Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
The entrepreneurship foundation that told VCs hard truths.
Institutional LP CapitalFirmUnited States
Target market
Venture managers with disciplined fund sizes and aligned economics
Typical check
Foundation-scale fund commitments
Geography
United States
Overview
The Kauffman Foundation exists to advance entrepreneurship, and its endowment has invested in venture funds for decades — which gives its views unusual weight. Its 2012 report 'We Have Met the Enemy... and He Is Us' remains the most-cited LP critique of venture economics: too many funds fail to beat public markets, and fee structures reward asset-gathering over performance. GPs pitching Kauffman should read it first. The foundation favors managers whose incentives, fund size and strategy actually line up with returns.
Key facts
- Mission dedicated to entrepreneurship and education
- Decades of experience as a venture fund LP
- Published the influential 2012 critique of VC fund economics
- Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri