Shumaker Family Foundation – Funding social justice and education projects in the greater Kansas City region.

Building Bridges. Inspiring Minds. Impacting Futures.

Music Lessons in Kansas City's Urban Core

Empowering future leaders to care for our environment, contribute to our economy, and create healthy communities.

Sustainable Orchards, Sustainable Communities

Creating Sustainable Transportation Habits Through Education and Outreach

Anti-Poaching and Corridor Restoration Conservation Initiatives

Giving Students Deep-Level Experience with Real World Applications

Transforming Lives Through the Power of Music

2026 Grant Funds

The Shumaker Family Foundation will allocate 2026 Environmental Justice grant funds according to the following grant process schedule: LOIs by organizations that are not current EJ grantees are due by February 13. For those LOIs we accept and request an application, the full Applications will be due on March 15.

Returning EJ grantees finishing a grant cycle or those with a 2025 1-year grant may submit a shorter Renewal Application. For these, we will send an Access Code by late January. For those who wish to submit a 2026 Renewal Application, these will be due around March 18. (Check the application through your online account for the exact date.)

Please see the Applying section of this site for other information, or reach out to us with any questions.

The Foundation will accept applications for Social Justice grants in 2026, with LOIs likely due in early to mid-June. Please read the description of our Social Justice grants on this site, and reach out to us if you have any questions.

[Note: The Education grants process will not be open again until 2028, as 2025 Education grants were awarded for three years.]

For the past few years, our board has increasingly prioritized nonprofits founded by those from within communities of color affected by the systemic social and economic inequities and challenges they are working to resolve. In order to address these inequities in access to funding, since 2022, we have awarded our Social Justice and Education grant funds (and many of our Environmental Justice grants ) to organizations that are BIPOC-led/founded, particularly those that have had less access to mainstream philanthropy. The majority of our grants have been awarded as multiyear grants.

We are mindful of the ongoing challenges that all nonprofits (large and small, old and new) are facing due to funding shortages, as well as social and political challenges. We wish we could do more. We appreciate and thank all the many local nonprofit leaders and staff members, who are working so hard to make the Kansas City community–and beyond–a better, healthier, safer, and more just place to live.

The Shumaker Family Foundation firmly stands against racial injustice. We grieve the loss of Black lives to police and law enforcement violence. We believe such violence is one of countless repercussions of our country’s unwillingness to face our history of slavery and oppression and our society’s ongoing systemic racism. Black Lives Matter.

We also support the shared humanity, community strength, and legal rights—such as due process—for immigrants in the U.S. And we advocate for dignified and just policies, countering fear with clear information, and supporting organizations that provide legal aid, resources, and community support for immigrant families.

We understand that systemic racism underlies the persistent problems in each of our mission areas: education, social justice, and environmental justice. Our racially diverse board has renewed its commitment to funding efforts that address education inequities, societal violence, and environmental challenges that disproportionately affect communities of color. In so doing, we will seek out organizations that prioritize diverse leadership and those that generate solutions within the communities of color they serve.

We prefer innovative projects that have potential for long term systemic or cultural impact. We also fund organizational strengthening, including capacity-building or operating funds, when we are satisfied that the organization has prepared itself to attain the next level of effectiveness. We only fund organizations based in the United States.

We fund Social Justice and Education projects in the Greater Kansas City Region, where site visits can be made in a day. We fund Environmental Justice projects of organizations primarily based in the Kansas City area. Although we increasingly focus on local environmental organizations and programs, we may consider some national programs that are focused on solving systemic environmental challenges, particularly if there is work being done in MO or KS. The animal welfare projects we fund all tend to be in Kansas City.

Our goal is to make the biggest impact we can with the limited money we have to grant each year. We receive more requests for excellent projects than we have funds to support. If your project/organization is not asked to submit an application or does not receive funding, please do not conclude that it is an inferior project/organization. We simply do not have the funds to support all quality proposals. Thank you for the work you are doing!