Kauffman Foundation: Collective Impact Grant - Planning
Funding Amount
Up to US $500,000
Deadline
Deadline not published
Grant Type
Foundation
Can we apply?
Check your organization against each line. Taken from the listing; confirm with the funder's guidelines.
Eligible organizations
- Kansas City Region:It’s generally the six-county region of the metro area including Cass, Clay, Jackson, Johnson, Platte, and Wyandotte counties.
Geography
- In the Kansas City region in alignment with Kauffman’s priorities
Required status
- 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status
Other requirements
- This grant requires an existing or emerging coalition working collaboratively to develop a systems-level change and impact strategy.
- However, organizations need to demonstrate impact to Kansas City through past work anchored in the region, along with alignment to our strategic priorities and focus areas designed to drive impact in Kansas City.
Not eligible / not funded
- Not eligible: While we are foregrounding our work in the Kansas City region to achieve our vision, we are not immediately excluding organizations located elsewhere.
- Not eligible: Funding requests will not be used to start a business or to fund patent expenses.
- Not eligible: The Kauffman Foundation is unable to provide funding for the following:bricks and mortar, including buildings or housing
- Not eligible: endowments
- Not eligible: institutions that discriminate
- Not eligible: loans, expenses, or seed capital for a private business
- Not eligible: lobbying or political activities
- Not eligible: medical (physical or mental health)
- Not eligible: political, social, or fraternal organizations
- Not eligible: religious activities
- Not eligible: requests to fund individuals, including direct scholarships
Overview
The Kauffman Foundation's Collective Impact Grant - Planning supports coalitions of high-capacity organizations aiming for systems-level change in the Kansas City area. Grants of up to $500,000 are available to facilitate nine months of planning for collaborative initiatives. Eligible applicants include both established and emerging coalitions, focusing on education, employer connections, and equitable access. This initiative aligns with the foundation's strategic priorities to enhance economic mobility for Kansas Citians.
NOTE: 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.
Grantmaking
Our grantmaking is aligned to our strategic priorities, driving toward our goal of equitable economic mobility for Kansas Citians.
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.
Planning Grant (Step 1)
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.
Implementation Grant (Step 2)
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.
Eligibility
This grant requires an existing or emerging coalition working collaboratively to develop a systems-level change and impact strategy.We make grants to organizations that are not 501(c)(3) public charities, including to social welfare organizations [501(c)(4)], trade associations and chambers of commerce [501(c)(6)], and for-profit enterprises, among others.While we are foregrounding our work in the Kansas City region to achieve our vision, we are not immediately excluding organizations located elsewhere. However, organizations need to demonstrate impact to Kansas City through past work anchored in the region, along with alignment to our strategic priorities and focus areas designed to drive impact in Kansas City.Kansas City Region:It’s generally the six-county region of the metro area including Cass, Clay, Jackson, Johnson, Platte, and Wyandotte counties.
Ineligibility
Funding requests will not be used to start a business or to fund patent expenses.The Kauffman Foundation is unable to provide funding for the following:bricks and mortar, including buildings or housing
Past recipients of this program
Recent awards under this program (from Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation's IRS filings)
Kansas City, MO · 2023
$150K
Detroit, MI · 2022
$50K
St Louis, MO · 2018
$135K
6 grants in Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation's 2018–2023 filings reference “Collective Impact Grant” in their stated purpose. Amounts and places as reported by the funder.
What Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation actually gave
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, 2024
- Grants in 2024
- 364
- Total given
- $95.05M
- Median grant
- $75K
- Range
- $100–$20.48M
- By dollars: Missouri 83%, Kansas 6%, District of Columbia 3%. Top recipient cities: Kansas City, MO; Kansas City, KS; Washington, DC.
- 26% of grants with a stated purpose were for general or operating support.
- 17% of recipients were new grantees, not repeat recipients.
Example grants
Great Jobs KC · Kansas City, MO
Support the establishment of the kansas city talent network to provide more…
$20.48M
School Smart KC Inc · Kansas City, MO
Provide support to close the academic performance gap between students attending…
$5M
Greater Kansas City Community Foundation · Kansas City, MO
Support for matching funds for 501(c)(3) organizations, universities, and government…
$3M
Real World Initiatives · Kansas City, MO
Support to increase real-world experiences for students facing barriers related to…
$2.75M
The Curators of the University of Missouri · Columbia, MO
Support for new and existing entrepreneurship education and resources at the…
$2.6M
Focus Areas & Funding Uses
Fields of Work
- Nonprofits
- Capacity building
- Community development
Categories
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