Skip to content
The Kansas City Royals Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

The Kansas City Royals Foundation

THE KANSAS CITY ROYALS FOUNDATION uses the power of sport to improve the lives of kansas citians by supporting literacy and education efforts, promoting healthy and active communities, uplifting our military and veterans, and more.

$3.1M
Granted FY2024still arriving
83
Grants FY2024still arriving
7
States reached
$242k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Education$3.4MHealth$1.6MHuman Services$1.6MYouth Development$794kArts & Culture$721kFood & Nutrition$427kRecreation & Sports$397kPhilanthropy$371kOther$0
02FY2024 · 83 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 83 grants below total $2,374,355, the rows itemized in this filing. The $3,134,226 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $759,871 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • Under $10k8 grants · $57k
  • $10k–50k63 grants · $1.1M
  • $50k–250k12 grants · $1.2M
$15,000
Median grant
7
States reached
$780k
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
NEGRO LEAGUES BASEBALL MUSEUM$242,225
SCHOOLSMART KC$167,813
KANSAS CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS$116,000
KCPS EDUCATION FOUNDATION$110,050
MO CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOL ASSOC$110,000
CITY YEAR$100,000
DOWNTOWN KC CIVIC VENTURES$100,000
BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS KANSAS CITY$50,000
TURN THE PAGE KC$50,000
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF GKC$50,000
UNITED WAY OF GREATER KANSAS CITY$50,000
LEAD TO READ KC$50,000
2020 LEADERSHIP$46,250
PLAYERS PHILANTHROPY FUND$45,000
TEACH FOR AMERICA - KANSAS CITY$40,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY17–24, $1.3M) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 79% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $10k → 15%Lakemary Center: $25k → 7%OPERATION BBQ RELIEF: $20k → 8%LAKEMARY CENTER: $10k → 7%SYNERGY SERVICES: $10k → 8%LEAD TO READ KC: $50k → 8%LEAD TO READ KC: $25k → 8%LEAD TO READ KC: $20k → 8%American Red Cross of Greater KC: $30k → 15%KC HEALTHY KIDS: $15k → 16%LEAD TO READ: $20k → 8%Camp MITIOG: $10k → 8%YMCA of Greater KC: $21k → 15%SAFEHOME Inc: $10k → 5%GIRLS ON THE RUN OF GREATER KANSAS CITY: $20k → 15%CROSS-LINES COMMUNITY OUTREACH: $15k → 16%Cross-Lines Community Outreach: $10k → 16%HAPPYBOTTOMS: $10k → 5%HAPPYBOTTOMS: $10k → 5%Happy Bottoms: $10k → 5%Shadow Buddies Foundation: $10k → 5%SHADOW BUDDY FOUNDATION: $10k → 5%SOAR: $10k → 5%Bishop Sullivan Center: $20k → 15%SLEEPYHEAD BEDS: $10k → 15%Youth Volunteer Corps: $10k → 15%HAPPYBOTTOMS: $15k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $30k → 15%AMERICAN RED CROSS: $25k → 15%HAPPY BOTTOMS: $11k → 15%American Red Cross: $21k → 15%Bishop Sullivan Center: $15k → 15%UNITED INNER CITY SERVICES INC: $20k → 15%UNITED INNER CITY SERVICES: $20k → 15%Community Services League: $25k → 15%DOWNTOWN KC CIVIC VENTURES: $100k → 15%Community Services League: $25k → 15%DOWNTOWN KC CIVIC VENTURES: $100k → 15%Community Services League: $20k → 15%DON BOSCO COMMUNITY CENTER: $15k → 15%HOPE HOUSE INC: $30k → 15%COMMUNITY SERVICES LEAGUE: $15k → 15%HOPE HOUSE: $25k → 15%Hope House Inc: $20k → 15%LEAD TO READ KC: $50k → 15%GIRLS ON THE RUN SERVING GREATER KANSAS CITY: $34k → 15%RECONCILIATION SERVICES: $75k → 15%Girls on the Run of Greater KC: $14k → 15%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

ME
IL
WI
NY
IA
PA
CA
NE
MO
MD
KS
AL
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

82%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$8.3M · 89 repeat orgs$1.9M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +46% since the first grant, against +39% for those funded once.

89 repeat relationships: 47 still active in FY2024, 42 since wound down; 30 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

89
85

Total granted

$8.3M
$1.3M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+46%
+39%

Still filing today

96%
75%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 76% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $563k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
EducationHuman ServicesHealthPhilanthropyRecreation & SportsYouth DevelopmentOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • NL
    NEGRO LEAGUES BASEBALL MUSEUM INC
    4× · 2020–2024 · $590k · revenue +243%
  • TK
    The Kansas University Endowment Association
    7× · 2017–2024 · $520k · revenue +93%
  • HT
    HARVESTERS - THE COMMUNITY FOOD NETWORK
    7× · 2017–2024 · $391k · revenue +40%

Funded once

  • PF
    PATHWAY FINANCIAL EDUCATION
    one grant, 2021 · $150k · revenue +2% · 25% of their budget
  • UA
    UPLIFTING ATHLETES INCgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $70k · revenue +93%
  • WC
    WYANDOTTE COUNTY SPORTS ASSOCIATION
    one grant, 2021 · $50k
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Kansas Children's Service League Foundation

To protect and promote the well-being of children by providing ongoing support of the charitable mission of the kansas children's service league.

Philanthropy
2
Kansas Legal Services Inc

Kansas legal services is devoted to helping low income kansans meet their basic needs through the provision of important legal and mediation services.

—
3
Bike Share Kc

Bike share kc provides the greater kansas city area with a bike share system designed for transportation, recreation, and exercise.

Human Services
4
Kanza Mental Health and Guidance Center Inc

Offer hope to build a better tomorrow through mental health services.

Health
5
Cultivate Kansas City Inc

Grow food, farms and community in support of a sustainable, healthy and local food system.

Food & Nutrition
6
Kansas Children's Discovery Center Inc

The kansas children's discovery center enhances the lives of children and enriches the communities it serves.

Arts & Culture
7
Catholic Charities of Kansas City - St Joseph Inc

Helping people move to a better life through hope-filled care, services, and advocacy; calling all those of goodwill to join us

Human Services
8
Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City

Leading the way to the best kc region by convening innovative leaders, collaborating with like-minded organizations, advocating for positive change, and helping small businesses grow.

—
9
Kansas City Christian School Association

To bring glory to god by providing children with an excellent christ- centered education rooted in the word of god.

—
10
Kansas Healthcare Collaborative Inc

Engaging and aligning providers and stakeholders to establish Kansas as a role model for health care quality and a top performer in health care outcomes.

Health
11
Kc Common Good Inc

Our mission is to create an environment where all citizens can live safely and have access to real opportunities.

Employment
12
Kids Win Missouri

Kids Win Missouri furthers child well-being by advancing the health, education, safety and development of Missouri children and their families, especially those who are at-risk because of poverty, abuse, neglect, racial inequities or other…

Human Services
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Big Brothers Big Sisters Kansas City; the most unlike its peers is Zen Donkey Experience. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

175 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 175 of the 208 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

2
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
51
Early backer (in before they grew)
172/175
Grantees still filing
119/175
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

The Kansas University Endowment Association: $520,000 · EducationThe Kansas University Endowme…ASSOCIATION OF MISSOURI CHARTER SCHOOLS: $330,000 · EducationASSOCIATION OF MISSOURI CHART…KANSAS CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $290,050 · EducationKANSAS CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS ED…Teach for America Inc: $193,000 · EducationTeach for America IncSCHOOL SMART KC INC: $182,813 · EducationSCHOOL SMART KC INCTURN THE PAGE KC INC: $167,172 · EducationTURN THE PAGE KC INCOPERATION BREAKTHROUGH INC: $159,700 · EducationOPERATION BREAKTHROUGH INCGREAT JOBS KC INC: $150,000 · EducationGREAT JOBS KC INCPATHWAY FINANCIAL EDUCATION: $150,000 · EducationPATHWAY FINANCIAL EDUCATIONTHE EDUCATOR ACADEMY INC: $95,000 · Education+23 more: $456,213 · Education+23 moreFISHER HOUSE FOUNDATION INC: $375,119 · OtherFISHER HOUSE FOUNDATION INCCITY YEAR INC: $310,000 · OtherCITY YEAR INCALEXS LEMONADE STAND FOUNDATION: $123,377 · OtherBig Brothers Big Sisters Kansas City: $120,000 · OtherHARVESTERS - THE COMMUNITY FOOD NETWORK: $390,798 · OtherHARVESTERS - THE COMMUNITY FOOD NETWOR…+85 more: $2,188,282 · Other+85 moreDOWNTOWN KANSAS CITY CIVIC VENTURES: $200,000 · Human ServicesDOWNTOWN KANSA…LEAD TO READ INC: $165,000 · Human ServicesLEAD TO READ I…American National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $141,209 · Human ServicesAmerican Natio…Community Services League of Jackson County: $105,000 · Human ServicesCommunity Serv…RECONCILIATION SERVICES: $85,000 · Human ServicesRECONCILIATION…HOPE HOUSE INC: $74,708 · Human ServicesHOPE HOUSE INCGIRLS ON THE RUN SERVING GREATER KANSAS CITY MISSOURI: $67,755 · Human ServicesHAPPYBOTTOMS: $56,000 · Human ServicesUNITED INNER CITY SERVICES INC: $50,000 · Human Services+21 more: $353,545 · Human Services+21 moreNOAH'S BANDAGE PROJECT: $340,743 · HealthNOAH'S BANDAG…The Children's Mercy Hospital: $109,116 · HealthThe Children'…American Heart Association Inc: $100,160 · HealthAmerican Hear…BRADENS HOPE FOR CHILDHOOD CANCER INC: $86,084 · HealthBRADENS HOPE …The Battle Within Inc: $78,750 · HealthThe Battle Wi…Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City Inc: $78,345 · HealthRonald McDona…AdventHealth Kansas City Foundation: $75,000 · HealthAdventHealth …UPLIFTING ATHLETES INC: $70,000 · HealthUPLIFTING ATH…The Children's Mercy Hospital Foundation: $43,128 · Health+14 more: $247,182 · Health+14 moreNEGRO LEAGUES BASEBALL MUSEUM INC: $589,704 · Arts & CultureMETROPOLITAN ARTS COUNCIL OF GREATER KANSAS CITY: $36,000 · Arts & CultureSTARLIGHT THEATRE ASSOCIATION OF KANSAS CITY INC: $30,000 · Arts & Culture+3 more: $50,000 · Arts & CultureVARIETY OF GREATER KANSAS CITY TENT 8: $167,500 · PhilanthropyPLAYERS PHILANTHROPY FUND INC: $113,719 · PhilanthropySANTA FOR A DAY INCORPORATED: $55,000 · PhilanthropyGreater Kansas City Community Foundation: $50,000 · PhilanthropyVALOR PARTNERS FOUNDATION: $45,000 · Philanthropy+6 more: $57,350 · PhilanthropyBOYS CLUB OF GREATER KANSAS CITY: $261,000 · Youth DevelopmentMO KAN 2020 VISION INC: $92,500 · Youth DevelopmentKC UNITED YOUTH FAMILY SPORTS & EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: $20,000 · Youth DevelopmentGIRL SCOUTS OF NE KANSAS AND NW MISSOURI INC: $19,240 · Youth DevelopmentC YOU IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES INC: $16,050 · Youth DevelopmentCAMP FIRE: $15,000 · Youth Development+1 more: $10,000 · Youth Development
Education$2,693,948Other$3,507,576Human Services$1,298,217Health$1,228,508Arts & Culture$705,704Philanthropy$488,569Youth Development$433,790

Showing the 200 largest grantees by grant value.

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetNEGRO LEAGUES BASEBALL MUSEUM INC: $589,704 over 4y, 5.7% of budgetThe Kansas University Endowment Association: $520,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetHARVESTERS - THE COMMUNITY FOOD NETWORK: $390,798 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetFISHER HOUSE FOUNDATION INC: $375,119 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetNOAH'S BANDAGE PROJECT: $340,743 over 3y, 31% of budgetASSOCIATION OF MISSOURI CHARTER SCHOOLS: $330,000 over 3y, 15% of budgetCITY YEAR INC: $310,000 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetKANSAS CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $290,050 over 4y, 16% of budgetBOYS CLUB OF GREATER KANSAS CITY: $261,000 over 8y, 0.7% of budgetDOWNTOWN KANSAS CITY CIVIC VENTURES: $200,000 over 2y, 10% of budgetTeach for America Inc: $193,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSCHOOL SMART KC INC: $182,813 over 2y, 1.7% of budgetVARIETY OF GREATER KANSAS CITY TENT 8: $167,500 over 5y, 5.8% of budgetTURN THE PAGE KC INC: $167,172 over 3y, 11% of budgetLEAD TO READ INC: $165,000 over 4y, 7.4% of budgetOPERATION BREAKTHROUGH INC: $159,700 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetGREAT JOBS KC INC: $150,000 over 2y, 0.4% of budgetPATHWAY FINANCIAL EDUCATION: $150,000 over 1y, 25% of budgetAmerican National Red Cross & Its Constituent Chapters and Branches: $141,209 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetALEXS LEMONADE STAND FOUNDATION: $123,377 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetBig Brothers Big Sisters Kansas City: $120,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetPLAYERS PHILANTHROPY FUND INC: $113,719 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetThe Children's Mercy Hospital: $109,116 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCommunity Services League of Jackson County: $105,000 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetAmerican Heart Association Inc: $100,160 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetJUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF MIDDLE AMERICA INC: $97,500 over 3y, 2.0% of budgetKANSAS CITY METROPOLITAN CRIME COMMISSION: $95,290 over 4y, 2.2% of budgetTHE EDUCATOR ACADEMY INC: $95,000 over 2y, 1.7% of budgetMO KAN 2020 VISION INC: $92,500 over 2y, 19% of budgetROTARY CLUB YOUTH CAMP ASSOCIATION: $87,391 over 2y, 6.0% of budgetBRADENS HOPE FOR CHILDHOOD CANCER INC: $86,084 over 7y, 1.8% of budgetRECONCILIATION SERVICES: $85,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetThe Battle Within Inc: $78,750 over 5y, 3.8% of budgetRonald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City Inc: $78,345 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetAdventHealth Kansas City Foundation: $75,000 over 2y, 0.7% of budgetTHE DREAM FACTORY INC - HEADQUARTERS: $75,000 over 2y, 15% of budgetLITERACY KANSAS CITY: $75,000 over 2y, 1.5% of budgetHOPE HOUSE INC: $74,708 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetGIVING THE BASICS INC: $73,425 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetUPLIFTING ATHLETES INC: $70,000 over 1y, 8.1% of budgetGIRLS ON THE RUN SERVING GREATER KANSAS CITY MISSOURI: $67,755 over 3y, 2.6% of budgetSPECIAL OLYMPICS KANSAS INC: $57,500 over 3y, 1.0% of budgetHAPPYBOTTOMS: $56,000 over 5y, 1.6% of budgetSANTA FOR A DAY INCORPORATED: $55,000 over 3y, 13% of budgetUNITED INNER CITY SERVICES INC: $50,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF KANSAS CITY: $50,000 over 4y, 1.4% of budgetGreater Kansas City Community Foundation: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetVETERANS COMMUNITY PROJECT: $50,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

United Way of Greater…Greater Kansas City C…Ewing Marion Kauffman…Health Forward Founda…Oppenstein Brothers F…R a Long Foundation 6…The Sherman Family Fo…The H & R Block Found…The Sunderland Founda…William T Kemper Foun…Jackson County Commun…Jewish Community Foun…
United Way of Greater Kansas City IncMO137.4× affinity75 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: United Way of Greater Kansas City Inc · Greater Kansas City Community Foundation · Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation · Health Forward Foundation · Oppenstein Brothers Foundation · R a Long Foundation 600 Plaza West Bldg · The Sherman Family Foundation · The H & R Block Foundation · The Sunderland Foundation · William T Kemper Foundation Commerce Bank Trustee · Jackson County Community Children's Services Fund · Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization The Kansas City Royals Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from The Kansas City Royals Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 10%3%10%23%40%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 11%
  • City Year Inc: 11% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
1get no government money at all
55report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to The Kansas City Royals Foundation?

Find your warmest path to The Kansas City Royals Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 208 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Kansas City Royals’ filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home