The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (sometimes simply called Kauffman Foundation) is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit, private foundation based in Kansas City, Missouri. The foundation was founded in 1966 by Ewing Marion Kauffman, who had previously founded the drug company Marion Laboratories. The Kauffman Foundation focuses on projects that encourage entrepreneurship, support education, and contribute to Kansas City civic life.
Video Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Overview
The Kauffman Foundation's vision is to foster "a society of economically independent individuals who are engaged citizens, contributing to the improvement of their communities." Its grant making and research activities are focused on advancing entrepreneurship, improving the education of children and youth, and supporting civic development in Kansas City. The Kauffman Foundation has an asset base of around $2 billion and distributed over $17 million in grants in 2013.
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Leadership
In 2002, academic and entrepreneur Carl Schramm left a Maryland healthcare consulting firm to serve as president of the foundation until his resignation in 2012. Schramm's tenure was marked by conflicts over the foundation's mission and grant-making strategy, and he faced criticism for focusing on maximizing impact by awarding larger grants to fewer recipients and for de-emphasizing work in and around Kansas City. Conflict also arose over the extent of his executive authority, which prompted the Missouri Attorney General to recommend that the foundation strengthen its conflict of interest provisions and give the board of directors more decision-making authority.
Activities
The Kauffman Foundation awards individual grants and supports a number of ongoing projects, summarized below.
Entrepreneur support
The foundation promotes entrepreneurship by sponsoring:
- FastTrac, an entrepreneurship education program and network of affiliated non-profit and for-profit organizations that offer guidance for aspiring and existing entrepreneurs;
- Kauffman Entrepreneurs, a resources site for developing ideas and setting up new businesses; and
- Global Entrepreneurship Network, a series of events every November designed to encourage entrepreneurship among young people.
K-12 education
In 2011, the Kauffman Foundation opened the Ewing Marion Kauffman School, which is a college preparatory public charter school for 5th through 8th graders in the Kansas City Public Schools district. Other K-12 education projects supported by the Kauffman Foundation include:
- Kauffman Scholars, Inc., a multi-year college access and scholarship program founded in 2003 to help low-income urban students in Kansas City.
- SchoolSmartKC, funded by the Kauffman Foundation, the Hall Family Foundation, and the Walton Family Foundation, focuses on improving public education in Kansas City, particularly through public charter schools.
Research on economic growth & entrepreneurship
The foundation also supports new business creation in the U.S. through several research programs. The annual Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurship series measures and interprets indicators of entrepreneurial activity in the U.S. at the national, state and (selective) metropolitan level. The foundation also contributes to the cost of the Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs (ASE), which is a public-private partnership between the foundation, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) within the U.S. Department of Commerce.
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
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