IMPACT STATEMENTS

Urban League of Greater Kansas City

Founded on the principles of equity and opportunity, the Urban League of Greater Kansas City is a historic civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment, equal opportunity, equity, and social justice. The League collaborates with community leaders, policymakers, and corporate partners across Greater Kansas City and the region to elevate standards of living for African Americans and other historically underserved groups.

Mission

Our mission is to enable African Americans and other disadvantaged populations to secure economic self-reliance, parity, power, and civil rights.

Manifesto

The Urban League of Greater Kansas City has spent the last century solving the difficult equations of wealth and privilege, poverty and disadvantages, race and geography. The fight for equity is not over, and we’re still standing—standing up for African-Americans and other marginalized groups, standing astride the dividing line between haves and have-nots, standing steady amid chaotic social and political change. We stand proud of our successes, seasoned by adversity, equal to the social justice challenges of the next 100 years.

Foundation Goals

  • Education & Youth Development - Every child has equal opportunity, and the pandemic achievement gap will be closed.

  • Jobs & Workforce Development - Every adult has access to jobs with a living wage and good benefits

  • Health & Quality of Life - Every person has access to quality and affordable healthcare

  • Justice & Civic Engagement - Every person has an equal right to fully participate in our democracy and civic processes, and all people have a right to justice and fairness

PROGRAMS & INITIATIVES

Accelerated Learning Lab

The Urban League of Greater Kansas City’s Accelerated Learning Lab provides FREE WEEKLY TUTORING SESSIONS that are vital to close the post-pandemic achievement gap for Black students. Our academic coaches provide one-on-one support to students in marginalized communities in grades K-12. Students receive tutoring in math, science, English, reading and language arts, as well as a free nutritional meal and snacks during tutoring sessions.

Project Ready

The initiatives of Project Ready combine academic skill building, leadership development, positive support networks, and college and career readiness training with ACT preparation to ensure African Americans and other disadvantaged students from across Greater Kansas City successfully graduate high school and are ready to enter college or the workforce.

Parent Education & Empowerment Center (PEEC)

PEEC recognizes that parental involvement and engagement are critical to a student’s success. Through one-on-one assistance from Parent Empowerment Coaches and legal consultants, PEEC supports and guides parents throughout their child’s educational journey by providing assistance with 504 Plans, Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSPs), and Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), as well as school discipline policies, educational planning, college readiness, and financial aid.

Career Marketplace

The Career Marketplace prepares adults age 18 and older to enter or advance in the workforce. Through the Urban League of Greater Kansas City and its community partners, the program assists entry- and mid-level job seekers, as well as seasoned professionals, by providing job referrals and placement services, career development workshops, one-on-one coaching, salary surveys, mock interviews and interview preparation, and resume and cover letter support.

Project Pathways

A pre-apprentice training program for minorities and women. Trainees will complete at least 20 and not more than 48 hours of training. The curriculum includes academic assessments, tutoring in math and reading, GED test preparation, and soft-skills training. Graduates are referred for apprenticeship programs in the construction and building industry or employment in a comparable field.

Making Black Businesses Better (MBBB)*

The Urban League of Greater Kansas City, in partnership with H&R Block and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, launched the Making Black Businesses Better (MBBB) program to help more Black-owned businesses survive and thrive. By strengthening these businesses, the program supported local economies and helped uplift communities through marketing consulting and support, personalized coaching and services focused on financial management, tax compliance, bookkeeping, and payroll, as well as resources to improve access to capital and credit-building services to help businesses grow and succeed.

*MBBB program concluded in 2023.

Civil Rights & Racial Justice

The Urban League of Greater Kansas City advances equity and justice through advocacy, education, and community engagement. The statewide Police Accountability Task Force meets regularly to address police policies and practices related to the use of excessive and deadly force against African Americans and other minority communities. The initiative also promotes civic participation through voter education and registration efforts and by hosting local election candidate and community forums that inform, engage, and empower residents.

Health Equity

The Urban League of Greater Kansas City’s Health Equity initiative advocates for the elimination of health disparities and increased access to care in underserved urban communities through community health and wellness events, as well as referrals, health information dissemination, and assistance with healthcare insurance enrollment.

Social Justice & Advocacy

The Urban League of Greater Kansas City promotes civil rights, positive race relations, respect, and understanding by actively working to eradicate barriers to equal participation in all aspects of society.

Our impact can be measured in the number of lives we touch. Drawing from U.S. Census data and Urban League of Greater Kansas City records, the following highlights demonstrate the organization’s reach and impact across key program areas over the past several years.

2025 IMPACT REPORT

Education Total Served: 150+

Accelerated Learning Lab – 150

Project Ready –

  • 100% of graduating seniors attend 4-year colleges and universities

  • ACT Test Prep participants gain 3 to 4 points on average after completing 24 hours of academic coaching and test-taking skills 

Workforce Development Total Served: 615

Career Marketplace – 540

Project Pathways – 75

  • Average wage at placement - $19.64 per hour - 11% above the national average

Civil Rights & Racial Justice Total Served: 243,858 

  • Advocacy for Police Brutality Accountability and Racial Justice

  • Voter Education, Registration, and Local Election Candidates Community Forums

Health Equity Total Served: 120

  • General Health Education

  • COVID-19 Vaccine Outreach, Education, and Access

  • Access to Care (i.e. Health Insurance Patient Navigation, Mental Health Resources, etc.)

Social Justice & Advocacy

  • Published 2025 State of Black Kansas City: Democracy Under Siege: Radical Resistance Required

  • Presented State of Black Kansas City Equality Index findings to more than 1,000 elected officials, civic, philanthropic, community-based leaders, education administrators, and policy makers

  • Developed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion organizational assessment instruments

2024 IMPACT REPORT

Education Total Served: 775

Accelerated Learning Lab – 30–50 students engaged weekly

  • STAR Growth Report tracks students' progress

Project Ready – 625 students served

  • 25% of graduating seniors attend 4-year colleges and universities

Workforce Development Total Served: 565

Career Marketplace – 540

  • 378 placed in unsubsidized employment

Project Pathways – 25 participants trained and placed

  • Average wage at placement - $19.64 per hour - 11% above the national average

Civil Rights & Racial Justice‍ ‍

  • Advocacy for Police Brutality Accountability and Racial Justice

  • Voter Education, Registration, and Local Election Candidates Community Forums

Health Equity Total Served 80,000

  • General Health Education

  • COVID-19: Vaccine Outreach

  • Access to Care (i.e. Health Insurance Patient Navigation, Mental Health Resources, etc.)

Social Justice & Advocacy

  • Developed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion organizational assessment instruments

2023 IMPACT REPORT

Education Total Served: 625

Project Ready – 625

  • ACT NOW! Test Prep participants gain 3 to 4 points on average after completing 24 hours of academic coaching and test-taking skills 

Workforce Development Total Served: 378+

Career Marketplace – 378

Project Pathways –

Entrepreneurship & Business Development Total Served: 25 

  • Local business owners received assistance through Making Black Businesses Better (MBBB) program

Civil Rights & Racial Justice Total Served: 394,300

  • Racial Justice – 80,000

  • Police Brutality – 85,000

  • Advocacy Efforts – 225,000

  • Community Forums: Importance of Voting and Local Elections – 4,300

Health Equity Total Served: 4,354

  • General Health Education

  • COVID-19: Vaccine Outreach

  • Access to Care (i.e. Health Insurance Patient Navigation, Mental Health Resources, etc.)

Social Justice & Advocacy

  • Published 2023 State of Black Kansas City: From Redlining to Chalk Lines: The Costs of Economic Injustice

  • Presented State of Black Kansas City Equality Index findings to more than 1,000 elected officials, civic, philanthropic, community-based leaders, education administrators, and policy makers

  • Developed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion organizational assessment instruments