Andrea Ellis is a director of strategic initiatives in Impact and Strategy for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, where she orchestrates and coordinates high-level operational, financial, planning, and strategic areas of the Impact and Strategy team, acting as an integration manager for internal and external program-related activity. Prior to joining the Foundation, Ellis was principal […]

Suzanne Stluka, Ph.D., is a director of evaluation in Research, Learning, and Evaluation for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, where she provides leadership for all evaluation-related initiatives and facilitation of grantmaking program evaluation to inform program assessment. Prior to joining the Foundation, Dr. Stluka was the deputy director for the Institute of Food Safety and […]

Joshua Akers, Ph.D., is a director in Research, Learning, and Evaluation for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, where he provides leadership for developing and improving operations for all research-related initiatives to facilitate research and knowledge generation. Dr. Akers will place special emphasis on actionable and practical research that can inform policy and programmatic strategies for […]

Appointed across the Impact and Research, Learning, and Evaluation teams, new directors will drive progress toward the Foundation’s 2035 vision.

Funds disbursed: starting Nov. 15, 2025 | Application opens: one-time What are Sunset grant opportunities? We have reorganized our structure, processes, and grantmaking to strongly support our 2035 vision, and we recognize that some grantees may no longer directly align with our strategic priorities. We offer one-time Sunset grant opportunities to help long-term grantees transition […]

The process Project and Research grant opportunities follow a five-step process, outlined below: For Research grant opportunities, a panel of the Foundation’s Research, Learning, and Evaluation (RLE) staff and Impact officers will review all LOI. The panel will also review full proposals and send them to external content experts for peer review. Review timeline To be […]

Funds disbursed: Q2 2025 | LOI cycles: Twice annually Learn more about our Project grants timeline and review process >Review the Indirect Cost Rate Policy >Download the application questions – for reference only [PDF] > What are Project grant opportunities? Project grant opportunities are designed to drive impact around equitable economic mobility. Funded organizations are […]

Funds disbursed: Q2 2025 | LOI cycles: Twice annually Learn more about our Research grants timeline and review process >Review the Indirect Cost Rate Policy >Download the application questions – for reference only [PDF] > What are Research grant opportunities? The Kauffman Foundation’s Research grant opportunities offer funding for forward-facing research projects that both catalyze […]

Funds disbursed: starting Dec. 13, 2024 | Application opens: twice annually Download application preview – for reference only [PDF] > What are Capacity Building grants? Capacity Building grants are designed to strengthen the organizational capacity of nonprofits by fostering sound leadership, strong boards, professional development for staff, technology, evaluation, strategic planning, communications, and sustainability. Rather […]

The blue carpet was rolled out to welcome more than 250 community members into the Foundation for the second-annual open house Thursday, 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 […]