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Capacity Building grantees

Learn more about the organizations receiving Capacity Building grants.


What are Capacity Building grants?

Capacity Building grants are designed to support 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity organizations with a need to build their capacity in order to strengthen or scale impact in our focus areas.


2024 Grantees

Learn more about the first round of organizations receiving Capacity Building grants.

At a glance

  • $11.2 million awarded across 53 organizations to build capacity across staffing, program enhancement, operating systems, information technology planning and digital security, or communications and marketing.
  • The grants offered reflect a blend of focus areas across workforce and career development, college access and completion, and entrepreneurship, with 68% of grantees primarily focusing on workforce and career development. Learn more about our strategic priorities and focus areas >

Organizations & Descriptions


Aligned logo

Develop a digitized funding formula site in Missouri and Kansas that encourages technology and data streamlining across state departments to support student pursuits of college and career development.


AltCap logo

Track and report on metrics to demonstrate the organization’s increased ability to quickly and efficiently process loans for entrepreneurs.


Amethyst Place, Inc.

Identify diverse revenue streams, improve technology systems, and recruit additional staff to assist residents with college and career attainment efforts.


Art as Mentorship logo

Increase financial stability via fee-for-service Rebel Song Academy and Band-Aid programs. Refine a strategic plan outlining best practices and procedures.


BikeWalkKC logo

Clarify partnerships, staffing, and funding levels needed to improve transportation access for under-resourced communities and develop a policy platform and implementation plan to guide the organization’s work.


Bishop Sullivan Center logo

Complete a new strategic plan, launch a new CRM system, and further develop its workforce capacity to increase impact.


Bluford Healthcare Leadership Institute logo

Support staff recruitment and leadership development in addition to updating the marketing plan, and improve information technology and operating systems.  


Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City logo

Increase the number of teens engaging in hands-on learning opportunities related to their career interests, expansion of the organization’s Life and Workforce Readiness programs, and support MakerSpaces.


Bridge Leadership Academy logo

Recruit and train new coaches and existing staff to better prepare for program expansion and scale to connect high school students to college and career opportunities.


Build from Within Alliance logo

Update operating materials for members, including the software that hosts the materials, which will allow their members to share best practices, provide technical assistance to members directly serving entrepreneurs, and onboard new members easier.


Celebrate EDU logo

Support to build and launch a scalable and accessible learning platform that connects disabled entrepreneurs to training and other entrepreneurial resources.


Community Assistance Council logo

Build capacity for workforce operating systems by increasing staff, expanding community education programs, and enhancing community outreach, including assisting residents in obtaining critical documents for employment and launching the “AAA” youth engagement program.


Connections to Success logo

Support workforce pathways by funding strategic planning, marketing engagement, and a website redesign and translation.


Cause IQ logo

Increase operational efficiency and expand micro-credential offerings and evaluator curriculum to align with industry standards and support workforce and career development.


DeLaSalle Education Center logo

Recruit and retain teachers in the workforce by filling key vacancies supported by the housing assistance program, professional development, and mentorship opportunities.


Endeavor logo

Hire local support staff to coordinate and collaborate with other Kansas City entrepreneurial support organizations to increase access to entrepreneurship for later stage companies.


LINC logo

Develop a mechanism to collaborate with state agencies and build community coalitions to engage with policymakers to promote workforce and career development and entrepreneurship initiatives.


Growing Futures. Early Education Center logo

Develop and offer a more robust career development program for families utilizing Head Start services, including career planning, communication studies, citizenship preparation, financial literacy, and key life skills. 


Guadalupe Centers logo

Strengthen workforce and vocational training and services to provide industry-recognized certifications and create stronger partnerships with employers through the newly created leadership position(s).


High Aspirations logo

Develop an app to improve communications between mentors and participants, track career and educational progress of youth, and engage alumni.


Ennovation Center logo

Improve operational systems, including fundraising efforts, to support entrepreneurship programming and establish a second location to accommodate larger startups.


Journey to New Life logo

Funding for development activities and improvement of operational systems to scale impact of helping people in the justice system reenter the workforce.


Kansas City Kansas School Foundation for Excellence logo

Build staffing and technology solutions to support future fundraising and marketing for programs related to college access and completion.


Kansas City Museum logo

Implement a model workforce and career development initiative to interest students in careers in the humanities and museum sciences.


Kansas City Public Library logo

Develop a comprehensive services and facilities plan for all KCPL facilities, including a plan for community input regarding workforce development needs and feedback on digital access services from the library.


KC Can Compost logo

Support for staffing, workforce partnership development, and program expansion of the Green Core Training Program, a certified pre-apprenticeship program that serves vulnerable populations.


Kids Win Missouri logo

Support for community-driven strategic planning to develop a Community Child Care Exchange that addresses the lack of available infant and toddler spots and identifies ways to develop the childcare worker pipeline in Kansas City.


KKFI logo

Create a producer training program to improve onboarding, operational processes, and professional development for staff, volunteers, and board members.


MoKan 20/20 Vision, Inc. logo

Rebrand, upgrade the CRM system, and expand volunteer capacity to better engage students in opportunities that develop critical workforce agilities and prepare them for college and career decisions.


Fund for the City of New York, National Center for Civic Innovation logo

Upgrade their Higher Education and Immigration Portal and hosted Kansas and Missouri state pages to enhance the user experience of practitioners, advocates, colleges and universities and increase college access and completion rates for immigrant-origin students.


National Institute for Construction Excellence logo

Develop better financial structures to support long-term growth, launch a CRM system, increase stakeholder communications, and create a brand identity focused on workforce and career development in the construction trades.


NAWBO logo

Create a customized, AI-powered search engine to enable users to navigate resources to further their entrepreneurial journey.  


Northeast Community Center logo

Establish new partnerships, expand evaluation of Harmony Project, and deepen engagement with students and parents to connect them with college and workforce opportunities.


Pathway Financial Education logo

Expand financial training programs for entrepreneurs through increasing staff, improving technology, and incorporating a bilingual platform for non-English speaking entrepreneurial students.


Pawsperity logo

Increase employer connections for program graduates, marketing funding, and strategic planning for revenue diversification.


Police Athletic League logo

Formalize the Youth Employer Connection Program to bolster paid workforce opportunities for Wyandotte County youth by establishing partnerships with local corporations, engaging youth through site visits, mentorship, and hands-on training.


PrincipalsConnect logo

Recruit volunteers and expand volunteer training to connect retired and semi-retired professionals to urban Kansas City school principals for collaborate on teacher retention and morale challenges.


KC Prospect logo

Develop a comprehensive marketing plan, upgraded financial management systems, and professional development for staff to better serve entrepreneurs.


Red Tail Academy logo

Expand programming inspiring youth to pursue careers in aviation through training and mentorship and creation of a fundraising plan and consistent revenue stream.


Sisters in Christ logo

Refresh strategic plan in response to recent growth to include workforce preparation and training, diversify fundraising strategies, and formalize internal accounting system.


Strategic Workforce Development logo

Grow program capacity and expand services, training, and support for workforce and career development, including the creation of a new curriculum for youth and data evaluation systems.


Support KC logo

Strengthen organizational effectiveness by increasing staff, fortifying its Board Diversity Initiative, and improving operational and technology processes.


Teach for America logo

Increase organizational reach and participant diversity by reducing the financial burdens related to teaching certification in the Kansas City metro area.


Teachers Like Me logo

Expand programming to recruit high school and junior college students to be teachers by providing tutoring, mentorship, and stipends as well as increasing the number of teachers receiving ongoing professional development, and scale fundraising efforts.


UMKC Innovation Center logo

Enhance program technology and language access of the current entrepreneurial curriculum to better serve and support Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs. 


DEED Foundation logo

Undergo strategic planning to identify expansion opportunities and ways to increase revenue streams as well as expansion of programming related to workforce development and college access.


American Jazz Museum logo

Expose youth to careers in media technology by enhancing information technology and operational systems, and ISTEAMKC programming.


The Sewing Labs logo

Purchase sewing equipment for entrepreneurial trainings and upgrade internal and external-facing systems to better track entrepreneurial outcomes.


The Toolbox logo

Internal infrastructure related to finance, evaluation, resource development, and operating systems to expand services for Spanish speaking entrepreneurs in Wyandotte County and develop a fundraising strategy for long-term sustainability.


Transition Academy logo

Enhance operational systems, focus groups and research, and  redesign the Transition Academy website to create a central hub for disability transition resources related to workforce and career development.


Uncover KC logo

Develop Real World Learning projects, internships, and career awareness events to increase pathways to workforce and career development.


KU Medical Center

Expand the Birth Equity Scholars Program for OBGYN residents and increased collaboration with Black birthing families, birth workers, and healthcare providers.


Youth Volunteer Corps logo

Undergo strategic planning, develop an alumni engagement plan, and create curriculum units related to career development for youth.