The Kemper Foundation

What The Kemper Foundation does

The Kemper Foundation is a private nonprofit foundation and the philanthropic arm of Kemper Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1942 alongside the launch of its flagship Kemper Scholars Program in 1948, the foundation concentrates its giving across three declared focus areas — education, health, and community development — and serves four distinct beneficiary populations: dual-language educators and Title I elementary schools through the Read Conmigo Bilingual Grant Program, high-achieving diverse college students through the Kemper Scholars Program, and Kemper Corporation employees through a 1:1 matching-grant program capped at $500 annually per employee.

The foundation operates two principal programmatic products. Read Conmigo provides $3,000 Educator Grants (up to 100 per year, applications April–June) and $10,000 School Impact Grants (up to 22 per year, applications January–March) to support Spanish-English dual-language instruction in under-resourced communities. The Kemper Scholars Program, dating to 1948, delivers need-based scholarships, mentoring, and career navigation resources to college students interested in insurance and financial services careers, anchored by partnerships with 10 universities including HBCUs and HSIs, and supplemented by 325+ paid internships at Kemper Corporation committed over a five-year window beginning in 2022. Grant applications are processed through a third-party CyberGrants portal with funds disbursed via paper check or e-check directly to recipients.

The foundation has no commercial revenue model and does not accept unsolicited grant applications; its operating budget and program outlays are funded by Kemper Corporation. In 2024 it reported $3.1 million in collective community impact (its second annual Community Impact Report), and it is governed by a Board of Trustees chaired by Steve McAnena with Barbara Ciesemier serving as President, Uchenna Hicks as Treasurer, and Bob O'Keefe as Secretary. Operating geographies span Illinois, California, Arizona, Florida, and Texas, with a staff of 1–10 employees.

Name

The Kemper Foundation

Legal name

The Kemper Foundation

Website

https://thekemperfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1948

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Kemper Foundation is a private nonprofit foundation and philanthropic arm of Kemper Corporation that runs the Kemper Scholars Program and the Read Conmigo bilingual education grant program, serving diverse college students, dual-language educators, and Title I elementary schools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Foundation / Corporate Giving

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Corporate & Employer-Sponsored Scholarships (EDAIAOAI)

Keywords

• Philanthropic foundation
• Education grants
• Scholarship programs
• Bilingual education
• Community development

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Grant Disbursements: The Kemper Foundation operates as a philanthropic organization funded by Kemper Corporation. It distributes grants to nonprofit organizations, schools, and educators in its three focus areas: education, health, and community development. The foundation does not generate commercial revenue but functions as a charitable giving vehicle.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Kemper Foundation is the philanthropic partner of Kemper Corporation and distributes grants to advance education, health, and community development. It operates two flagship programs: the Read Conmigo Grant Program (offering $3,000 Educator Grants and $10,000 School Impact Grants for dual-language Spanish-English education) and the Kemper Scholars Program (providing need-based scholarships, mentoring, and career navigation to diverse college students at 10 partner universities including HBCUs and HSIs).

Product overview

The Kemper Foundation operates two main philanthropic programs: the Read Conmigo Grant Program and the Kemper Scholars Program. The Read Conmigo Program provides dual-language education grants to educators and schools, while the Kemper Scholars Program offers scholarships and mentorship to college students. These programs focus on education, health, and community development initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Read Conmigo: A grant program aimed at advancing dual-language (Spanish-English) education for bilingual students in under-resourced communities through educator grants ($3,000) and school impact grants ($10,000).
• Kemper Scholars Program

Products and services

• Read Conmigo Grant Program A dual-language education grant program offering $3,000 Educator Grants to individual teachers (up to 100 per year; applications April-June) and $10,000 School Impact Grants to Title I elementary schools (up to 22 per year; applications January-March). Funds support classroom resources, instructional technology, professional development, and community and cultural engagement for Spanish-English dual-language programs serving Hispanic and Latino students in under-resourced communities.
• Kemper Scholars Program A scholarship and mentorship program providing need-based scholarships, mentoring, and career navigation resources to high-achieving, diverse college students interested in insurance and financial services careers. Partners with 10 universities including HBCUs and HSIs and provides internship pathways with Kemper Corporation. Has awarded over 2,000 scholarships since inception in 1948.

Quantifiable outcome

• $3.1 million collective community impact in education, health, and community development
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Kemper CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022The Kemper Foundation is the philanthropic partner of Kemper Corporation. The foundation receives its mission alignment and funding from Kemper Corporation, and partners with the company to offer over 325 internships to Kemper Scholars Program partner schools over five years. The foundation's mission supports Kemper's corporate social responsibility initiatives in education, health, and community development.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Toyota USA Foundation: Corporate foundation of Toyota Motor North America with K-12 education and dual-language program investments. Comparable as a corporate education-focused foundation targeting under-resourced communities similar to Read Conmigo's Title I focus.
• The Ford Foundation: One of the largest US private foundations, with major programmatic focus on education equity and social justice. Comparable as a large-scale grantmaking foundation operating education-focused programs, though at substantially greater scale.
• GE Foundation: Large corporate foundation of General Electric operating across education and workforce development. Comparable as a much larger corporate foundation with similar focus on education access and career pipelines.
• Walmart Foundation: Major corporate foundation of Walmart with significant investments in workforce development, opportunity, and education. Comparable as a large corporate foundation targeting under-resourced communities with multi-state grant programs.

Direct peers

• Hispanic Heritage Foundation: National nonprofit focused on honoring and advancing Hispanic heritage through education, workforce, and leadership programs including scholarships. Highly comparable to Read Conmigo's focus on Hispanic/Latino bilingual education and career pipelines.
• The Travelers Foundation: Corporate foundation of The Travelers Companies. Comparable as an insurance-industry philanthropic foundation supporting education and workforce development, including scholarship and career-pathway programs similar to Kemper Scholars.
• Liberty Mutual Insurance Foundation: Corporate foundation of Liberty Mutual Insurance. Comparable as an insurance-sector corporate foundation with education and community development grant programs of similar scope.
• The Allstate Foundation: The philanthropic arm of Allstate, a major US insurance carrier. Directly comparable as a corporate foundation of a peer insurance company operating in education and community impact with similar grant programs and geographic focus.
• State Farm Companies Foundation: Corporate foundation of State Farm, a top US insurance company. Closely comparable as an insurance-industry corporate foundation focused on education and community development with multi-state giving programs.
• Nationwide Foundation: Corporate foundation of Nationwide Mutual Insurance. Directly comparable as an insurance-sector corporate foundation channeling grants in education and community development, with similar insurance-focused scholarship and giving programs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/TheKemperFndn
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheKemperFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-kemper-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Kemper Foundation