About the Foundation

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation was established in the mid-1960s by the late entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Marion Kauffman. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, the Kauffman Foundation is the 30th largest foundation in the United States with an asset base of approximately $2 billion.

The vision of the Kauffman Foundation is to foster "a society of economically independent individuals who are engaged citizens, contributing to the improvement of their communities." In service of this vision, and in keeping with our founder’s wishes, the Foundation focuses its grant making and operations on two areas: advancing entrepreneurship and improving the education of children and youth.

In entrepreneurship, the Foundation works nationwide to catalyze an entrepreneurial society in which job creation, innovation, and the economy flourish. We work with leading educators, researchers, and other partners to further understanding of the powerful economic impact of entrepreneurship, to train the nation’s next generation of entrepreneurial leaders, to develop and disseminate proven programs that enhance entrepreneurial skills and abilities, and to improve the environment in which entrepreneurs start and grow businesses. The Kauffman Foundation is the only large American foundation to focus on entrepreneurship and has more than twelve years of in-depth experience in the field. While our work is concentrated in the United States, leaders around the world look to the Foundation for entrepreneurship expertise and guidance.

In education, we have ambitious goals for improving the academic achievement of disadvantaged children, particularly in Kansas City’s urban core. We believe, as did Ewing Kauffman, that our education investments will do more than anything else to help students earn self-sufficiency, find jobs, raise their families, and become productive citizens. Toward that end, the Foundation works with partners to support programs that directly impact a child’s academic achievement, with a concentrated focus on math, science, and technology skills. Through a comprehensive ten-year initiative to significantly improve math and science education in Greater Kansas City, the Foundation hopes to help create a national model for how to prepare the next generation of entrepreneurs and workers needed in America’s global knowledge economy.

The Kauffman Foundation also serves as a convener, bringing together local, regional, and national leaders to share innovative thinking and engage in dialog related to entrepreneurship and education. Each year, more than 60,000 people visit the Foundation’s Conference Center, which provides 40,000 square feet of meeting space for local and national organizations.