GreenLight Fund Kansas City

06/17/2026

Happy Pride Month!

At GreenLight Fund, we are committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), recognizing and celebrating all LGBTQIA+ identities this month and every month. 🌈

06/12/2026

We're so proud of the partnerships Food Connect is making in Kansas City to get food to the tables of families who need it. Thank you to all of our partners and the people behind the scenes making things happen!

06/04/2026

Listen to GreenLight Fund co-founder John Simon talk about the future of philanthropy at the Semafor World Economy Summit last month. The conversation explores how philanthropy can unlock new models and create the conditions for greater impact.

Watch the full panel: https://bit.ly/4fKK4iz

05/29/2026

May is and we're highlighting the portfolio organizations across GreenLight Fund that focus on serving mental health. In Kansas City, Becoming A Man and Working On Womanhood support young people in schools through group conversations to navigate school, relationships, and the future.

Learn more about the different organizations across the GreenLight network working in the mental health space below!

See how GreenLight supports mental health and well-being through programs rooted in trust and local need.

05/20/2026

A great article from our CEO, Ali Knight, in Youth Today about the intersection of AI, foster youth, and opportunity. Check it out below!

Artificial intelligence is creating new opportunities and new risks. In a new article for Youth Today, GreenLight Fund CEO Ali Knight explores what it will take to ensure young people aging out of foster care are not left behind.

Drawing on lived experience and GreenLight’s work alongside communities nationwide, Ali highlights three priorities:
1. Building real infrastructure for independent adulthood.
2. Treating AI and workforce readiness as essential skills.
3. Strengthening relationships while using technology to support, not replace, human connection.

GreenLight portfolio organizations, including First Place for Youth, Hopeworks, and Youth Villages, are helping young people build stable, fulfilling futures in a rapidly changing world.

“Foster youth should not be left behind; they should have every opportunity to move forward in a changing world.”

Read the full article: https://bit.ly/4dFzx6V

05/13/2026

A wonderful opportunity to connect with colleagues from around the country last week!

04/29/2026

Read about GreenLight Fund's model and how innovate organizations, like Food Connect, embed themselves locally to support the local ecosystem in this The Chronicle of Philanthropy article.

What does it look like to move from listening to action in philanthropy? In this piece by Ben Gose for The Chronicle of Philanthropy our model comes into focus as a way to translate community insight into action- supporting the spread of proven programs and driving locally rooted, scalable impact across its network of cities.

Read the article: https://www.philanthropy.com/news/lilly-gose-greenlight-0426/

For GreenLight Fund, this process starts with communities themselves– local leaders identifying where gaps exist and what’s needed most. From there, the work is about finding solutions that have already demonstrated impact and partnering to bring them to where they’re needed with the support they need to take root and grow.

As shared by CEO, Ali Knight, “We are in these cities to stay. We’re not going to bring some things and leave. We really intend to be a core part of the social fabric — the service fabric — of each city. And that’s a core tenet of place-based philanthropy.”

Thank you to Ben Gose and The Chronicle of Philanthropy for sharing this thoughtful piece on our approach.

04/20/2026

The Community Consultant program ensures Kansas City's voice is part of the decision-making process. Residents are brought into the process to illuminate where gaps exist and what different solutions could look like. Danielle, the creator of the Community Consultant program, wrote a blog about what the program looks like in action. Check it out below!

Danielle Robinson at GreenLight Fund Kansas City writes about launching a Community Consultants program, where community members help identify and vet potential grantee organizations. The consultants have a contract with GreenLight for up to a year of paid work, which includes going on site visits a...

04/16/2026

We're thrilled to share this video made with Feedback Labs & Listening To Community about GreenLight Fund Kansas City's Community Consultants program! Two of our community consultants, Tonya and Germarie, speak about why community voice is so important. Check out the video to see a few surprise guests from GreenLight Fund, The DeBruce Foundation, Food Connect, and the Kansas City community!

“Share Your Voice:” GreenLight Fund Kansas City Looks to Community for Direction

04/10/2026

Responding to the needs of our community requires us to be up on the latest technology. We can't keep up if we don't embrace change. That's a big reason we invested in mRelief. They are using technology to increase access to food by removing barriers to enroll in government benefits (like SNAP).

Check out this blog below featuring quotes from mRelief's national and local leaders about coming to Kansas City and using technology to increase food access!

mRelief harnesses technology to streamline access to food assistance for families in Kansas City.