Nonprofit Catalyst Grant

Nonprofit Catalyst Grant is sponsored by United Way of Greater Kansas City. The Nonprofit Catalyst Fund supports small nonprofit organizations that are led by or primarily serve Black, Latino, and other people of color in the community, focusing on areas like education, human services, entrepreneurship, workforce skill building, economic mobility, and c…

We are a 2025 United Way Nonprofit Catalyst Grantee! - Lee's Summit CARES We are a 2025 United Way Nonprofit Catalyst Grantee! July 16, 2025 (KANSAS CITY, Mo.)

– United Way of Greater Kansas City with support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation are honored to award another round of funding to small nonprofits in the Kansas City area to organizations led by or primarily serving historically marginalized communities. This round of grantmaking is the conclusion of a three-year program that launched publicly in early 2023.

With this $675,000 dollar investment, the Nonprofit Catalyst Fund has supported more than 100 nonprofits with total funds awarded exceeding $2M. Individual organizations have received grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 to help support their growth and development in the areas of education, human services, entrepreneurship, workforce skill building, economic mobility and community development.

“The Nonprofit Catalyst Fund set out to be a pivotal infusion of both dollars and voice, elevating the vital work of these smaller organizations that has often gone unnoticed and unrecognized,” said Essence Yancey, United Way Community Impact Director.

“We’ve seen tremendous growth as programs have been added, organizations have been able to hire staff, bring in new donors and volunteers, and they’re grateful to have their missions amplified through United Way and the audiences we reach.

” The Nonprofit Catalyst Grant has focused on organizations serving historically marginalized communities, because often, these nonprofits have faced barriers to accessing traditional means of funding, but they are significant contributors in helping build resiliency, with proximity to the communities they serve alongside.

ABOUT UNITED WAY OF GREATER KANSAS CITY: United Way of Greater Kansas City’s mission is to mobilize people and resources to improve healthcare, enhance youth opportunity, foster financial security and build community resiliency—so that everyone has the ability to thrive.

We do this by investing in the highest-impact nonprofits and programs addressing community need in our six-county service area; and by engineering real-time solutions to our community’s most pressing challenges in collaboration with the public, private and philanthropic sectors. This includes operating 211, our community’s 24/7 resource and referral service which responded to 476,691 contacts in 2024.

Every year, 1 in 3 Kansas Citians find help through United Way, and we continue to develop new and innovative ways to connect our community to the services, support and resources people need.

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