About Sunderland Foundation
The Sunderland Foundation is a high-capital, regionally focused funder that concentrates on major institutional investments—particularly in higher education, health care, and community infrastructure—primarily across Kansas and Missouri with selective larger gifts to Seattle and national donor-advised vehicles. Their grants skew toward bricks-and-mortar capital projects (cancer center, health buildings, NICU, clinics), mental-health and pediatric services, and creation or capitalization of local philanthropic vehicles and DAFs. They also support workforce and community college initiatives tied to local economic development and equity-oriented community foundations and funds.
Focus Areas
University medical and cancer center capital campaigns (e.g., KU Cancer Center construction)Pediatric and mental-health facility construction and expansion (Children's Mercy, pediatric mental health, psychiatric residential beds)Kansas City regional community foundations and donor-advised fund capitalization (KC People's Fund, Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, Seattle/Amalgamated DAF payments)Community college workforce training and downtown education centers (KCK Community Education Center, automotive institute)Regional hospital infrastructure and population health centers (Truman Medical Center NICU, Kansas City population health center)
About Sunderland Foundation
The Sunderland Foundation’s clearest recent pattern is a series of very large capital gifts for cancer center construction, including four $25 million grants to the University of Kansas Endowment Association for KU Cancer Center construction and related cancer center work from 2023 through 2025. That scale places the foundation among major institutional funders rather than broad program grantmakers. Their recent grants also show sustained support for health infrastructure in Kansas City, with large awards for children’s behavioral health, pediatric mental health, and population health facilities, alongside major commitments to universities and community institutions. The foundation’s grantmaking is built around restricted, project-specific support. Recent awards point to buildings, renovations, and campaign payments: health buildings, a psychiatric residential treatment center, a downtown community education center, an automotive institute, a radio station home, and capital projects for civic and cultural institutions. They also fund donor-advised vehicles and local philanthropic intermediaries, including a large capitalization grant to KC People’s Fund and recurring DAF-related payments to multiple national and regional vehicles. The result is a profile centered on infrastructure, institutional capacity, and long-horizon community investments rather than open-ended operating support.
What Sunderland Foundation Funds
Health and behavioral health is one of the foundation’s most visible areas of support. In 2025, they gave $20 million to Childrens Mercy Hospital for a behavioral health hospital, and in 2024 they awarded $10 million to the same institution to construct a pediatric mental health facility. Higher education and health-science infrastructure is another major thread. The University of Missouri Kansas City - Foundation received $10 million in 2023 to construct a health care innovation and delivery building, followed by another $10 million in 2025 for construction health building payment. They also support workforce-oriented education and community development. Kansas City Kansas Community College received $6.25 million in 2024 for construction of a downtown community education center in KCK, and Metropolitan Community College Foundation received $5 million in 2024 to construct an automotive institute at Longview Campus. Cultural and civic institutions appear in the recent record as well, including a $5 million grant to Springfield Art Museum for capital projects.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$102.1M
Total Assets
$927M
Total Revenue
$41.8M
Total Expenses
$105.4M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $100K and $819K, with a median of $250K.
25th Percentile
$100K
Median
$250K
75th Percentile
$819K
Geographic Reach
Regional18 states funded
About 25% of grants go to recipients in MO.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
RANDY VANCE
PRESIDENT, COO
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