The Legacy of Ewing Marion Kauffman

Ewing Kauffman’s life took him on an unconventional path that allowed him to enrich the lives of others along the way.

Ewing Marion Kauffman was an entrepreneur and humanitarian, whose innovative and long-lasting contributions have benefited millions of people in his hometown of Kansas City and beyond.

Ewing Kauffman’s most enduring legacy to his community and the world is the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. He established the Foundation with the same sense of opportunity he brought to his business endeavors, and, with the same convictions. Kauffman wanted his foundation to be innovative—to dig deep and get at the roots of issues to fundamentally change outcomes in people’s lives.

Ewing Kauffman energized people around him; he rallied his hometown and challenged everyone he knew to do more.

He wanted to help young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, get a quality education that would enable them to reach their full potential. He saw building enterprise as one of the most effective ways to realize individual promise and spur the economy.

In this online exhibit we highlight the milestones and pivotal moments that served as guideposts for his Ewing Kauffman’s life and times. We tell the story using photos, mementos and video, including segments narrated by Academy Award-winning actor and Kansas City native Chris Cooper.

This exhibit recalls Ewing Kauffman’s modest beginnings, the creation and growth of Marion Laboratories and the establishment of the Kansas City Royals baseball team. Above all, we will remember his social awareness that was grounded in his belief in people and guided a new style of philanthropy that sought to invest in bold approaches to address the root causes of complex social problems.

We hope that by recalling Ewing Kauffman we can inspire others to build a legacy of their own.