Any school transporting at least 20 students to a qualifying school matinee at the Kauffman Center can apply for a bus transportation allowance. Bus Transportation Fund applications must be submitted at least five business days prior to attending a school matinee at the Kauffman Center.
Bus Transportation Fund
All Roads Lead to the
Kauffman Center
The Kauffman Center is passionate about providing youth in our community with opportunities to experience the performing arts.
The Bus Transportation Fund helps educators provide arts experiences to their students by eliminating or defraying bus costs.
Want to support this program? Donors help connect young people and families to the performing arts at the Kauffman Center. Make a donation online or call the Kauffman Center Ticket Office at 816.994.7222.
Bus Transportation Fund is Supported by Evergy.
How to Apply
Applications for the 2026-2027 school year will open on Aug. 3, 2026. The form will be available below.
- Complete the online Bus Transportation Fund application form at the bottom of this page. Applications forms must be submitted no later than two business days after your visit to the Kauffman Center. Confirmation of approval and award notification will come from opendoors@kauffmancenter.org and will take approximately two weeks.
- Book your seats with the organization that is presenting the student matinee or open dress rehearsal you plan to attend, such as Kansas City Ballet, Kansas City Symphony, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, etc.
- Attend the performance at the Kauffman Center and, afterward, a reimbursement check will be mailed to the address on your school’s Form W-9 at the end of the month your school attended a performance.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Kauffman Center’s Bus Transportation Fund will award funds based on the following guidelines:
- All public schools with 40% or more of their students participating in the free and reduced lunch program (commonly called Title 1 schools) will be guaranteed to receive a 100% bus transportation allowance.
- All public schools with 20% to 39% of their students participating in the free and reduced lunch program will be guaranteed to receive a 50% bus transportation allowance and can request consideration for the remaining 50%.
- All other public schools, as well as private and non-traditional schools, can apply for a full or partial bus transportation allowance.
Your Transportation Fund allowance will be determined based on the number and grades of the students attending. Elementary students in grades K – 5 will be allowed up to $3 per child for a transportation allowance and secondary students in grades 6 – 12 will be allowed up to $4 per student. The transportation allowance will not be available for adults attending the performance.
For example, if your school purchases seats at a qualifying performance for 70 students in the 8th grade, your transportation allowance could be up to $280 or 70 students x $4 per student. Transportation costs in the metropolitan area vary – this reimbursement formula is designed to try to cover the actual costs of transporting students to the Kauffman Center. The actual transportation costs charged by your district may vary.
After you have attended the performance, the Kauffman Center will mail a check to the address indicated on the Form W-9 you submitted as part of your Transportation Fund application.