What Kauffman Foundation does

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, commonly known as the Kauffman Foundation, is an independent private 501(c)(3) foundation established in 1966 in Kansas City, Missouri by pharmaceutical entrepreneur Ewing Marion Kauffman. It focuses on equitable economic mobility through three strategic priorities — college access and completion, workforce and career development, and entrepreneurship — and operates a portfolio of grantmaking, direct programs, research, and convening. Its grantmaking arm distributed $11.2M+ to 53 organizations in its first capacity building tranche in November 2024, and supports an ecosystem of 501(c)(3) partners in the Kansas City region and beyond.

The Foundation's core products are organized as three operating programs — 1 Million Cups (a free, community-organized entrepreneur presentation and mentorship program), Kauffman FastTrac (entrepreneurship training and tools for aspiring, early-stage, and established business owners), and Real World Learning (college access, workforce, and career pathway programming) — together with a research platform, the Kauffman Indicators of Entrepreneurship, which provides longitudinal data and visualizations on US entrepreneurial activity. It is supported by wholly-owned operating affiliates Kauffman FastTrac, Inc. and Kauffman Scholars, Inc., and sustains a research library including working papers, issue briefs, and the Kauffman Currents newsletter. The Foundation has no public technology platform, no API, and no disclosed AI/ML product; its technology footprint is administrative and content-publishing rather than productized.

The Foundation's business model is philanthropic rather than commercial: it is funded by the returns on its endowment and deploys capital through grants, sponsorships, awards (including the Kauffman Uncommon Leader Awards and the new Visionary Award launched April 2026), and direct program delivery. It does not charge for its programs or services. It earned an S&P Global Ratings 'AAA' issuer credit rating reaffirmed in June 2026, reflecting financial strength and governance. The Foundation operates from a 37-acre owned campus at Kauffman Legacy Park in Kansas City, including a Conference Center hosting 75,000+ visitors per year and offered free to eligible nonprofits. Under President & CEO Dr. DeAngela Burns-Wallace, the Foundation is mid-execution on a 2035 vision launched via a community-informed strategic refresh beginning October 2023.

Name

Kauffman Foundation

Legal name

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Website

https://kauffman.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1966

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a Kansas City-based private 501(c)(3) foundation, founded 1966, that funds equitable economic mobility through grants, sponsorships, operating programs (1 Million Cups, Kauffman FastTrac, Real World Learning), and entrepreneurship research.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropy and Grantmaking Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA), Entrepreneurship & Small Business Workforce Programs (EDAAAOAM), International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH)

Keywords

• Philanthropy grantmaking
• Entrepreneurship education
• Workforce development programs
• College access initiatives
• Nonprofit foundation research

Headquarters

HQ city

Kansas City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Philanthropy and Grantmaking: The Foundation operates as a private foundation funded by endowment returns and charitable giving. It distributes grants, sponsorships, and awards aligned with its strategic priorities of college access and completion, workforce development, and entrepreneurship.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) foundation that funds, develops, and operates programs in education and entrepreneurship. It distributes grants, sponsorships, and awards to nonprofit organizations aligned with its strategic priorities of college access and completion, workforce development, and entrepreneurship. It also runs operating programs (1 Million Cups, Kauffman FastTrac, Real World Learning) and publishes entrepreneurship research through the Kauffman Indicators of Entrepreneurship data platform.

Product overview

The Kauffman Foundation operates a platform of community and research programs rather than a unified software product. Its core operating programs include 1 Million Cups (entrepreneur presentation and feedback), Kauffman FastTrac (entrepreneurship training), and Real World Learning (education and workforce development). Additionally, the foundation provides the Kauffman Indicators of Entrepreneurship, an online research platform offering data visualizations and reports on U.S. entrepreneurial trends. These programs collectively support the foundation's mission of advancing equitable economic mobility through education and entrepreneurship.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 1 Million Cups: A free program that educates entrepreneurs about the process of launching a startup.
• Kauffman FastTrac
• Real World Learning

Products and services

• 1 Million Cups A free program that connects entrepreneurs with a community of mentors and subject matter experts through weekly presentations and feedback sessions. Operated independently by local organizers across communities nationwide, it is designed for aspiring, early-stage, and established business owners seeking peer networks, startup training, and access to resources to scale their ventures.
• Kauffman FastTrac An entrepreneurship training program providing startup training, tools, and resources to help aspiring, early-stage, and established business owners build sustainable businesses. Delivered through the Kauffman FastTrac, Inc. subsidiary.
• Real World Learning An educational initiative focused on college access and completion, workforce and career development, providing students with experiential learning opportunities and pathways to economic prosperity. Delivered in partnership with Kauffman Scholars, Inc. and aligned with the foundation's equitable economic mobility strategy.
• Kauffman Indicators of Entrepreneurship An online research data platform providing in-depth measures, reports, and interactive data visualizations presenting entrepreneurial trends in the United States, including early-stage entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial jobs, and new employer business indicators at state, county, and MSA levels. Used by researchers, policymakers, and ecosystem partners.

Quantifiable outcome

• 6.6 million Americans started businesses in 2025, with significant growth among immigrants, Latino, and Black entrepreneurs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• United WEminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 April 2026Kauffman Foundation supports United WE's National Occupational Licensing Task Force as part of a multi-year research initiative to advance evidence-based solutions for modernizing occupational licensing regulations in response to AI reshaping the labor market.
• Endeavor HeartlandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 March 2026Endeavor Heartland, an economic development nonprofit, powers 412 Angels investment program and assumed responsibility in January 2024. The Kauffman Foundation and Missouri Technology Corporation provide grants to support Angel Gateway programming and internal infrastructure development.
• Advantage BooksminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 March 2026Publisher of 'Made for This: Lessons in Leadership, Legacy, and Living Unapologetically' by Dr. DeAngela Burns-Wallace, President and CEO of Kauffman Foundation.
• Kallmann McKinnell & Woods ArchitectsminorOthers · 10 March 2026Boston-based architecture firm that designed the Kauffman Foundation building at Kauffman Legacy Park, known for Boston City Hall and Independence Visitor Center.
• JE Dunn ConstructionminorOthers · 10 March 2026Kansas City-based construction company that led the building of the Kauffman Foundation headquarters, with long history of building celebrated buildings in Kansas City.
• Muriel McBrien Kauffman Family FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, manages and maintains the Ewing and Muriel Kauffman Memorial Garden. Both foundations share the Kauffman legacy and mission.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Lumina Foundation: An independent private foundation similarly focused on postsecondary access, completion, and workforce outcomes through grantmaking and research. Highly comparable in mission, structure (private foundation with research + grantmaking), and target beneficiaries.
• Strada Education Foundation: A private foundation focused on connecting education to meaningful employment through grants, research, and programs. Strongly comparable given overlapping priorities in workforce development, college completion, and evidence-based research.
• Walton Family Foundation: A large private foundation that combines education grantmaking with place-based initiatives. Comparable as a similarly sized private foundation executing both operating programs and grantmaking aligned to education and economic opportunity.

Broad incumbents

• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: The largest U.S. private foundation, with substantial overlapping priorities in postsecondary education and economic mobility. Comparable as a private foundation operating at vastly larger scale across education, workforce, and adjacent issues.
• Ford Foundation: A major U.S. private foundation with grants spanning economic opportunity and education. Comparable structurally as an endowed private foundation pursuing equitable economic mobility through grantmaking and research.
• W.K. Kellogg Foundation: A long-established private foundation focused on children, families, and equitable economic opportunity through place-based grantmaking. Comparable in scale, structure, and emphasis on community-informed grantmaking in education and economic mobility.
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: A large health-focused foundation that also invests in education and workforce pathways. Comparable as a research-driven private foundation combining grantmaking with national policy advocacy.

Others

• Kauffman Scholars (Subsidiary Reference): Wholly-owned subsidiary of the Kauffman Foundation operating a college access and scholarship program for Kansas City students. Included for completeness as a directly controlled program entity, not an external peer.
• Endeavor Heartland: A nonprofit running the 412 Angels investment program with co-funding from the Kauffman Foundation and Missouri Technology Corporation. Comparable as an entrepreneurship-support nonprofit partnership recipient in Kauffman's regional ecosystem.
• SCORE: A national nonprofit providing free mentorship and education to small business owners. Comparable in mission — scaling entrepreneurship support and education — though funded and structured very differently from a private foundation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kauffmanfdn
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/KauffmanFoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/kauffmanfdn
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kauffman-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/kauffmanfdn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A1 record

Investments115 records

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Frequently asked questions about Kauffman Foundation