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

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.

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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:

• Art as Mentorship, Kansas City, Missouri (youth development, entrepreneurship)
• Bluford Healthcare Leadership Institute, Kansas City, Missouri (workforce development, healthcare advocacy)
• Center of Grace, Olathe, Kansas (financial security, life skills training)
• Communities Creating Opportunity, Kansas City, Missouri (financial security, community development)
• Decarcerate KC, Kansas City, Missouri (human services)
• Fathers Assisting Mothers Inc., Kansas City, Missouri (human services)
• Full Throttle Foundation KC, Kansas City, Kansas (human services)
• Green Acres Farm & Research Project, Kansas City, Missouri (human services, community development)
• Kansas City Dream Center, Kansas City, Kansas (human services)
• Kansas City Women in Technology, Kansas City, Missouri (education, workforce development)
• Korean American Society of Greater KC, Overland Park, Kansas (human services)
• Next Paige Foundation, Kansas City, Missouri (youth development)
• Poetry for Personal Power, Kansas City, Kansas (human services)
• Reaching Out from Within, Kansas City, Kansas (human services)
• Redemptorist Social Services Center, Kansas City, Missouri (human services)
• River of Refuge, Kansas City, Missouri (human services)
• Ryogoku Soccer Academy, Kansas City, Missouri (youth development)
• Santa Fe Area Council, Kansas City, Missouri (community development)
• Seeing Yourself in Science dba RW2 Career & Technical Education, Lee’s Summit, Missouri (workforce development, tech education)
• Soul of Santa Do Good Foundation, Kansas City, Missouri (human services) 
• The Kansas City Defender, Kansas City, Missouri (human services)
• Urban Technology Empowered Communities Urban TEC, Kansas City, Missouri (education, workforce development)
• Youth Ambassadors, Kansas City, Missouri (education, workforce development)

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