ABOUT | Keystone Innovation District

Helping innovators across sectors turn stalled, disconnected or hard to scale initiatives into real, accelerated outcomes.

ABOUT KEYSTONE

We create the programs, partnerships, and places that move innovation beyond conversations and into pilots, companies, careers, and measurable outcomes for Kansas City and the region.

Trusted by Industry Leaders

Because navigating innovation feels harder than it should.

If you’re here, it’s probably not because you lack ideas, talent, or ambition. It’s because turning innovation into progress still feels fragmented, slow, or unclear.

Across roles and sectors, the pattern is the same:

THE PROBLEM

WE'RE

SOLVING

There’s plenty of activity—but not enough alignment or collaboration

Plenty of conversations—but too few clear pathways to action.

Plenty of goodwill—but limited infrastructure to turn collaboration into outcomes.

You don’t need more disconnected events or standalone tools.

You need a way to connect intentionally, move faster together, and build momentum that actually compounds

That gap—the space between potential and progress—is exactly where Keystone exists.

The Keystone
Platform

We envision Kansas City as a region where innovation is connected, collaborative, and compounding.

The dual-hub innovation district will be more than just a “place,” but rather a dynamic community infrastructure where innovation stakeholders come together to shape the future. We believe in the power of ideas and aim to be a hub where new, world-changing concepts are born.

Who We Are

Keystone Community Corporation (KCC) is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit established in 2018 to serve as Kansas City’s connective platform for innovation.

We bring together corporations, entrepreneurs, civic leaders, and community members to build an innovation ecosystem that crosses industries, institutions, and neighborhoods.

At Keystone, we believe innovation shouldn’t live in silos or belong to a select few. It should move across sectors, and translate into real opportunity, and strengthen the region as a whole. We are dedicated to making a lasting impact and empowering both individuals and organizations to thrive in an evolving innovation landscape.

Our mission is to create a strategically collaborative environment where ideas can flourish and positive change can take shape.

What we do

The Keystone Innovation District catalyzes regional economic development by turning innovation into measurable outcomes.

We don’t operate as a traditional real estate project or a single-purpose organization. Instead, we act as ecosystem infrastructure, designing the conditions that help ideas move faster and collaboration turn into outcomes.

Our work is guided by three strategic imperatives:

Programming & Placemaking: We lead with programming and placemaking, creating environments where collaboration happens naturally and repeatedly, so that activity translates into results.
Regional Collaboration: We align stakeholders across the Kansas City region to address shared economic, political, and social challenges to unlock opportunities no single organization can achieve alone.
Access with Accountability: We design pathways into the innovation economy that are open and accessible, while remaining focused on participation, contribution, and long-term regional impact.

Our Focus Areas

We concentrate our work across a defined set of focus areas—each reinforcing the others to create compounding impact across the ecosystem.

Entrepreneurship & Startup Growth

Supporting founders from early idea through scale with mentorship, programs, capital access, and real-world partnerships.

Corporate Innovation & Enterprise Collaboration

Helping corporations engage startups meaningfully—moving from curiosity to pilots, partnerships, and adoption.

Research Commercialization & Talent Retention

Connecting university research, students, and innovators to pathways that keep ideas—and people—building locally.

Workforce & Economic Mobility

Creating accessible on-ramps into the innovation economy through skill-building, exposure, and connection to opportunity.

Placemaking & Innovation Infrastructure

Designing physical and digital spaces where collaboration happens intentionally—not by chance.

Ecosystem Coordination & Measurement

Serving as connective infrastructure that aligns stakeholders, tracks outcomes, and scales what works.

Why
Keystone Exists

Kansas City has all the ingredients for a strong innovation economy, but no shared infrastructure to connect them in meaningful, sustained ways.

Founders were navigating growth alone.

Organizations wanted to collaborate but lacked clear entry points.
Programs existed, yet too often operated in parallel instead of partnership.

The issue wasn’t effort. It was coordination.

So Keystone was created not as another program or place, but as a platform: one designed to align people across sectors, reduce friction to collaboration, and turn momentum into something that compounds over time.

Innovation doesn’t stall because of a lack of ideas.
It stalls when systems aren’t designed to connect them.

From the beginning, Keystone has focused on building the connective infrastructure that helps innovation move—intentionally, collaboratively, and at scale.

That belief shapes how we design programs, activate space, and measure impact today.

Our Innovation Philosophy

Innovation happens when disciplines, industries, and lived experience are designed to collide

This idea is best captured in The Medici Effect:
breakthroughs emerge not from silos, but from the intersection of different perspectives.

What we believe:

Innovation and Impact accelerates at intersections
Programs should produce outcomes
Momentum comes from dedicated participation
Systems scale what people start
Place and proximity are a catalyst for Impact.

This philosophy guides how we design programs, activate space, and connect people

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How We Do It

Most innovation ecosystems rely on chance encounters, fragmented programs, or isolated initiatives. Keystone is intentionally different.

Our operating model is designed to reduce friction, create density, and move people from conversation to collaboration—again and again. We combine programs, place, and platforms into a single system that is built for repeatable outcomes and compounds impact over time.

What
We Believe.

Regional collaboration to increase economic competition

[01]

The Keystone Innovation District will be the piece of the puzzle Kansas City has been missing in achieving successful and impactful 'collaborative scale'. By connecting our disparate efforts to create maximum positive impact, reducing overlap where possible, and allowing Kansas City to be a more competitive ecosystem.

Innovation driven entrepreneurship

[02]

Not all entrepreneurs and small/local business owners have the same needs and types of support. Our focus is on tech-enabled, high-growth, and venture-backable startups. Our goal is not simply to be a co-working space for start-ups rather a place where NEW, BIG, WORLD_CHANGING ideas are born.

Innovation for all

[03]

Historically, the development of innovation density has led to greater income segregation. KCC aims to create economic mobility with an imperative to create a welcoming and vibrant community that supports accessibility for the people who have been historically excluded from the innovation economy. Diversity and inclusion are key tenants to our planning process and as we chart the path for generations to come, both involvement and leadership from those with unique perspectives is critical to our long-term success.

Success in the urban core

[04]

For the last few years our focus has been on strategic programming and engagement. As we move into 2026 our focus is to grow our dual-hub locations that provides, accessibility to the region, proximity to KC's urban core, access to talent and the ability to attract talent, mixed-use and ability to scale (density), as well as proximity to creative assets.

Our Model

These beliefs allows Keystone to scale responsibly without losing focus, trust, or community alignment.

Innovation-Led Space Design

90%+

utilization of Keystone CoLAB during peak programming

Strategic Programming

Core innovation programs operated year-round, increasing stakeholder engagement

IMPACT

IN

NUMBERS

Cross-Sector Collaboration

100+

Hosted organizations and partner programming

Real-World Outcomes

620+

Connections created — clients, jobs, investors, and partners

Startup Growth

Startups accelerated through Keystone programs

Meet The Team

President & CEO

Kevin McGinnis

Kevin McGinnis is an innovative leader driven by an unwavering passion for pushing the boundaries of possibility and a profound belief in the extraordinary potential of Kansas City's diverse industries. As an accomplished executive leader within one of the nation's leading technology companies, with deep entrepreneurial experience starting a corporate accelerator and leading a growth stage tech firm, Kevin brings a wealth of expertise to his role.

Against the backdrop of his notable career, Kevin astutely identified a significant void within the region's landscape—a gap that stifled collaborative opportunities at scale and impeded economic advancement. This realization only deepened his conviction that Kansas City, with its unique blend of diverse industries and resources, can flourish. Leveraging his extensive background in fostering innovation and inspiring leadership, he has assumed the role of a catalyst, orchestrating a dynamic collaboration between civic leaders, corporate entities, and community advocates.

Kevin McGinnis embodies the spirit of innovation that resonates with our modern era. His unwavering leadership serves as the driving force behind Kansas City's transformation into a thriving hub of collaboration and progress. As we embark on this transformative journey under the guidance of a visionary leader, we invite you to join us in shaping a future where diverse industries thrive, innovation knows no bounds, and Kansas City proudly shines on the global stage.