Entrepreneurship for All's efforts to spur entrepreneurship in Massachusetts' Gateway Cities have landed it a $420,000 prize.

EforAll, a nonprofit originally funded by the Deshpande Foundation that provides nascent entrepreneurs with mentoring services, recently announced that it has been selected as a 2016 winner of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation's Inclusion Challenge.

Grants are awarded to organizations that Foundation members felt were best positioned to assist female entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs of color achieve higher rates of success.

EforAll is one of 12 organizations across the country to receive the $420,000 award, and is the only entity in New England awarded.

In a press release, EforAll said it will utilize its award to develop an online toolset that will enable the organization to scale its business accelerator to additional mid-sized cities across the U.S. EforAll currently serves Lowell, Lawrence, Fall River, New Bedford and Lynn.

In a statement, EforAll CEO David Parker said the organization is "thrilled to be partnering with the Kauffman Foundation as we look to expand our model of inclusive entrepreneurship."

"The Kauffman Foundation is the most respected and well-known foundation concentrating on entrepreneurship in the world," he added. "We couldn't ask for a better partner."

The Kauffman Foundation, based in Kansas City, Mo., aims to help individuals gain economic independence by advancing educational achievement and entrepreneurial success. Its founder, Ewing Kauffman (1916-1993), founded the former Marion Laboratories and was owner of the Kansas City Royals baseball team.

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