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Results & Impact

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Results + Impact

Learn more about the results and impact of the 20-year scholarship program.

history
Results + Impact
Alumni

The ripple effect of generational impact

Kauffman Scholars, Inc. video: "Impact"
WATCH on YouTube: “Kauffman Scholars: The ripple effect of generational impact” | 4:16 >
WAtch: Impact

854

Number of
KSI Alumni

$143M

Financial investment
over 20 years

75%

Percentage of alumni that reside in KC metro

60%

Postsecondary
completion rate

Retrospective

Cover of "Ripples of Influence: An Evaluation of the Kauffman Scholars, Inc. Program" report from NORC
Download the report [PDF] >

The Kauffman Scholars team worked with NORC to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of the 20-year KSI program. NORC collected data across four data sources:

  • Secondary data — includes internal data from KSI about their scholars, as well as external data from the National Student Clearinghouse which tracks students’ college and postsecondary education.
  • Survey data — conducted via the web and sent to all scholars for whom a valid email address existed, totaling 1911 people (74% of all scholars). Overall, 338 (18% of invitees and 13% of all scholars) completed all or some of the survey.
  • Storytelling interview data — conducted 26 storytelling interviews with KSI: 20 interviews with alumni, 2 with active scholars, and 4 with inactive/non-completing participants.
  • KSI staff interview data — conducted 13 interviews: 7 interviews with former staff and 6 interviews with current staff.

Being 12 years old, being in a program, and starting – day one – having young professionals, young adults, that look like me tell me I can go to college, that was a huge impact.

— Erynn Campbell
Class 2 Alum

Key insights:

  • Black/African American students made up the majority of scholars in all cohorts and overall.
  • Latinx/Hispanic and American Indian students were the next largest groups — 17% and 16% respectively — but the proportion of American Indian scholars generally declined over time while the proportion of Latinx/Hispanic scholars grew.
  • Together, these three groups accounted for nearly 90% of all scholars.

Key insights:

  • Overall, the proportion of scholars who completed the high school portion of the KSI program grew over time (19% in Cohort 1 to 58% in Cohort 8), and six cohorts had completion rates of over 50% (including Cohort 1A at 72%).
  • Similarly, the proportion of scholars who achieved alumni status increased over time as well, from 8% in Cohort 1 to 43% in Cohort 8.
Download the Evaluation Report