The William A. Kerr Foundation is a private family foundation established as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt charity in May, 1998 and fully funded in January, 2000.  Although registered in the State of Washington, the Foundation is managed by two co-trustees, John H. K. Sweet of St. Louis, Missouri and William R. Sweet of Walnut Creek, California, who are Mr. Kerr’s nephews.

The Foundation is dedicated to its grantor, William Ashton Kerr, who lived from July 8, 1907 to September 3, 1997.  He was born in Illinois and grew up in East Orange, New Jersey and later Detroit, Michigan.  A single man from a small family he developed early in life enduring interests in saving, investing and traveling.  He worked hard as a CPA, invested wisely, retired and traveled extensively throughout the world.  He loved and appreciated the beauty and forces of nature.  He admired and respected the various peoples and cultures he encountered in the many different countries that he visited.  He lived frugally and valued self-sufficiency, independence, and helping others.  By the time of his death he had grown a portfolio worth over fifteen million dollars all of which he dedicated to be used for charitable purposes.  In his honor the co-trustees diligently strive to pass on help and hope to others.

The William A. Kerr Foundation seeks grant applications by invitation only.  With occasional exceptions our focus of activity is in the geographical areas of St. Louis, Missouri and Walnut Creek, California.  We tend to favor projects that support education, environmental enhancements, health, accessibility and local arts organizations.  Our areas of interest and funding abilities vary from year to year.  Our grants are not meant to replace lost or cut-back public funding of current programs.  Rather we wish to support creation of new facilities, innovative programs or help existing organizations become more self-supporting.

Please contact one of us prior to sending a request for funds.  If we invite  your organization to make a formal application for a grant, we will let you know what information is required.

In the St. Louis area the Foundation's 5200 square foot LEED Platinum Certified office/event space may be used by non-profits free of charge for meetings or events on an as available basis. Use of the space in no way guarantees funding by the WAKF for that non-profit organization.

The William A. Kerr Foundation's IRS 990 filings are made available to the public at http://www.guidestar.org/organizations/43-1770857/william-a-kerr-foundation.aspx

The William A. Kerr Foundation is dedicated to finding and helping groups committed to projects designed to improve education, enrich the environment, and promote health and accessibility, chiefly in the geographical regions of St. Louis, Missouri and Walnut Creek, California.