We’re on a mission to Expand Prosperity, and you can help!
Since opening its doors on Troost in 2016, Pawsperity has served over 600 parents and children stuck in the cycle of generational poverty. From women in addiction recovery to men with little to no employment history, we have welcomed, believed in, and supported dozens of adults with nowhere to turn.
Pawsperity has become an unexpected solution to the problems that plague struggling families through the program’s unique combination of training in the high-pay trade of pet grooming and comprehensive support services.
Upon graduation, graduates of our program earn an average of $41,000 annually with some earning $70,00 or more, a drastic increase from the $3,600 average annual wage when they enter our program. Given that our students accomplish this with zero educational debt and often only a high school diploma or less, these outcomes are astonishing.
With this success has come a rapidly increasing demand for services that we cannot accommodate in our current facility, which is severely limited in space due to increased staffing to meet the needs of our students.
The $8.5 million Expand Prosperity Capital Campaign will provide the capacity to:
- Renovate a dilapidated building two doors down from the current facility
- Provide our staff with appropriate space and privacy
- More than double the number of families served each year
- Triple the number of dogs groomed each day, vastly reducing long appointment wait times
- Open a market-rate salon staffed by our graduates
- Provide doggie daycare services
We invite you to learn more about the vision for expansion and the impact this will have on our Kansas City community. Join us in meeting the demand for adults eager to find hope and financial stability through the art of pet grooming. Please consider making a gift today.
GIVE TODAY to help us Expand Prosperity!
Leave a lasting impression at Pawsperity’s new building by purchasing a space on our donor wall today! Honor your family, remember a loved one, or dedicate a space to your pet. Hearts engraved with a name of your choice are available for purchase at the following levels:
$1,000-$4,999
$5,000-$9,999
$10,000-$24,999
$25,000-$49,999
$50,000-$99,999
Questions or need help making a donation? Call 816.214.5376 Ext. 123

Interested in room naming opportunities or making a major gift?
Contact Jennifer Strickland at jstrickland@pawsperity.org or 816.792.7023.
The Country’s Only Nonprofit Grooming School is in the Heart of Kansas City.
And we’re just getting started.
Our new facility will allow us to give our staff adequate space and eventually triple the number of lives we can change each year. With increased space will also come increased service capacity, allowing us to more than double our current earned revenue.
Students served per year in current building:
27
Dogs groomed per day in current building:
30
Students served per year in new building:
60-80
Dogs groomed per day in new building:
90
Current Building:
5,200 sq ft
New Building:
16,000 sq ft
JOIN US TODAY
By investing in our expansion, you will provide a powerful pathway out of poverty for Kansas City parents and their children. For more information or to offer support, please contact:
Jennifer Strickland
Director of Development
816.791.7023 or
jstrickland@pawsperity.org
- Total Raised to Date: $5,210,000 61%
A special thanks to our lead donors:
Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Ann and Gary Dickinson Family Charitable Foundation
Hall Family Foundation
McDonnell Family Foundation
Marny & John Sherman
Sunderland Foundation
Jack F. and Glenna Y. Wylie Foundation

Pawsperity, formerly known as The Grooming Project, is a 501c3 organization dedicated to reducing generational poverty in Kansas City.
Through our state-certified grooming school and our Lee's Summit grooming salon, we train struggling parents to be pet groomers and salon managers, both in-demand, high pay professions.
Pawsperity Grooming School
5805 Troost Avenue
Kansas City, MO 64110
816.214.5376
Open Tuesday - Friday
8 am to 4 pm
Walk-In Nail Trims
9 am to 2 pm
..............................................
1650 SE Blue Parkway
Lee's Summit, MO 64063
816.525.2440
Open Monday - Saturday
8 am to 5 pm