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AI & FUTURE OF WORK
ECONOMIC MOBILITY × HUMAN POTENTIAL × AI
Building the human infrastructure for the AI economy.
Grace-Mar equips people, businesses and communities to compete in an economy being reshaped by artificial intelligence.
Founded in Charlotte. Built for impact.2009 → NOW
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCEWORKFORCE DEVELOPMENTENTREPRENEURSHIPFATHERHOODLEADERSHIPSYSTEMS INNOVATION
OUR THESIS
Technology changes fast.
Opportunity must move faster.
Economic mobility is not a single-program problem. It sits at the intersection of skills, technology, business ownership, family stability and the systems that connect them.
Grace-Mar works across those intersections—turning emerging technology into practical pathways for people and communities too often left outside the next economy.
IMPACT AT A GLANCE
Evidence, not aspiration.
0+Years of impact
0+People & business owners reached*
0+Major federal grant milestone
0+Institutional recognitions
*Current public website figure. Expanded institutional metrics will be verified before production launch.
OUR WORK
One mission. Five systems of change.
We design, deliver and scale interventions that connect human capability to economic opportunity.
Explore →
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ECONOMIC MOBILITY
Build pathways to work that pays.
Career pathways · Job placement · Youth workforce · SNAP E&T03
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Help businesses start, grow and scale.
Business development · Incubation · Capital readiness · Systems04
FAMILIES & COMMUNITIES
Strengthen the people behind the economy.
Fatherhood · Youth · Family stability · Community interventions05
LEADERSHIP & SYSTEMS
Change how institutions think and act.
Leadership · Systems thinking · Strategy · Community intelligenceFROM THE FIELD
Ideas should move people.
Then move systems.
Hear how Grace-Mar connects AI, economic mobility and human performance to the challenges communities face now.
IDEAS & INSIGHTS
We don't just deliver programs.
We develop points of view.
AI literacy is becoming workforce literacy.
The next economic divide will not simply be who has technology. It will be who knows how to think, work and create value with it.
Read the perspective →Disrupting poverty requires systems, not isolated services.
Explore →Business ownership as community infrastructure.
Explore →GRACE-MAR RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS
Research that turns local experience into national insight.
Grace-Mar publishes economic studies, white papers and field-based analysis that connect data, lived experience and practical strategy. Explore our growing body of work on economic mobility, workforce transformation, entrepreneurship and artificial intelligence.
View all publications ↓GRACE-MAR RESEARCHECONOMIC
STUDYFEATURED PUBLICATION
STUDYFEATURED PUBLICATION
FEATURED ECONOMIC STUDY
Feature your most important economic study here.
Use this space for a concise two- or three-sentence abstract that tells funders, policymakers and partners what the study examined, what Grace-Mar learned and why the findings matter.
PUBLICATION LIBRARY
Our publication library currently includes three economic studies and one institutional white paper. Replace the working titles below with the exact titles, descriptions, dates and Flipstack URLs.
01ECONOMIC
STUDYGRACE-MAR
STUDYGRACE-MAR
ECONOMIC STUDY
Economic Study One
A concise summary of the study's focus, key finding and relevance to communities, funders and decision-makers.
02ECONOMIC
STUDYGRACE-MAR
STUDYGRACE-MAR
ECONOMIC STUDY
Economic Study Two
A concise summary of the study's focus, key finding and relevance to communities, funders and decision-makers.
03ECONOMIC
STUDYGRACE-MAR
STUDYGRACE-MAR
ECONOMIC STUDY
Economic Study Three
A concise summary of the study's focus, key finding and relevance to communities, funders and decision-makers.
04WHITE
PAPERGRACE-MAR
PAPERGRACE-MAR
WHITE PAPER
Grace-Mar White Paper
Position the white paper as a signature institutional perspective: a clear argument, evidence base and set of recommendations for leaders and funders.
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
Accountability should be visible.
Funders, partners and the communities we serve should be able to see how Grace-Mar stewards resources. This section provides direct access to our independently audited financial statements and related accountability documents.
MOST RECENT AUDIT
Audited Financial Statements
Place Grace-Mar's most recent independent financial audit here so funders and institutional partners can review it directly.
Prior audited financials
As additional audit years are added, this becomes Grace-Mar's permanent financial transparency archive.
Browse financial documents →KSReplace with official
Kenneth D. Smith portrait
Kenneth D. Smith portrait
LEADERSHIP
Kenneth D. Smith
Founder & President
Author · AI Strategist · Social Entrepreneur · Workforce & Economic Mobility Leader
Kenneth Smith has built a career at the intersection of finance, workforce development, entrepreneurship and emerging technology. He co-founded Grace-Mar in 2009 and has helped grow its work across North and South Carolina while developing a national voice on AI, human performance and economic mobility.
A RECORD OF RECOGNITION
Built over time.
2009Grace-Mar founded
2012NAHRO Awardee
2017Future 50 · SmartCEO
2022Service Excellence · Mecklenburg County
2025Guinness World Records with Microsoft · AI Training
2026The next chapter: scale
WHAT'S NEW AT GRACE-MAR
News, field notes and what's coming next.
Follow new partnerships, research, awards, program launches, speaking engagements and ideas shaping Grace-Mar's next chapter.
The Grace-Mar Brief
A concise institutional newsletter covering AI, economic mobility, workforce transformation, entrepreneurship and the work happening across Grace-Mar.
Institutional announcements
Use this space for major awards, grants, partnerships, media coverage and organizational milestones.
View latest updates →Stories of work in motion
Show funders what implementation looks like through field notes, participant stories, videos and program outcomes.
Read field notes →PARTNER WITH GRACE-MAR
Build what comes next.
Grace-Mar partners with public agencies, employers, funders, educators and community organizations to design and scale work that expands economic opportunity.
Start a Conversation →CONTACT GRACE-MAR
Start a conversation.
Tell us what you are working on, what you are trying to solve or how you would like to engage with Grace-Mar. We'll route your inquiry to the right person.