Community joins us at the ‘heart’ of our mission

Hundreds of Kansas Citians – and our Kauffman team – poured our hearts into the TEDxKC event Aug. 2 at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. The event carried the theme, “exploring the unknown to create a future worth having.” Folks joined us in a conversation around closing the wealth gap in KC, writing their ideas on how to close the gap on bouncy balls and dropping them into a large heart we had displayed just outside of the Muriel Kauffman Theatre.

Responses dropped into the heart focused largely on accessibility, including accessibility to education, healthcare, and housing. While the topic is complex, we found fun problem solving together, sharing ideas with hope to build a beautiful future for our city.

We believe, 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. Our strategic priorities – college access and completion, workforce and career development, and entrepreneurship – reflect the heart of our mission.