31 survey respondents
Location: P.o. Box 6699, Denver, 80206 CO
EIN: 84-1148157
100%
0%
8 hours
Median
97%
3%
98%
2%
2017 Deadlines:
Types of Grants Awarded:
Geographic Focus:
For Fiscal Year
Total Assets:
Total Grants:
Change in Assets FY :
Amount of Grants to Minnesota Nonprofits:
Largest Grant:
Smallest Grant:
Average Grant:
Reviewer 8952 - Grant Applicant - applied in 2024
This funder is incredibly approachable and genuinely interested in understanding your mission and vision. They are proactive in scheduling check-in meetings to explore potential funding opportunities and evaluate how well your organization aligns with their goals. Rather than maintaining a distant or formal relationship, the President and Program Officer take an active role in engaging with applicants, providing guidance, and setting you up for success.Their hands-on approach extends beyond just the grant application process. They take the time to provide detailed feedback on proposals and offer guidance on how to align your initiatives with their funding priorities. This level of engagement demonstrates their commitment not only to the organizations they support but also to the broader impact of their funding.
Another standout quality is their transparency. They are clear about their expectations and timelines, making it easier for grantees to navigate the process. Communication is a strong suit, with prompt responses to inquiries and a genuine willingness to clarify questions.
The foundation also goes the extra mile by offering resources and opportunities for capacity-building, which is invaluable for smaller or emerging nonprofits. Their emphasis on building relationships and fostering a sense of partnership creates a collaborative and supportive funding environment.
Positive leader in the field, Gives more than money, Culturally sensitive, Insightful, Friendly, Builds relationships, "Gets" nonprofits and issues, Responsive
Colorado
Current or former grantee
Funded for amount requested
2024
Good
The Kenneth King Foundation has been highly successful in achieving its current philanthropic goals, with a strong focus on fostering economic opportunity through strategic giving. Programs promoting job creation and entrepreneurship, which account for 50% of the Foundation's giving, are at the heart of their mission. These initiatives empower individuals and communities by creating sustainable employment opportunities and supporting entrepreneurial ventures.
Equally impactful are their efforts to remove barriers to employment, which represent 25% of their giving. These programs address critical challenges that hinder workforce participation, providing resources and support to help individuals overcome obstacles and access meaningful work.
Through this targeted approach, the Kenneth King Foundation demonstrates a clear commitment to advancing economic self-sufficiency and opportunity, making a tangible difference in the lives of those served through their grantee organizations.
Good
My noted time to complete the application for funding was 10 hours - this included pre application efforts including meeting at philanthropy days, follow up meetings, preparation of supportive documentation, check ins and the application process itself. I urge any organization seeking funding to reach out to the Program Officer and arrange an initial conference to discuss potential and to determine a fit. This organization truly cares about where their funding goes and has a clear and focused vision - and as applicants we also have an obligation to assure we are aligned to best respect their vision and appropriate funding the best way.
Keep up the great work!
I spent approximately 10 hours completing the application for funding, which included pre-application efforts such as attending Philanthropy Days, follow-up meetings, preparing supporting documentation, check-ins, and the application process itself. I strongly encourage any organization seeking funding to connect with the Program Officer to schedule an initial conference. This allows you to discuss your organization's potential fit and align with their priorities. The foundation is deeply invested in ensuring their funding has a meaningful impact and operates with a clear and focused vision. As applicants, it’s our responsibility to respect and align with that vision to ensure the funding is utilized in the most effective and respectful way possible.
This funder excels in many areas, particularly in their excellent communication and responsiveness, as well as their genuine and vested interest in potential partners. One aspect I truly appreciated was how excited they were to share the news of a successful award. Rather than sending a standard, impersonal letter, they made a point to celebrate the success with us, which added a personal and meaningful touch to the process.
10
Thank you for your thoughtful description of your experience working with us. We strive to over communicate with our grant partners, recognizing that resources of time, human capital, credibility and financial contributions are finite and our limited resources are best used to target our most targeted partners. We learn so much from specific feedback like yours and it helps us identify new strategies and tactics to test to help better identify and connect mission-aligned potential partners. THANK YOU for taking the time to provide specific examples of how your experience working with us helped you be more effective in nachieving your goals and objectives.
Reviewer 7841 - Grant Applicant - applied in 2024
The grant application is relatively simple, and we appreciate that it is modeled off of the Colorado Common Grant.
Colorado
Grant currently pending
2024
Average
Generally, we find the funder to be very accessible. We did have one question / correspondence that went unanswered but were able to complete the application without any issues.
Good
Kenneth King appears to have a clear, and well defined mission, and works in collaboration with the organizations that it funds to accomplish a great amount.
We appreciate the simplification of the application between 2023 and 2024. One comment, the 2022 application is still listed on the website, and it mislead us for a little while until we entered the application portal.
10
Thank you for providing feedback on your experience. You are correct, we have modeled our application off of the Colorado Common Grant Application with slight modifications based on each program area, basic needs, employment and entrepreneurship.
Grant Applicant - applied in 2024
The team was very supportive of our concept in the first meeting, and the grant application process was as expected. They expect you to know your numbers and your plan to make an impact. All reasonable and easy to follow.
Builds relationships, Responsive
Colorado
Applied and not funded
2024
Good
Good
The application asks for team bios, but there's nowhere to upload them, just a text box.
Their website does a great job of explaining their mission and who they fund.
5
Thanks for the positive feedback. We appreciate you taking the time to share your experience and this advice with others.
Did not apply
Was very excited to apply to this organization. Ultimately, they proved to be a poor fit because they (currently?) focus on funding orgs that provide job placement specifically, and follow the training/support of that placed individual in the role. The website guidelines mentions a much broader range of consideration points, and not this as a singular funnel point and deciding factor. For future reference, this would be helpful to have presented clearly and upfront on the website so that organizations can best self determine fit, since this requirement is not expressed well at this time.
Insightful, Friendly, Builds relationships, Openminded, Responsive
Colorado
Did not apply
2024
Average
Please update funding fit expectations about job placement being a primary deciding factor like mentioned above.
See comment above
Program Officer is an enthusiastic and joyful delight. She listened well and was able to provide valuable suggestions.
0
Thank you for your feedback and we will take your comments into consideration. Our web site includes a section where we list criteria for strong proposals, and this includes the following:
-Programs developing individuals with increased
skills in high-demand fields
-Training and support that results in increased
entrepreneurial skills and/or new businesses
-Seed capital bundled with support services
to help grow small to mid-sized ventures,
jobs created because of new businesses or
growth, financial skill building
-Programs placing individuals in jobs with
living wages
-Apprenticeship programs
-Job training through social enterprise
-Jobs created through social enterprises
or for-profit companies
-Financial literacy training and adult education
-Workforce development
Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your experience working with us.
Reviewer 7881 - Grant Applicant - applied in 2024
The staff at the Kenneth King Foundation are very proactive in providing access to their application guidelines and process, running several webinars and asking prospective applicants to schedule a meeting with them before applying. Access to their grant portal is only extended following this meeting to those who seem to be a good fit. This saves a lot of time and agony, as the Foundation's grant guidelines are somewhat narrow and this way you can find out if you are a possible fit (or not) before starting to work on the application. So just keep that in mind as you are researching the Kenneth King Foundation.
Risk taker, Openminded, Responsive
Colorado
Grant currently pending
2024
Good
Average
As this is our first application, I am not sure how well the King Foundation matches its grantmaking with its philanthropic goals. The fact that it makes both grants and PRIs, however, means that it is devoting more than just a relatively small grant budget to achieving its mission, which speaks well of its focus on accomplishing its goals.
Eliminate character limits, or else set them higher. I know you don't want to read a bunch of really long applications, but I would say that 50% of the ten or so hours I spent on this application were spent redrafting my original answers to fit the character counts. And for some of the questions, such as the evaluation one, the character limit really gets in the way of sharing information that should be quite useful to your evaluation of the application.
It's a bit hard to get a foot in the door, and they don't have many staff. Read their guidelines carefully and don't try to "sell" an idea that doesn't fit. They are pretty committed to the issues that they describe on their website. That said, they have done very strong work in the past few years to make their application and application process more accessible and streamlined.
The King Foundation is transparent and accessible regarding its grant guidelines, priorities, and process.
10
Reviewer 6282 - Grant Applicant - applied in 2024
The Kenneth King Foundation is an exceptional funding partner. Grantees and applicants are treated with great respect and program officers are accessible and responsive. We are grateful to this thoughtful and impactful foundation.
Culturally sensitive, Insightful, Friendly, Builds relationships, "Gets" nonprofits and issues, Responsive
Colorado
Current or former grantee
Funded for amount requested
2024
Good
Highly helpful and accessible
Good
Keep doing what you’re doing.
They are respectful and collaborative and communicative.
8
Thank you for your feedback!
Grant Applicant - applied in 2023
The Kenneth King Foundation has been life changing and enhancing for our organization. They were the very first foundation to support our mission and fund us. Ever since, they have been very supportive in times of need. We are extremely grateful for the Kenneth King Foundation !
Culturally sensitive, Friendly, Builds relationships, "Gets" nonprofits and issues, Openminded, Responsive
Colorado
Current or former grantee
Funded for amount requested
2023
Good
Good
None, We are very grateful for the KKF team and BOD!
Great communication and supportive team with a very caring board of directors.
10
Thank you for sharing your positive feedback. We look forward to making ongoing improvements in 2024, including decreasing the amount of time it takes to request funds from the Foundation. Thank you.
Grant Applicant - applied in 2023
Kenneth King Foundation sets a high bar for support to the Denver community. The staff takes the needed time to promote impactful connection to non profits and leaders in the community. KKF strives to understand the true cause of need and addresses solutions that are lasting and sustainable. Kudos to KKF!
Colorado
Current or former grantee
Funded for amount requested
2023
Good
Good
6
Thank you for taking the time to provide this feedback to us. We are very interested in continuing to connect with the Front Range and rural communities to help address and solve community problems.
Reviewer 8876 - Grant Applicant - applied in 2023
Very good process. Contacted by phone to discuss funding request for program. Invited to submit grant. Grant RFP was thorough but not cumbersome. Overall very good experience.
Positive leader in the field, Insightful, Friendly, Builds relationships, Responsive
Colorado
Grant currently pending
2023
Good
Good
Since our grant application is pending I am still learning about this funder but overall am very impressed with responsiveness, goals and process
Thank you so much for this opportunity.
Responsiveness
8
Thank you for your feedback, we appreciate you taking the time to tell us about your experience working with us.
Grant Applicant - applied in 2023
Great communication from staff! Application is clear and concise.
Insightful, Builds relationships, Responsive
Colorado
Applied and not funded
2023
Good
Good
6
Thank you for your feedback. We appreciate you applying and that you took the time to provide a review.
