transparency is a discipline, not a marketing exercise. The figures, partner roster, and reporting commitments below reflect the foundation's inaugural giving cycle — its first year of operations — and the practices we intend to maintain in every year that follows.
Most foundations spread their grants across hundreds of recipients. We do not. Our portfolio is small, our partners are chosen with care, and the relationships we build are designed to deepen over time rather than expand.
Each grant is paired with a question we hold ourselves to: five years from now, will this organization be more capable, more connected, and more durable because we showed up? If the honest answer is no, the work has not yet begun.
We publish our figures, partner roster, and annual disclosures openly. We treat our partners' candor about us as one of the most valuable assets the foundation can hold.
Eight figures that describe the foundation's first year of operations. We will report against these same metrics in each subsequent year, with year-over-year movement disclosed in our annual report.
† Figures reflect committed grants for fiscal year 2026, the foundation's inaugural year. Audited financials available upon completion of our first reporting cycle.
Two views of the inaugural giving cycle: by program area and by grant type. We share both because they tell different stories — one about where we focus, the other about how we fund.
Year-one giving concentrates in educational equity and food security, where partner relationships were ready for formal commitment. Economic mobility partnerships are in active development and are expected to enter the portfolio in our second cycle. Long term, we expect distribution closer to balance across all three pillars.
Unrestricted general operating support is our default. Capacity grants address specific organizational needs identified jointly with the partner. Field-building dollars supporting convenings and shared infrastructure are expected to enter the portfolio as the partner network grows.
Three organizations selected for the foundation's first giving cycle. The inaugural roster concentrates on educational equity and food security; partnerships in economic mobility are in active development and are expected to enter the portfolio in our second cycle.
| Partner | Program | Geography | Grant Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| HBCU Endowment Fund | Educational Equity | Atlanta, GA | Multi-year GOS |
| Deep Learn Institute | Educational Equity | National | Capacity-Building |
| World Nourishment Foundation | Food Security | National | Capacity-Building |
We commit to three categories of annual disclosure. Each is published openly and does not require request, application, or registration.
The foundation's comprehensive yearly disclosure. Includes a narrative review of the year's grantmaking, a letter from the founder, governance updates, partner reflections, condensed financial summary, and the foundation's full Form 990-PF as filed with the Internal Revenue Service.
Published each springIndependently audited financial statements covering the previous fiscal year, including balance sheet, statement of activities, and accompanying notes. Prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles by an outside audit firm.
Published each springThe foundation's endowment is family-funded and managed for permanence. Our investment posture is deliberately conservative — appropriate for an institution that intends to operate across generations.
We adhere to the IRS minimum distribution requirement of approximately 5% of asset value annually, with the option to spend above that threshold in years where mission opportunities warrant.
A diversified, long-horizon portfolio with conservative-tilt allocation. Designed for inflation-adjusted preservation of principal and steady real growth across decades.
A defined exclusion screen avoids investments inconsistent with the foundation's mission. Selected mission-related investments may be held where they advance program objectives.
Foundation policy holds operating expenses below 8% of total grantmaking, with a long-term target ceiling of 6%. Year-one expenses run higher than this steady-state target due to setup, legal, and infrastructure costs; we expect to converge on policy levels by our third fiscal year. Trustees serve uncompensated. Staffing is intentionally lean.
A foundation in its first year is, by definition, a foundation that does not yet know what it does not know. A few honest reflections on where we expect our practice to evolve.
We expect our portfolio to deepen before it grows. The five inaugural partners are here for the long horizon; we are more interested in becoming useful to them than in proving breadth through partner count. If we add new partners aggressively in year two, we will probably have made a mistake.
We anticipate that our balance across program areas will shift modestly. The 40/30/30 distribution of the inaugural cycle is a starting posture, not a permanent target. As partner needs evolve and as we encounter promising organizations through trusted networks, we expect drift — and we will report it.
Most importantly, we expect to learn things from our partners that change how we operate. The annual partner survey is the principal mechanism we have built for that purpose, and we will publish what we hear — including the parts that are uncomfortable. A foundation that cannot be honest about its mistakes has no business being honest about anything else.
The mission that motivates our work, the programs where we apply it, and the principles that govern our practice.
The interconnected program areas where we focus our grantmaking.
→ ApproachHow we think about partnership, patience, and the practice of philanthropy.
→ TrusteesThe Board of Trustees that holds fiduciary responsibility for the mission.
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