Our Approach
How we work alongside partners to strengthen public education and support Kent County families.
Our Mission
A community where everyone's brilliance can shine
We acknowledge the inherent brilliance of community and work to ensure that ours is one in which all people can participate, grow, and flourish.
Our Vision
Connecting resources with people and movements
We collaborate and connect resources with people and movements that advance, advocate for, and accelerate us toward a more just and liberated community.
Our Grantmaking Focus
Our grantmaking reflects our commitment to public education, the role family well-being plays in students flourishing, and change across systems. See our current funding priorities →
What Guides Us
Our Guiding Principles
These values shape how we show up as partners, funders, and community members.
Partnership
We build authentic partnerships through deep listening, co-creation, and mutual accountability, while actively addressing power dynamics.
Integrity
We honor our word and treat all people with respect, dignity, and fairness.
Humility
We invest and partner with gratitude, seeking to lift up and center community brilliance.
Community Representation
We believe organizations work best when diverse voices from the communities they serve are sought, heard, elevated, and honored at every level.
Innovation
We encourage courageous leadership, risk-taking, actions rooted in community wisdom, and new approaches to achieve long-term systemic change.
Learning
The issues we face are complex and intersectional. Adaptive learning, continuous improvement, and mutual accountability help move us toward meaningful results.
People
We believe our humanity, fate, and liberation are interconnected. We know that talent lives in community and that solutions are often found among the people most impacted.
How We Work
Our Core Strategies
Three strategies guide how we invest in Kent County. Each building on the others to create lasting change.
Elevating Community Brilliance + Expertise
We support the vision, work, and voices of leaders, community members, and smaller early-stage nonprofits that are closest to the needs of children and their families. This includes our Brilliant Leaders Fellowship and Early-Stage Operations + Planning Fund.
Strategic Partnership to Meet Community Needs
We partner with nonprofits to support what’s working and invest in new approaches and ideas. This includes our traditional grantmaking and grants for emerging or time-sensitive community needs.
Systemic Change + Movement Building
We use the Foundation’s power to influence philanthropy and policy, and drive larger-scale social change. This includes our Investment in Families Initiative and foundation-led collective impact strategies.
The Steelcase Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) organization, separate from Steelcase Inc. and its parent company.