Countdown: A year of renewed commitment

This spring, we put forth an audacious vision:

By 2035, with the Kauffman Foundation’s support, greater Kansas City will become a national model for equitable economic mobility, dismantling systemic barriers and setting generations of historically under-resourced communities on the path to prosperity.

To that end, we introduced updated strategic priorities and a refreshed grantmaking philosophy shaped by research, community-informed feedback, and the legacy established by our founder, Ewing Marion Kauffman.

To say the words that make up our priorities, mission, and vision, means they must be lived and practiced – that is the work.

So, as we close out this momentous year, here’s a “countdown” highlighting moments – big and small – of our progress, impact, grantmaking, community engagement, and celebration.

We are grateful to everyone who has informed our work, invited us in, showed up, and continued their commitment to equitable economic mobility in Kansas City and beyond. Here’s to the work and the work ahead!

At the 2024 TEDxKC event Aug. 2, about a dozen Kauffman associates volunteered to assist with the Foundation’s activation at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

With 1,000 bouncy balls, we offered a fun and interactive way to ask a complex question: “What does it take to close the wealth gap in Kansas City?” Participants wrote their ideas on a bouncy ball and dropped them into a “mouse-trap” like contraption that funneled their bouncy balls into a large acrylic heart.

And we read them all. More than half the ideas shared were based on innovation or access to education. The second largest category of responses focused on support services (for things like transportation, food security, affordable housing, and access to resources for building a business).

Amplify convenes Kansas City-area educators of color in a space that allows for growth, professional development, and connection.

Attendees came from across the Kansas City metro area and as far as Topeka, Kansas, representing 13 charters and 22 school districts. This year’s theme was “RECHARGE, RE-ENERGIZE, REIMAGINE.”

There were 30 presenters, including two keynote speakers – Joyce Abbott (the inspiration behind the hit TV series, “Abbott Elementary”) and Dr. Bettina Love (acclaimed author of The New York Times Bestseller, Punished for Dreaming: How School Reform Harms Black Children and How We Heal, which garnered the prestigious Stowe Prize for Literary Activism and was a finalist for the LA Times Book Award). Read more about Joyce Abbott’s keynote at Amplify 2024: ‘You are making a difference’ >

The event, which sold out in less than an hour, included a “field trip” to the Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park in Topeka, Kansas, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision.

The blue carpet was rolled out to welcome 271 community members into the Foundation for the second-annual open house Sept. 19. President and CEO Dr. DeAngela Burns-Wallace, and other members of Foundation leadership, greeted guests for a night to “spark” connection and engagement.

“‘Spark’ was really our inspiration as we thought about continuing to open the doors of the Foundation to spark conversation, to spark innovation, to spark connections, to spark big ideas, and [to] continue to ignite the potential and drive progress in our communities,” said Dr. Burns-Wallace.

Designed by artist Laura Noll Crossley, “Takes Heart” is one of six Foundation-sponsored hearts from the Parade of Hearts. It features technology that allows viewers to touch a smart phone to one of its glittered tiles to unlock a webpage that highlights women-owned businesses in Kansas City.

The heart is on display on the grounds of the Foundation where entrepreneurs, leaders, and professionals came together during a “Takes Heart” event with United WE and Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation this summer.

The visit to the National Negro Leagues Baseball Museum was in honor of Black History Month and in recognition of the contributions that Black Americans have made to industry, sports, and society.

The day of learning and reflection featured a tour led by Bob Kendrick, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum president, followed by a trip to the Black Archives and lunch provided by Ruby Jean’s Juicery.

2024 would prove to be a milestone year for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. On May 2, Kendrick unveiled a campaign to build a new 30,000-square-foot home for the museum, and later that month, Major League Baseball announced that statistics compiled by Negro Leagues players would be officially added to the sport’s historical record.

The Foundation’s 16th annual Kansas City Royals Ticket Giveaway March 20 provided a total of 63 youth-serving organizations in Kansas City with ticket packets to Royals home games. The event provided a total of 3,300 tickets for youth 18 years and younger who otherwise might not have been able to attend a Royals game.

Dr. DeAngela Burns-Wallace was genuinely surprised by the pop of a confetti canon as she recorded a video for social media to announce that our grantmaking portal was open.

Delighted by the fun of a confetti canon, she equipped leadership with confetti canons to surprise and celebrate with associates during our all-associate Kauffman on the Move meeting.

This year we refreshed our grantmaking philosophy and introduced five grant pathways.

Capacity Building grants: For 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity organizations with a need to build their capacity in order to strengthen or scale impact in our focus areas.
Collective Impact grants: A two-part grant for coalitions of high-capacity organizations to create a systems-change strategy to close economic mobility gaps in the Kansas City region.
Project grants: For organizations to design and implement, or scale a multiyear project that drives impact across our strategies.
Research grants: For research projects that build deeper understanding of our focus areas, address gaps in our research, and translate research findings into practice.
Sunset grants: For previous long-term grantees who no longer align with our funding priorities.

At the Foundation’s annual open house in September, local poet Natasha Ria El-Scari, read her poem, “Diamond Life,” as well as a commissioned poem for the event, titled “Spark.”