Our grant types

Capacity Building grants are designed to address explicit organizational capacity needs that would strengthen or scale impact in our focus areas. A strong application will demonstrate how an organization has the potential to impact the Kansas City region in the near term will grow its capacity through these funds. Applications for Capacity Building grants will be open twice each year.

Examples of Capacity Building projects:

This list is not intended to be exhaustive or prescriptive.

Leadership development: for an executive leadership team to build stronger leadership-level communications, accountability, collaboration structures.
Financial sustainability: build a development plan, a revenue model, and/or a business plan for a new program offering.
Evaluation capacity: Develop and execute on a plan to build an evaluation unit in the organization, adopt or build data systems, and/or develop dashboards and scorecards.
Develop a talent strategy: build a recruitment, retention, and development strategy with an aligned compensation analysis and model; bring in a marketing consultant to develop a branding/marketing strategy.
Investing in new software or infrastructure.
Operational systems: evaluate operational systems for scalability and efficiency, design operating model, build or adapt systems (human resources, information technology, marketing, finance, etc.).

Collective Impact Grants are designed for a coalition of high-capacity organizations to drive systems-level impact and change in the Kansas City region in alignment with Kauffman’s priorities.

The coalition must be led by a single organization that is a trusted convener and experienced intermediary. The coalition can be existing or emerging. We are especially interested in proposals related to two key focus areas – education and employer connection and equitable access – across our three strategic priority areas.

The Collective Impact Grant includes two steps:

Step One – Planning Grants

Planning Grants are accessible through our application portal and are designed to fund nine months of planning for the Collective Impact implementation proposal.

The Planning Grants application should show how these organizations will collaborate to implement a systems-change strategy. The application should demonstrate significant potential to narrow the economic mobility gap in the greater Kansas City area over multiple years.

Planning grant requests can be up to $500,000. The grant funding is intended to be managed by an intermediary that is leading the Collective Impact effort. We anticipate that the intermediary will submit a budget that reflects the time and resources needed for key coalition members involved in the planning process.

Step Two – Implementation Grants

Intermediaries who receive a planning grant may be considered for a three-year or longer implementation grant. Planning grant recipients will be invited to apply for implementation grants if they submit a comprehensive systems-change plan. An invitation to apply will not be an indication of funding.

Learn about Collective Impact models >

Project Grants provide funding for an organization to design and implement, or scale a multiyear project that will drive impact across our strategic priorities while prioritizing the neighborhoods with the highest potential to close economic mobility gaps in the Kansas City region. Project Grants should center on our focus areas that unlock learner potential or clear the path through education and employer connection, essential competencies and skills, equitable access, or participation and belonging.

We accept letters of interest for Project Grants on a rolling basis starting Oct. 15, 2024. Applications are reviewed and selected twice a year.

Research Grants provide funding to design and implement, or scale a research project that builds deeper understanding of our strategic priorities and focus areas, addresses gaps in our research base, and translates research findings into practice.

We accept letters of interest for Research Grants on a rolling basis starting Oct. 15, 2024. Applications are reviewed and selected twice a year.

We have reorganized our structure, processes, and grantmaking to strongly support our 2035 vision, and we recognize that some grantees may no longer directly align with our strategic priorities. We offer one-time Sunset Grant opportunities to help long-term grantees transition to new funding sources or bring closure to projects that are ending.

Sunset Grants are available to previous grantees who no longer align with our funding priorities.

Eligibility criteria for Sunset Grants:

Grantees that received Kauffman Foundation funding in at least three out of the last five years (not including sponsorship payments or request for proposals [RFPs] due to the term-limited nature of these awards).
Grantees with grants ending in January 1, 2023 through June 2025.

Sunset Grant recipients will be ineligible to receive additional Foundation funding until 2027.