Alayna Smith is an impact officer for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, where she plays an active changemaking role within the Kansas City community and is primarily responsible for leading the after-school initiative. As an educator supporting underserved communities for more than 15 years, Smith is dedicated to shattering the status quo, dismantling broken systems, […]

With schools closed during the pandemic, an alliance of nonprofit leaders showed quiet heroics by taking the risk to set up learning centers without funding in place, or an end in sight.

ECOSYSTEMS IN ACTION: PRACTICES FROM THE FIELD Key Practice When a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic hits local communities, inequalities are magnified. Organizations have the power to pool their resources to meet these challenges. Linking and leveraging assets across organizations in an entrepreneurial ecosystem is a practice that can be used to help communities and […]

The purpose of this report is to provide practitioners and policymakers with insights regarding the use of business incentives and guidance for offering incentives to entrepreneurial firms.

Appointees bring deep financial acumen, community engagement, and a history of working with Mr. Kauffman to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

Karen Daniel is a retired executive director, chief financial officer (CFO), and president of the Global Finance & Technology Solutions division for Black & Veatch (B&V), a global leader in providing engineering, consulting, and construction services for power, oil and gas, water, and telecommunication sectors. As CFO, Daniel was responsible for leading the company’s global […]

Anita Newton is an advocate for education, seasoned marketer, and serial entrepreneur. Newton currently serves as chief innovation officer at CommunityAmerica, a $4 billion credit union headquartered in Kansas City. Newton’s mission is to create services that deliver financial well-being. Newton and her team built a suite of college planning tools that are now used […]

The racial identity of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color students (BIPOC) has been disregarded in school resources and conversations about mental health for far too long. It is time for education leaders to rethink their approach to student mental health so BIPOC student voices can be heard safely and authentically as a valued part of their school communities.

Practices from the Field

ECOSYSTEMS IN ACTION: PRACTICES FROM THE FIELD Key Practice This brief outlines an example of the practice of building a cross-sector regional coalition to strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystem collaboration. Coalition building is defined as bringing together “a group of individuals and/or organizations with a common interest who agree to work together toward a common goal,” and […]