How to Work With Us in Entrepreneurship Share: Facebook LinkedIn Twitter “I want help in starting or growing my business.” If you want to meet up with and learn from entrepreneurs in 169 communities across America, attend a free 1 Million Cups event and engage with your peers. If you want to learn the steps to entrepreneurial success, join one of more than 130 FastTrac programs nationwide or learn from our online resources. If you seek direct assistance to help you grow your business, here is a list of quality programs that we support. “I’m interested in applying for a grant…” “…for an organization I run that helps entrepreneurs…” We grant funds to organizations (usually nonprofits) that help entrepreneurs. We primarily target organizations who support entrepreneurs who face barriers due to demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic disadvantages. We especially like ideas that generate knowledge that can be shared broadly to help other organizations, too. You can begin the grant application process by following this link and then, on the application page, selecting “Entrepreneurship” and then “Entrepreneurial Support Organizations.” We work nationwide, but we give special consideration to organizations in our hometown of Kansas City. Please note that we receive thousands of grant requests each year, but we can only fund a small percentage of them. Grants can take up to 6 months to process, depending on size, complexity, and other factors. Learn more about our grantmaking process. “…to conduct research that helps entrepreneurs.” We grant funds to research initiatives that generate practical, actionable knowledge to help entrepreneurs start and succeed. We also support the creation of data that track entrepreneurial activity. Check out our current research strategies and initiatives. You can begin the grant process by following this link and then, on the application page, selecting “Entrepreneurship” and then “Research.” “…to help entrepreneurs outside of the United States.” We don’t directly support programs for entrepreneurs outside of the United States. We do, however, support the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), which helps entrepreneurial supporters in more than 180 countries and also runs the annual Global Entrepreneurship Week and Global Entrepreneurship Congress. Check out GEN if you have international interests. “I want to create an equitable, inclusive environment in my community by…” “…supporting entrepreneurs and strengthening my community’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and economy.” If you would like to learn more about how to improve your community’s entrepreneurial ecosystem through effective ecosystem building, please read the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building Playbook, ESHIP Summit content, and our series of practice briefs Ecosystems in Action: Practices from the Field. If you would like to learn more about what four communities are doing to pilot a community-led, systems-based approach to ecosystem building that fosters inclusion, relationship building, and collaboration across networks, please read about the ESHIP Communities program. If you would like to learn how mayors and local leaders can lead ecosystem building efforts to drive more equitable and entrepreneur-focused economic development, please read about the Mayors Conference on Entrepreneurship and the Kauffman Mayors’ Council. “…advocating for policies that help entrepreneurs.” If you want to learn more about entrepreneur advocacy, please read about the Foundation’s Entrepreneurs’ Policy Network (EPN) and other ways we are working to reduce policy barriers for entrepreneurs. If you are seeking a grant to engage in public policy, you can begin the grant application process by following this link, and then, on the application page, selecting “Entrepreneurship” and then “Policy.” “I need knowledge, research, or data about entrepreneurs.” If you want the latest data on entrepreneurial activity, refer to our Kauffman Indicators of Entrepreneurship. Subscribe to stay up-to-date with all our Entrepreneurship research and initiatives. If you are a journalist working on a story, please contact Larry Jacob for specific data requests and to arrange an interview with an expert. “I want to create more capital to invest in underserved entrepreneurs.” Do you have an idea that helps investors in underserved entrepreneurs enhance their work, such as through learning and collaboration? Or are you seeking to test and validate a new investment model that invests in underserved entrepreneurial businesses? Learn more about our Capital Access Lab to see if your investment interests fit in with this initiative. For the Media For media inquiries, contact Larry Jacob.