Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Founded 1966
Founder Ewing Marion Kauffman
Focus Entrepreneurship and education
Location
Method Research and grant making
Key people
Wendy Guillies, President and CEO
Endowment US$2.0 billion
Employees
85[1]
Website kauffman.org

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (Kauffman Foundation) is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit, private foundation[2] based in Kansas City, Missouri.

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".[3] Its grant making and research activities are focused on two areas: advancing entrepreneurship and improving the education of children and youth. Established in the mid-1960s by the late entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Marion Kauffman, founder of Marion Laboratories, it is the largest American foundation to focus on entrepreneurship.

The Kauffman Foundation has an asset base of $2 billion[2][3] and distributed over $17 million in grants in 2013.[2]

Leadership

The organization was established in 1966 by the late entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Marion Kauffman, founder of Marion Laboratories, who was affectionately known to some as simply "Mr. K."[4]

Carl Schramm retired as president at the end of 2011, at which point Benno C. Schmidt, Jr. served as interim President and CEO until 2013.[5] Tom McDonnell, long-time CEO of the Kansas City-based software development firm DST Systems (1984-2012),[6] was the foundation's president and CEO from January 2013-July 2014.[7] McDonnell was succeeded by Wendy Guilles, who became acting president and CEO as of July 1, 2014.[8]

Activities

Research and Policy

The Kauffman Foundation's research contributes to a more in-depth understanding of what drives innovation and economic growth in an entrepreneurial world, and best practices for improving academic achievement in Greater Kansas City. With the goal of creating new knowledge about entrepreneurship, Kauffman conducts and supports research that informs our own education programs and that educates policymakers and the public about pro-entrepreneurship policies at all levels of government.

For research related to improving academic achievement, Kauffman focuses on Kansas City-area education issues and the development of a longitudinal database of student data from preschool through postsecondary.

Major Initiatives


Select Research Series

In May 2012, the Foundation published a report on the performance of venture capital, showing that VC returns haven't significantly outperformed the public market since the 1990s, and that "the average VC fund fails to return investor capital after fees".[20]

In 2009, with support from the Kauffman Foundation, professor Vivek Wadhwa conducted a study on the impact of foreign-born entrepreneurs and restrictive visa policies on the American economy, showing that in 25% of the U.S. science and technology companies founded from 1995 to 2005, the chief executive or lead technologist was foreign-born (the proportion is 52% in Silicon Valley), and that in 2005, these companies generated $52 billion in revenue and employed 450,000 workers.[21]

Entrepreneurship

The Kauffman Foundation believes that entrepreneurs are critical to the long-term health of the economy. The Foundation works to advance entrepreneurship education and training, to promote startup-friendly policies, and to understand what new firms need.

Kauffman's entrepreneurship work is national in scale and global in reach. The Foundation's entrepreneurship strategy supports entrepreneurs in the U.S. by expanding signature education programs, notably Founders School, FastTrac, and 1 Million Cups, and investing in proven education models. The Kauffman Foundation also seeks to foster startup communities and develop challenges to spur entrepreneurial activity in select metropolitan areas.

Major Initiatives

The Foundation originated the Kauffman Fellows Program for venture capitalists, promoting the growth of global innovation investment.

Education

Ewing Kauffman believed that youth prepared to succeed in college will go on to lead productive, economically independent lives. The Kauffman Foundation's education strategy focuses heavily on access to high quality public school options and postsecondary opportunities intended to improve academic and life outcomes for lower income urban students in Kansas City.

Building on experiences from the Kauffman Scholars program, the Foundation provides postsecondary completion incentives, including scholarships, for more students in the Kansas City area. Kauffman also supports programs that attract and retain great teachers and leaders in the Kansas City community.

Major Initiatives

Partnerships

References

  1. "Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Profile". LexisNexis Academic (database). 2014. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  2. 1 2 3 "Kauffman Foundation Grantmaker Record". Foundation Center Directory Online. 2013. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  3. 1 2 "Foundation Overview".
  4. Mariotti, Steve (1 July 2013). "Me and 'Mr. K'-- How Meeting Ewing Marion Kauffman Changed My Life and the Future of Entrepreneurship Education". Huffington Post.
  5. http://www.kauffman.org/newsroom/carl-schramm-decides-to-step-down-as-kauffman-foundation-ceo.aspx
  6. Bloomberg BusinessWeek. "Thomas A. McDonnell: Executive Profile]]". Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  7. Bauters, Fred (14 May 2014). "Tom McDonnell to step down in June, leave Kauffman Foundation after 2014". Silicon Prairie News.
  8. Bannister, Megan (14 May 2014). "Wendy Guillies says Kauffman’s focus will be on KC, growing other metros". Silicon Prairie News.
  9. "Business Dynamics Statistics". Kauffman Foundation. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  10. "Data Maven". Kauffman Foundation. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  11. "Entrepreneurship Policy Digest". Kauffman Foundation. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  12. "Growthology". Kauffman Foundation. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  13. "Kauffman Emerging Scholars". Kauffman Foundation. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  14. "Kauffman Firm Survey". Kauffman Foundation. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  15. "Kauffman Index". Kauffman Foundation. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  16. "Policy Dialogue on Entrepreneurship". Kauffman Foundation. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  17. "Firm Formation and Growth". Kauffman Foundation. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  18. "Immigration and the American Economy". Kauffman Foundation. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  19. "Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: Research, Policy and Practice". Kauffman Foundation. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  20. ""WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY… AND HE IS US" - Lessons from Twenty Years of the Kauffman Foundation’s Investments in Venture Capital Funds and The Triumph of Hope over Experience" (PDF). May 2012.
  21. Wadhwa, Vivek (2009). "Foreign-Born Entrepreneurs: An Underestimated American Resource".
  22. "1 Million Cups". Kauffman Foundation. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  23. "Entrepreneurship.org". Kauffman Foundation. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  24. "Global Entrepreneurship Week". Kauffman Foundation. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  25. "Kauffman FastTrac". Kauffman Foundation. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  26. "Kauffman Founders School". Kauffman Foundation. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  27. "Citizens of the World Charter Schools". Kauffman Foundation. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  28. "Ewing Marion Kauffman School". Kauffman Foundation. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  29. "Individual Schools". Kauffman Foundation. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  30. "Kansas City Scholarships". Kauffman Foundation. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  31. "Kauffman Scholars". Kauffman Foundation. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  32. TechStars and Kauffman Foundation Join Together to Provide Entrepreneurs Better Access to Seed Accelerators. (2011, February 16). Targeted News Service. Retrieved March 24, 2011, from General Interest Module. (Document ID: 2268716331).

In the media

External links

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