Communities In Schools Awarded $300k in Grant Funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to Expand Programming in Rural Communities
Funding will deepen integrated student support services across 13 states
CONTACT: Whitney Faison, [email protected], 315-420-6049
Communities In Schools® (CIS®), the nation’s leading provider of K-12 school-based integrated student supports (ISS), has been selected by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to receive $300,000 in grant funding through the foundation’s Rural Community Sustainability Initiative.
The funding will enable CIS to address the unique challenges rural communities face by providing students with comprehensive supports. Through integrated student supports, CIS weaves together academic services—such as tutoring and mentoring—with essential non-academic supports including food access, behavioral health counseling, transportation assistance, technology access, and basic needs support. CIS staff also connect families to health providers, social service agencies, and community organizations that reduce stressors at home and strengthen families' capacity to support their children's learning.
Through the Rural Community Sustainability Initiative partnership with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, CIS will:
- Deliver high-quality integrated student supports to 850 schools in rural communities, reaching 450,000 rural students
- Increase capacity and integration of rural affiliates within the CIS network
- Build a stronger rural network to ensure long-term sustainability of school-based services
Students in rural areas often arrive at school facing challenges related to hunger, housing, and mental health. At the same time, rural schools are frequently underfunded, which limits their ability to provide enrichment, advanced coursework, extracurricular programs, and adequate student supports. This investment from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation provides an opportunity for major impact in rural areas, ensuring student success and growth in local communities so students and families can thrive.
-Takita Battle, Senior Director of Institutional Giving
Communities In Schools will increase support to rural schools in 13 states: Washington, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan, and Maine.
The initiative will enable trained CIS staff in rural affiliates to expand programming and resources while continuing collaboration with local nonprofits, healthcare providers, regional mental health agencies, and civic groups. These relationships form a coordinated network capable of responding to student and family needs.
About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal innovator and entrepreneur 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 create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life.
The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Michigan, and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special attention 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. For more information, visit www.wkkf.org.
About Communities In Schools
Communities In Schools® (CIS®) is a national organization that ensures every student has what they need to realize their potential in school and beyond. Working directly inside more than 4,000 schools across the country, we connect students to caring adults and community resources that help them see, confront, and overcome the barriers that stand between them and a brighter future. Together, we build a powerful change movement made up of peers, students, and alumni committed to building a path to education for future generations. Follow us for news @communitiesinschools on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, @cisnational on X (formerly Twitter) or with the hashtag #BeingPresentMatters.
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