, ,

Catalyst Fund tops $2M invested in nonprofits boosting people of color; meet the latest grantees

July 10, 2024  |  Startland News Staff

A JC Harmon High School student joins in a Virtual Reality in Healthcare Project led by Urban TEC

The latest batch of Catalyst Fund grants — a combined $500,000 across nearly two dozen organizations — seeks to elevate the work of small nonprofits that are led by or primarily serve Black, Latino, and other people of color across the region, said Dr. DeAngela Burns-Wallace.

“Looking across the list of organizations in this third round of funding, we see front-line operators with everyday commitments to serving individuals, breaking through persistent barriers, and reshaping the landscape of Kansas City,” said Burns-Wallace, president and CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which coordinates the fund with the United Way of Greater Kansas City.

ICYMI: How Kauffman Foundation’s reset aligns Mr. K’s intent with KC’s needs of the moment

Established in February 2023, the fund now has boosted 88 organizations, which received grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 each, totaling $2.1 million. Recipients are 501(c)(3) public charities in the local United Way’s six-county service area that support education, human services, entrepreneurship, workforce skill building, economic mobility and community development.

Click here to read about one new Catalyst Fund grantee who recently was featured on “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”

“The investments made possible through the Nonprofit Catalyst Fund are truly life-changing and provide a major impact to these organizations,” said Essence Yancey, director of community impact for the United Way of Greater Kansas City. “A connection to United Way is a powerful megaphone to amplify their work, and these additional financial resources allow them to add staff, create new and sustain existing programming, and to build resiliency that makes a tangible difference in the lives of our fellow Kansas Citians.”

Nonprofit organizations — particularly smaller organizations with strong ties to the communities they serve — are significant contributors to an equitable and inclusive economic development system, not only as employers and community conveners, but also in the delivery of critical programs and services that promote inclusive prosperity, the leader said.

Newly announced Catalyst Fund grantees include:

Click here to read about the first round of Catalyst Fund winners and here for the second round.

startland-tip-jar

TIP JAR

Did you enjoy this post? Show your support by becoming a member or buying us a coffee.

Tagged , , ,
Featured Business
    Featured Founder

      Startland News Staff

      2024 Startups to Watch

        stats here

        Related Posts on Startland News

        Combating fight or flight: KC nonprofit deploys horses for veterans struggling to get back in the civilian saddle

        By Tommy Felts | December 28, 2023

        Horses taught Patrick Benson to feel again after serving in the military, he shared. Now he extends that experience to his fellow combat veterans through a nonprofit based on a rural Johnson County farm. “Working with challenging horses that are struggling with their purpose, too; to find direction; we needed the same thing,” Benson explained…

        PBS docuseries puts KC creator at the intersection food and ‘transformational travel’

        By Tommy Felts | December 28, 2023

        Food travel is about more than getting the most exotic or expensive social media-worthy photo of a meal to share for superficial clout, said Jim Kane, emphasizing the transformation power of connection when someone truly allows themselves to use food as a lens for understanding culture. “Before the pandemic, there were a lot of checklists…

        A misstep ended their ‘Squid Game’ run together; the business of their friendship keeps moving

        By Tommy Felts | December 28, 2023

        While not everything on reality TV is 100 percent … well, real, the bond between “Squid Game: The Challenge” competitors Stephen Lomas and Chase Higgins is anything but scripted, the Kansas City duo said. Longtime friends and business partners — the two previously co-founded Let’s Get Moving, a social media savvy moving company that gained…

        How Kauffman Scholars’ 20-year run reflected the value of representation for Black, Brown students

        By Tommy Felts | December 27, 2023

        Editor’s note: The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a financial supporter of Startland News. The legacy of Kauffman Scholars — an initiative of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation that sunset earlier in 2023 after 20 years — can be seen in the decades of students impacted and the passion fueling the effort from within, according to a…