Release: Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and Accelerator for America Partner to Promote Future of Work

The Kauffman Foundation Awards the Accelerator $380,000 to support ongoing economic development initiatives and create a vertical dedicated to the Future of Work

For immediate release: Monday, March 9, 2020

Los Angeles, CA — Accelerator for America today announced it has been awarded a $380,000 grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The grant will support the Accelerator’s creation of a specific vertical dedicated to the Future of Work in addition to supporting the Accelerator’s ongoing economic development work. The mission of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is to help individuals attain economic independence by advancing educational achievement and entrepreneurial success. Larry Jacob, Vice President of Public Affairs at the Kauffman Foundation, is an active member of the Accelerator’s Advisory Council, and the Foundation is a current supporter of the Accelerator.

Specifically, the grant will allow the Accelerator to: (1) fund a new FUSE Corps fellow in Kansas City to help Mayor Quinton Lucas increase economic mobility for residents, support more inclusive economic development across the city, and strengthen pathways for entrepreneurship; (2) support and scale the work of the Kauffman Foundation, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, and others across the country to advance the Future of Work by providing direct paths for students to dignified, well-paid careers across many industries ranging from skilled trades to high tech, and; (3) expand the Accelerator’s community wealth-building work through community trusts, effective rent-to-own models and other initiatives nationwide.

“The Kauffman Foundation is one of our nation’s leading philanthropies and change-makers, so it’s an honor to expand our relationship with them,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Accelerator for America Co-Founder and Advisory Council Chair. “This current political environment further highlights the need for local leadership and a drive to create national change from the ground up, and that’s what our partnership is all about.”

“This partnership between Kansas City’s Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and Accelerator for America will serve as an important blueprint for how local governments can develop innovative economic strategies,” said Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas. “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.”

“This expansion of our collaboration with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a powerful endorsement of the Accelerator’s work to drive national change through local solutions,” said Accelerator for America CEO Rick Jacobs. “We are grateful for the Kauffman Foundation’s generous support. Like us, Kauffman believes in action, and that’s what we are going to deliver, to change lives and lift underserved communities in Kansas City and across America.”

“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,” said Larry Jacob, VP of Public Affairs at the Kauffman Foundation. “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.”  

Accelerator for America finds and develops solutions to economic insecurity and shares them with cities to create national change from the ground up. It was co-founded by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Rick Jacobs in 2017 around the idea that while Washington is broken, change is still needed and must be made from the local level. It has since developed community wealth-building tools that are being used in more than 58 cities nationwide and has helped local communities generate more than $22 billion in funding for local transportation infrastructure initiatives. www.acceleratorforamerica.org    

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a private, nonpartisan foundation that works with communities in education and entrepreneurship to increase opportunities that allow all people to learn, to take risks, and to own their success. The Kauffman Foundation is based in Kansas City, Missouri, and uses its $2.6 billion in assets to collaboratively help people be self-sufficient, productive citizens. For more information, visit www.kauffman.org.

Contact:

Accelerator for America
Yusef Robb, 323-384-1789
yusef@acceleratorforamerica.org   

Kauffman Foundation
Larry Jacob, 816-932-1169
ljacob@kauffman.org