Kansas City gigabit projects can snag up to $25K from Mozilla
January 26, 2016 | Bobby Burch
The Mozilla Foundation is planning to empower Kansas City techies to improve their city.
The foundation — along with the National Science Foundation and US Ignite — announced Monday that it’s allocating $300,000 to civically-minded, gigabit pilot projects in Kansas City and Chattanooga, TN.
The Mozilla Gigabit Community Fund is now accepting applications from techies and educators in both cities to submit ideas. Applicants can be local companies, non-profits or other institutions interested in tapping Kansas City’ gigabit speeds to improve education and workforce development.
If selected, projects can receive funding between $5,000 and $25,000, in addition to ongoing support and mentoring from Mozilla. The projects must take place in Kansas City, but applicants can come from around the world.
To date, the Fund has supported the development of 17 pilot projects in Kansas City and Chattanooga. Past projects include improved first-responder equipment, a real-time water quality monitoring system and singing robots.
While limited in funding size, the fund has had a positive effect on the local community, Mozilla Gigabit City Lead Lindsey Frost said.
“From relatively small grants have come huge impacts, as these projects continue as yearlong courses in our schools or even as full-fledged gigabit tech startups,” Frost said in a release.
Featured Business

2016 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Grow with us: The Rolling Garden plants perennial vibes from its new North KC shop
A houseplant oasis on wheels is putting down roots in the Iron District as the small business’ life cycle sprouts new opportunities for owners Tryce Nelson and Steven Morrill. “We’ve rolled all over Kansas City this past year — popping up at wineries, breweries, coffee shops, universities, events,” said Nelson, who co-founded The Rolling Garden…
Wanderfest returns April 23 to Midtown alongside Flavorpak jam and other Tower East oddities
After a four-year hiatus, community members are once again invited to wander and explore a collection of local businesses dubbed the Tower East District for a special day of spring events. Wanderfest is returning April 23 to the area near 31st Street and Gillham Road, shared organizers — and the sisters behind Two Tone Press…
Nonprofit shopping platform presents guardians with dignity to choose their child’s birthday gift
Birthdays are important developmental milestones, Benita Webber said, and every guardian deserves the opportunity to shop for a gift that matches the relevance of their child’s big day. “Kids who are struggling and facing chaos every day of their lives deserve to wake up — on the day that’s most special to them — and…
LaunchKC winner shows value with $900K pre-seed round, earns critical local support
Kansas City’s DataAppraisal has secured $900,000 in pre-seed funding for its AI-powered proprietary software that helps healthcare organizations unlock the monetary value of their enterprise data, said Tam Tran. And the tech startup’s recent developments come after a year of earning local resources and support, its co-founder and CEO said. DataAppraisal’s unique solution contains two…
