Comparison · 16 material differences
Gartner C-level Communities vs Kauffman Fellows
This comparison was generated on request from the records. It carries no editorial verdict and is not indexed. The published comparisons are listed on the compare page.
Read down each column for one organization, across a row for the difference. A bronze mark at the left of a cell means the organizations differ on that row. A dash or “not published” means the organization does not disclose the fact — it is not a zero.
Verified September 2026
Leadership network
Verified September 2026 Gartner C-level Communities
Enterprise C-level executives - CIOs, CISOs, CHROs, CDAOs, CFOs and CSCOs - at large organisations, plus business-unit and regional C-level leaders at companies above $500 million…
Leadership network
Kauffman Fellows
Working venture capital investors — typically partner-level GPs, emerging fund founders, LPs and corporate venture investors — who already deploy capital
What the records say
- Role or title — Gartner C-level Communities: Enterprise-wide C-level executive, or a business-unit or regional C-level leader; Kauffman Fellows: Working venture investor — direct VC investor, emerging or established GP, LP, corporate VC or ecosystem contributor.
- Minimum company revenue — Gartner C-level Communities: Private sector: responsibility for $500M+ in revenue; Kauffman Fellows: No published minimum company revenue.
- Minimum employees — Gartner C-level Communities: Public sector: 1,000+ employees; Kauffman Fellows: No published minimum employees.
- Geographic restriction — Gartner C-level Communities: Membership is held in a regional community; communities cover North America, EMEA and APAC plus one global community; Kauffman Fellows: No published geographic restriction.
- Annual dues — Gartner C-level Communities: Not publicly disclosed. No membership price appears anywhere on the organisation's site. The commercial model is sponsor-funded: Gartner sells sponsors "unparalleled access to C-level executives at 400+ events each year".; Kauffman Fellows: Not publicly disclosed — the organization does not publish alumni society dues, if any.
Side by side
| Gartner C-level Communities | Kauffman Fellows | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Leadership network | Leadership network |
| Founded | Not documented | 1995 (Started inside the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in 1995; spun out as an independent organization in 2000 and run by the Center for Venture Education) |
| Headquarters | Portland, United States | Palo Alto, United States |
| Geographic footprint | 101 communities worldwide across 10 countries; CIO and CISO each run 34 communities (24 North America, 7 EMEA, 2 APAC, 1 global), with smaller footprints for CHRO (13), CDAO (12), CFO (5) and CSCO (3) | Fellows in 62 countries across six continents; in-person modules and treks rotate between global locations |
| Members | 14,000as of September 2026 | 1,060as of September 2026 |
| Chapters | 101 | 11 |
| Primary audience | Enterprise C-level executives - CIOs, CISOs, CHROs, CDAOs, CFOs and CSCOs - at large organisations, plus business-unit and regional C-level leaders at companies above $500 million in revenue | Working venture capital investors — typically partner-level GPs, emerging fund founders, LPs and corporate venture investors — who already deploy capital |
| Typical member | Members are enterprise-wide C-level executives, or business-unit and regional C-level leaders responsible for a private-sector unit above $500 million in revenue or a public-sector body with more than 1,000 employees, who report to the CEO or one level below. Gartner says 93% of the Fortune 100 are represented and 74% of members come from companies above $1 billion in revenue. | Recent classes are roughly 86% direct VC investors, 72% partner-level or above and 43% founders. Across the whole society, about 55–60% of Fellows are firm founders, roughly 80% are partner-level or above, and about one in three is female. |
| Qualification | ||
| Role or title | Enterprise-wide C-level executive, or a business-unit or regional C-level leaderPublished as "Community Member Criteria" on the application pages.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Working venture investor — direct VC investor, emerging or established GP, LP, corporate VC or ecosystem contributorPartner-level or above is preferred but not stated as mandatory; 72% of a recent class were partner-level or higherverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Minimum company revenue | Private sector: responsibility for $500M+ in revenueApplies to business-unit or regional C-level applicants.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published minimum company revenue |
| Minimum employees | Public sector: 1,000+ employeesverified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published minimum employees |
| Geographic restriction | Membership is held in a regional community; communities cover North America, EMEA and APAC plus one global communityverified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published geographic restriction |
| Invitation required | Sometimes | No |
| Sponsor required | No | Not documented |
| Application process | Apply online with corporate email, title, organisation and revenue band, and confirm reporting line to the CEO. Applications are vetted against the published Community Member Criteria. Successful applicants are contacted by a Community Program Manager, who discusses priorities and completes onboarding including access to year-round events. | Applications run on an annual class cycle. Step one is an online form that the organization estimates takes about an hour, submitted with an application fee. Step two is a set of video interviews with current Fellows. Step three is selection by an admissions committee. For the Class 31 cycle, interviews began in mid-February 2026 and acceptances went out in early April 2026. |
| Selectivity | No acceptance rate is published. Gartner describes membership as "By invitation only" on its homepage while also operating a public application form, and says each application is carefully vetted against established criteria. | Not publicly disclosed — Kauffman Fellows publishes detailed class composition data but no acceptance rate or applicant volume |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | Not publicly disclosed. No membership price appears anywhere on the organisation's site. The commercial model is sponsor-funded: Gartner sells sponsors "unparalleled access to C-level executives at 400+ events each year".verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Not publicly disclosed — the organization does not publish alumni society dues, if anyverified September 2026 |
| Initiation fee | Not publicly disclosedverified September 2026 | Tuition is the material cost; travel and lodging for five modules, a summit and two treks are additional and not quantified by the organization. |
| Programme fee | Not publicly disclosed. The organisation publishes no membership price and monetises through sponsorship rather than published dues. | $80,000 one-timeTuition for the full two-year programme, due before Module 1. Covers venues, meals, materials and mentoring; excludes transportation and lodging. Non-refundable and non-transferable. Limited needs-based scholarships are available.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Membership term | Not documented | Two-year programme followed by lifelong membership of the Kauffman Fellows society |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Members meet several times a year within their community: in-person executive summits, inner-circle sessions, virtual town halls and curated one-to-one peer meetings; more than 400 programmes run across all communities annually | Five four-day in-person modules, one Global Summit and two Global Treks over two years, plus roughly 24 virtual forum meetings; Special Interest Groups meet monthly for alumni |
| Peer forums | Regional role-based communities led by a Governing Body of serving C-level practitioners, rather than standing small-group forums | Class members meet in virtual Forum groups roughly twice a month during the programme; alumni join topic-based Special Interest Groups and regional chapters |
| Confidentiality | Discussions are described as peer-level and off-the-record within community programmes; no published written confidentiality code was found | Could not be independently verified — no published confidentiality policy was found |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Approximately 20–25 days over the two-year programme, per the application details page |
| Organized as | Chapter-based, Event-focused, Virtual | Cohort-based, Event-focused, Virtual |
| Confidential peer forums | Partial | Yes |
| Local chapters | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual membership | Yes | No |
| Online community | Yes | Yes |
| Member directory | Yes | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Yes | Yes |
| Retreats | No | Yes |
| Travel | No | Yes |
| Family programming | No | Not documented |
| Spouse and partner programming | No | Not documented |
| Next-generation programming | No | No |
| Investment discussions | No | Yes |
| Investment opportunities | No | Partial |
| Philanthropic component | No | Not documented |
| Networking emphasis | High | High |
| Social emphasis | Medium | Medium |
Next
Last verified: not yet reviewed
Report an error on this page
Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Gartner C-level Communities · Kauffman Fellows