Kauffman Foundation: Research Grant

The Kauffman Foundation offers research grants to support projects that enhance understanding of economic mobility and strategic priorities in Kansas City. These grants are available to various organizations, including social welfare and for-profit entities. The foundation emphasizes the importance of community engagement and innovative approaches in addressing systemic barriers. Projects should align with focus areas like education, workforce development, and entrepreneurship, aiming to create equitable access and impactful outcomes.

Note: For Research grant opportunities, applicants are invited to complete a Letter of Interest (LOI) within our grants portal. After review, selected projects are invited to submit a full proposal for funding consideration.
Grantmaking
Our grantmaking will be aligned to our strategic priorities and focus areas, driving toward our goal of equitable economic mobility for Kansas Citians.
Our funding
Our funding philosophy is shaped by research, community-informed feedback, and the legacy established by our founder, Ewing Marion Kauffman. It is also grounded in a four-pillar framework of proximity to community, getting uncomfortable, achieving impact, and creating hope.
Research grants provide funding to design and implement or scale a research project that builds deeper understanding of our strategic priorities, addresses gaps in our research, and translates research findings into practice. Research plays a vital role in helping to dismantle systemic barriers and achieve our 2035 strategic vision.Strategic priorities
college access and completion, workforce and career development, and entrepreneurship — prioritized because of their anticipated power to advance economic mobility.
Focus areas
In alignment with these priorities, we are seeking projects at the intersection of innovation and impact through the focus areas of essential competencies and skills, education and employer connection, participation and belonging, and equitable access.
Please see FAQs for additional guidelines.

Eligibility

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, to successfully apply for and receive funding, those organizations will 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