Kellogg Leadership for Community Change (KLCC) is the national leadership development program of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan. It is coordinated by the Center for Ethical Leadership and its partners, the Institute for Educational Leadership and the Innovation Center for Youth and Community Development. The program is designed to strengthen community leaders by emphasizing the practice of collective leadership, in which decision-making power is distributed and shared among a diverse representation of the local population.

KLCC operates from the premise that while many 21st-century communities are eager to shape new visions for themselves, they often lack the relationships and collective leadership experience required to realize these visions. Crossing Boundaries, Changing Communities is a core philosophy of KLCC, urging the inclusion of non-traditional leaders from diverse backgrounds in the collective decision-making processes of their communities. This philosophy helps community leaders cultivate the relationships and expertise they need to improve neighborhoods for all of the residents they serve.

KLCC is implemented in sessions, each lasting roughly 36 months.  Each session is framed around a particular theme or topic, and participant communities are selected from across the country through a rigorous discernment process that involves written applications, interviews and site visits. KLCC Session I began in 2002.  KLCC Session II began in 2005 and is currently underway. Planning is also underway for a third session. 

KLCC is administered locally by host agencies in each of the grantee communities. These community-based organizations are selected by the Foundation because of their established record of successfully leading change in their community. 

The Center for Ethical Leadership is the long-term partner for Kellogg Leadership for Community Change bringing continuity and consistency for the duration of the series. Working with coordinating partners, the Center helps create tools such as the collective leadership framework workbook and theory of change. The Center also works with the sites to bring topical expertise and networks, provide or broker technical assistance, create opportunities for reflection and self assessment, and provide coaching. The Center also supports the national learning community by planning and facilitating a full schedule of national meetings, including two national gatherings of all participants.

The coordinating partner for KLCC Session I was the Institute for Educational Leadership in Washington, DC.  The session II partner is the Innovation Center for Youth and Community Development, also in Washington, DC.

KLCC Session II

Theme: Valuing and Building Youth-Adult Partnerships to Advance Just Communities

• Big Creek People in Action - McDowell County, West Virginia
• Boys and Girls Club of Benton Harbor - Benton Harbor, Michigan
• The Lummi Cedar Project - Bellingham, Washington
• Mi Casa Resource Center for Women - Denver, Colorado
• Roca Inc. - Chelsea, Massachusetts

KLCC Session I

Theme: Strengthening Public Will and Action Toward Quality Teaching and Learning

• Salish Kootenai College - Flathead Reservation, Montana
• Citizen Action of New York - Buffalo, New York
• Llano Grande Center for Research and Development - Edcouch-Elsa, Texas
• Laguna Department of Education - Eastern Cibola County, New Mexico
• Migizi Communications - Minneapolis, Minnesota
• New Paradigm Partners - Northwestern Wisconsin

Additional Resources:

• View copies of the KLCC newsletter--The KLCC Bridge.
• Go to the KLCC web site.
• Download the KLCC Collective Leadership for Community Change Framework Workbook.
• See footage from the 2007 KLCC National Gathering in Stone Mountain, GA, on You Tube.