Kauffman Scholars, Inc.
Kauffman Scholars, Inc. was a non-profit post-secondary scholarship program operated by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation from 2003 to 2023, serving low-income students in the Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri public school districts with full scholarships, tutoring, mentoring, and wraparound support through college completion.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2003
- HeadquartersKansas City, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Kauffman Scholars, Inc. does
Kauffman Scholars, Inc. (KSI) was a non-profit post-secondary scholarship program launched in 2003 by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to increase equitable college access for low-income students in the Kansas City region. The program recruited eligible students beginning in seventh grade from households meeting economic requirements within the Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri public school districts, and provided a long-horizon package of full college or post-secondary scholarships, academic tutoring, mentoring from dedicated coaches, and wraparound services addressing both academic and non-academic needs through college completion.
KSI's service model relied on direct partnerships with the two public school districts for student identification and recruitment, with ongoing support delivered through coaches, program partners, and foundation staff. The program supported eight cohorts over its 20-year lifespan and was rooted in the Project Choice scholarship program originally started by Ewing Marion Kauffman in 1988, which had earlier served more than 1,400 low-income students. There was no proprietary technology platform underpinning the offering; value delivery was relationship- and service-driven rather than technology-mediated. The program was funded entirely by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation as a charitable initiative, with no commercial revenue model.
The final KSI cohort graduated in June 2023, and a closing program celebration was held in September 2023 coinciding with the anniversary of Ewing Kauffman's birthday, formally concluding program operations. The Foundation has indicated that lessons learned from KSI are being redeployed into broader Kansas City regional programs supporting educational access and workforce development, alongside its other operating programs such as 1 Million Cups, Kauffman FastTrac, and Real World Learning.
Kauffman Scholars, Inc. firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Kauffman Scholars, Inc.
- Legal name
- Kauffman Scholars, Inc.
- Website
- https://kauffmanscholars.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2003
- Operating status
- Closed
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Kauffman Scholars, Inc. was a non-profit post-secondary scholarship program operated by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation from 2003 to 2023, serving low-income students in the Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri public school districts with full scholarships, tutoring, mentoring, and wraparound support through college completion.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Kauffman Scholars, Inc. industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Education & Youth Development - Scholarship Programs
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (6117), Educational Services (611)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- College & Career Counseling (Admissions, Scholarships, Pathways) (EDAJALAE), Academic Tutoring Services (Subject-Specific & General) (EDAJALAA), K–12 Support & School Improvement Nonprofits (BPAGADAB), Under-18 / High School-to-University Foundation Pathways (EDAIAJAI)
Keywords
Where Kauffman Scholars, Inc. is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Kansas City
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Kauffman Scholars, Inc. business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Scholarship Funding Program: KSI is a nonprofit scholarship program operated by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The program provides full college/post-secondary scholarships and wraparound support services to qualifying low-income students in the Kansas City region. This is a charitable giving model, not a revenue-generating commercial enterprise.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Kauffman Scholars, Inc. product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Kauffman Scholars, Inc. provided full college/post-secondary scholarships along with academic tutoring, mentoring, and wraparound support services to low-income students from Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri public school districts. Students were selected beginning in seventh grade based on household economic requirements and received long-term support through college completion across eight scholar cohorts before the program concluded in 2023.
Product overview
Kauffman Scholars, Inc. (KSI) is a single, unified post-secondary scholarship program that operated from 2003 to 2023. The program provided an integrated offering combining college scholarships, academic tutoring, and mentoring services to low-income students from the Kansas City area, along with wraparound services for scholars and their families. The program served eight scholar cohorts and concluded with the final cohort graduating in June 2023.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Kauffman Scholars, Inc. (KSI) Scholarship Program A post-secondary scholarship program offering college scholarships, academic tutoring, and mentoring to students starting in seventh grade, serving low-income students from Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri public school districts. The program supported eight scholar cohorts and concluded with the final cohort graduating in June 2023.
- College Scholarships Full scholarships for college or post-secondary education provided to low-income students meeting household economic requirements within Kansas City public school districts.
- Academic Tutoring Academic support services provided to scholars throughout their participation in the program to help them prepare for and succeed in college.
- Mentoring Program Mentoring services delivered to students and their families throughout their years in the program, with support from dedicated coaches and program partners.
- Wraparound Services Comprehensive support services adapted to meet the changing needs of scholars, addressing academic and non-academic areas throughout the program's eight cohorts.
Companies that use Kauffman Scholars, Inc.
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Kauffman Scholars, Inc. technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Kauffman Scholars, Inc. partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Project ChoicecoreProject Choice was the original scholarship program started by Ewing Marion Kauffman in 1988. KSI has its roots in Project Choice and the lessons learned by KSI informed the development and launch of subsequent programs supporting educational access and workforce development in the Kansas City region.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Kauffman Scholars, Inc. competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- College Possible: Nonprofit delivering near-peer coaching from high school through college completion for low-income students; comparable longitudinal, cohort-style college access program.
- Scholarship America: Large nonprofit scholarship administrator managing donor-funded scholarship programs with student support services — comparable scholarship foundation structure.
- Jack Kent Cooke Foundation: Private foundation providing multi-year scholarships and college success services to high-achieving students with financial need — analogous foundation-led, multi-year support model.
- APIASF (Asian Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund): Largest nonprofit scholarship organization for Asian American and Pacific Islander students; comparable foundation-administered scholarship plus support services model.
- Bottom Line: College access and success nonprofit providing one-on-one advising from high school through college graduation for first-generation and low-income students.
- QuestBridge: Connects high-achieving low-income students with full four-year scholarships and college-success support at partner institutions — closely aligned scholarship-plus-wraparound model.
- Posse Foundation: National nonprofit that identifies, recruits, and supports cohorts of low-income students through college with multi-year coaching and scholarships — directly comparable multi-year, cohort-based college access model.
- uAspire: Nonprofit focused on college affordability and financial aid advising for low-income students; comparable college access and financial-aid navigation mission.
Broad incumbents
- UNCF (United Negro College Fund): Large established scholarship and college-access nonprofit serving a broader national audience and a portfolio of member institutions — a broader incumbent in the same space.
- KIPP Foundation: National K-12 nonprofit college-prep charter network focused on college access for low-income students — adjacent college-readiness support at much larger scale.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Kauffman Scholars, Inc. social profiles
Digital presenceKauffman Scholars, Inc. financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Kauffman Scholars, Inc. leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Kauffman Scholars, Inc. funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Kauffman Scholars, Inc. M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Kauffman Scholars, Inc.
What does Kauffman Scholars, Inc. do?
Kauffman Scholars, Inc. provided full college/post-secondary scholarships along with academic tutoring, mentoring, and wraparound support services to low-income students from Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri public school districts. Students were selected beginning in seventh grade based on household economic requirements and received long-term support through college completion across eight scholar cohorts before the program concluded in 2023.
Is Kauffman Scholars, Inc. a public or private company?
Kauffman Scholars, Inc. is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently closed.
When was Kauffman Scholars, Inc. founded?
Kauffman Scholars, Inc. was founded in 2003. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Kauffman Scholars, Inc. based?
Kauffman Scholars, Inc. is headquartered in Kansas City, United States, in the North America region.
How does Kauffman Scholars, Inc. make money?
One revenue line is on record: scholarship Funding Program.
Who are Kauffman Scholars, Inc.'s main competitors?
Direct peers on record are College Possible, Scholarship America, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, APIASF (Asian Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund), Bottom Line, QuestBridge, Posse Foundation and uAspire. Broad incumbents are UNCF (United Negro College Fund) and KIPP Foundation.
Does Kauffman Scholars, Inc. have an API?
No public API is recorded for Kauffman Scholars, Inc..
What industry is Kauffman Scholars, Inc. in?
Kauffman Scholars, Inc.'s product category is Education & Youth Development - Scholarship Programs. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDADAHAC, Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts, with a secondary code of EDAJALAE, College & Career Counseling (Admissions, Scholarships, Pathways). Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 8200.