Kansas City Business Journal: Kauffman issues grant to help with inclusive economic development in KCMO

By Miranda Davis  – Staff Writer, Kansas City Business Journal

Mar 10, 2020

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is giving a $380,000 grant to a national think tank, but the funding will stay in Kansas City.

Los Angeles-based Accelerator for America, an organization offering policy solutions on economic development, will use the grant in conjunction with the city to address economic disparity, a release from the group said. 

The grant will go to two main projects. First, it will fund a FUSE Corps fellow in Kansas City who will create a strategic plan to increase economic mobility and inclusive development for Kansas Citians.  

“This partnership between Kansas City’s Kauffman Foundation and Accelerator for America will serve as an important blueprint for how local governments can develop innovative economic strategies,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said in the release. “In line with our administration’s own priorities, the FUSE Fellow funded by this grant will help craft economic incentive policies that will help ensure that all Kansas City neighborhoods benefit from new development and shared prosperity.” 

The second priority of the grant will be to work with the foundation, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and other career-oriented organizations to create a path for students to well-paying jobs.  

“In a short time, the Accelerator has built a unique network of mayors, elected officials, nonprofit leaders and investors to drive local action and innovation,” Larry Jacob, vice president of public affairs at the Kauffman Foundation, said in the release. “We look forward to learning and sharing insights with this group of forward-thinking leaders, working together for more inclusive economic development and helping individuals to take risks and own their success.” 

Jacob is an active member of the Accelerator’s advisory council, and the foundation is a current supporter of the Accelerator.  

This is not the first project the two organizations have worked on together. Last year, the Kauffman Foundation worked with the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and the Urban Neighborhood Initiative to create a national prospectus on inclusive development in Kansas City’s Opportunity Zones that was presented at Accelerator for America’s Opportunity Zone Investment Summit.   

Read the full article here.