PLATINUM2023

Kansas City Scholars

OUR MISSION IS YOUR SUCCESS We can help you make your career and college graduation dreams a reality.

aka KC Scholars   |   Kansas City, MO   |  https://www.kcscholars.org

Mission

The mission of KC Scholars is to increase postsecondary education and credential attainment of low- and modest-income young adults and adults, and to significantly expand the number of adults who secure family-sustaining careers.

Ruling year info

2016

CEO

Mr. Earl Martin Phalen

Main address

8080 Ward Parkway, Suite 402

Kansas City, MO 64114 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

81-3287932

NTEE code info

Scholarships, Student Financial Aid, Awards (B82)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2020, 2019 and 2018.
Register now

Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

KC Scholars strives to make educational and career goals a reality through scholarship support and bridge gaps between employees and employers.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

KC Scholars

KC Scholars serves low- and modest-income students and adult learners across six-counties: Wyandotte and Johnson Counties in Kansas and Cass, Clay, Jackson and Platte in Missouri.  

9th Graders - College Savings Match Awardees to eligible to earn a one-to-one match on college savings up to $1,000, and up to $400 in incentives during high school.
11th Graders Traditional Scholarship - Awardees receive up to $50,000 in scholarships to earn a two-or four-year degree at one of 17 schools in the KC Scholars network.
Adult Learners - College Scholarship -Awardees receive up to $50,000 in scholarships to earn a two-or four-year degree at one of 17 schools in the KC Scholars network.
Adults - Short Term Career Training - a scholarship for approved short-term career training programs, allows adults to get trained in less than 12 months for jobs in construction, healthcare, manufacturing, or information technology. Annual incomes in these jobs range between $45,000-85,000.


Population(s) Served
Age groups
Ethnic and racial groups
Social and economic status
Work status and occupations

Where we work

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of students who receive scholarship funds and/or tuition assistance

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

KC Scholars

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of first-entry undergraduate program students who identify themselves as 'visible minorities'or 'non-white'

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

KC Scholars

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Totals are percentages

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Continue to provide scholarships support for bachelors and associate degrees through existing scholarship program.
Deepen the support provided to our Scholars by our college and career advisors.
Ensure graduates are well positioned to secure promising careers at family-sustaining wages.
Develop workforce development program for adults to earn family-sustaining wages through high demand credentialing and support.

All programs:
Must live in the greater Kansas City metropolitan region in the following 6 counties: Cass, Clay, Jackson and Platte in MO and Johnson and Wyandotte in KS; are low-to modest-income; provide wrap around services to help our Scholars succeed.

1. Traditional Scholarships - 11th graders apply for a scholarship of $50,000 over 5 years. These scholarships are for our postsecondary partners.
2. College Savings Match - 9th Graders can received up to $1,400 to create a College Savings Account and save money for college.
3. Adult Learners Scholarship - 18 and older with high school diploma can complete an associates or a bachelors degree. This scholarship is for $10,000 over 5 years ($50,000 total).
4. Great Jobs KC - with the knowledge that college isn't for everyone, Great Jobs KC provides scholarships for approved job training programs in high-demand and high paying industries.

KC Scholars knows how to help low- and moderate-income individuals earn college degrees and have awarded funding to over 6,000 scholars with extraordinary results with an over 90% persistence rate. The KC Scholars team is utilizing learnings from the last six years to help place 32,000 additional adults on career paths to $45,000 – $85,000 by 2032, with at least 20,000 of those individuals being adults of color from different socioeconomic backgrounds with KC Scholars’ new workforce credential program. KC Scholars will produce a minimum of 15,000 college-educated and racially and ethnically diverse workers for our workforce by 2027, all of whom will be encouraged and set up to remain in the region.

As of January 2023, KC Scholars has funded over 6,000 scholarship to young adults and adults. Since it's rollout in September 2022, over 400 Scholars are enrolled in Great Jobs KC.
*77% of our Scholars are first generation college students
*75% of our Scholars are individuals of color
*100% are low- and modest-income individuals, with 88% having an EFC of $4,000 or less
*Traditional Scholars represent over 100 high schools in the greater KC area

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

  • With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response,

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently,

Financials

Kansas City Scholars
lock

Unlock financial insights by subscribing to our monthly plan.

Subscribe

Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more about GuideStar Pro.

Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

Kansas City Scholars

Board of directors
as of 02/07/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Ms. Jan Kreamer

KC Scholars

Term: 2017 - 2023

Jeff Simon

Office Managing Partner Husch Blackwell

Michelle Kay

Vice President and General Manager, Enterprise Holdings

Tammy Edwards

Senior Vice President Community Engagement and Inclusion Division, and Director of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

David Warm

Executive Director, Mid-America Regional Council

Jan Kreamer

President and CEO, Greater KC Community Foundation (ret.)

Earl Martin Phalen

CEO, KC Scholars

Beto Lopez

Chief Operating Officer, Guadalupe Centers

Michael Roane

Senior Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer (ret.), JE Dunn Construction Company

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 1/31/2023
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
Black/African American
Gender identity
Male

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data