Great Jobs KC recently received a generous grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, one that will significantly contribute to the organization reaching its current fundraising goal of $100 million.
The investment by the Kauffman Foundation is designed to support the Great Jobs KC program, aligned with the Foundation’s vision of driving equitable economic mobility through college access and completion, workforce and career development, and entrepreneurship.
“We are eternally grateful to our partners at the Kauffman Foundation for supporting our mission of making higher education and good-paying jobs with benefits accessible to our Kansas City community,” said Great Jobs KC CEO Earl Martin Phalen. “Our work aligns with the goals of the Kauffman Foundation to foster equitable economic mobility. Hopefully, our partnership will positively impact Kansas Citians for generations to come.”
Great Jobs KC’s fundraising goal is set to allow Great Jobs KC to support local Kansas City residents in building a better life for themselves and their families through scholarships for college, tuition-free job training programs and access to great job opportunities. With this investment, Great Jobs KC will be able to support thousands of residents across the six counties they serve within the Kansas City metro area into household-sustaining jobs with benefits over the next 5 years. While this amazing investment by the Kauffman Foundation brings Great Jobs KC closer to its fundraising goal, there is still a crucial gap to close in order to fully realize its mission of supporting 50,000 residents into great jobs.
The impact of Great Jobs KC’s work is considerable. From its first-year awarding college scholarships in 2017, nearly 10,000 Kansas Citians have been awarded more than $491 million in scholarships. Since the launch of its job training program in 2022, the organization has supported over 1,500 residents in securing permanent jobs, offering household-sustaining wages and benefits. A recent evaluation by Mathematica revealed that the scale of Great Jobs KC’s jobs program far surpasses similar workforce training programs in other similarly sized Midwest cities. While the largest comparable job training providers served 500-600 Scholars per year, Great Jobs KC served 5,000 in the same period.
While this incredibly generous donation from the Kauffman Foundation will go a long way to helping Great Jobs KC reach its larger fundraising goals, more financial support is still needed. The organization’s success inspires others to seek its support, creating a need for more funds to ensure that Great Jobs KC can meet its goal of building a stronger community through financial stability. Visit greatjobskc.org to find ways to support its mission.
“While this funding is more than generous, we cannot stop fundraising because we have not met our ultimate goal,” says Great Jobs KC COO Natalie Lewis. “Meeting our $100 million goal is a stepping stone to ensure that no one is left behind and everyone is able to get a chance to improve their lives for the better.”
Great Jobs KC is proud to announce the 2026 awarding class of its flagship KC Scholars 11th-Grade Scholarship Program. In its 10th anniversary year, 778 high school juniors across the six-county Kansas City region have been selected to receive scholarships of up to $50,000 each, representing a staggering total community investment of $38.9 million.
The Kauffman Foundation’s generous grant helps Great Jobs KC get closer to its $100M goal, supporting 50,000 Kansas City residents with job training and education.
The Kauffman Foundation’s generous grant helps Great Jobs KC get closer to its $100M goal, supporting 50,000 Kansas City residents with job training and education.
Stephanie Underwood serves as Chief Financial Officer at Great Jobs KC, where she leads the organization’s financial strategy in support of its mission to create economic mobility through education and workforce opportunities. With more than 17 years of experience in nonprofit finance, Stephanie brings deep expertise in financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and compliance. She is passionate about using her career as a platform to serve and support mission-driven organizations, helping them maximize impact through strong financial stewardship.
Prior to joining Great Jobs KC, Stephanie served as Chief Financial Officer for Griffith Centers, a behavioral and mental health organization, where she oversaw financial operations for a multi-million-dollar organization spanning residential, educational, and community-based programs. She also spent nearly a decade as Vice President of Accounting Services at NFP Partners, providing CFO-level leadership to nonprofit organizations across the country, with a focus on strategic growth, audit readiness, and governance.
Outside of her professional role, Stephanie volunteers her time at her church and serves on the board of a local nonprofit. She is known for her collaborative leadership style and her commitment to aligning financial strategy with mission impact. She holds a Master of Science in Accounting and is proud to be a first-generation college graduate.
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As the Chief Operating Officer, Jimmy Swift is responsible for overseeing our core programs, our adult workforce development program, Great Jobs KC tuition-free job training, and our KC Scholars Scholarship Program, which includes 11th Grade Traditional Scholarships and Adult Learner Scholarships.
Jimmy has a career in education that spans more than 25 years and is built around supporting and improving the performance of career training programs and leading the operations of degree-granting institutions. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in management and has served as Campus President, Vice President of Career Services, and Executive Director of various career schools.
Most recently, Jimmy served as the Vice President of PLA University at Phalen Leadership Academies, bringing access to job skill training to the parents and families of the Scholars served by Phalen Leadership schools across the country. Beyond his higher education experience, Jimmy serves as the Executive Board Chairman for Project Safety Net NY, a nonprofit community-based agency delivering a broad range of health, education, and prevention services to the New York Community. As the Chief Operating Officer for Great Jobs KC, he and his team are poised to make a substantial impact on the economic stability and future of Kansas City.
