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
Dough-re-mi: Choir teacher’s pop-up pie hustle bakes her second verse from scratch
On any given weekday, Ann Lewis Marzette can be found in the classroom, teaching and training students in the Kearney Middle School choir. But when the clock strikes 3 p.m., she trades sheet music and scales for mixing bowls and measuring cups, embracing a side hustle that has her singing dough-re-mi — while customers serenade…
Return on investment: Why the co-founder of tech giant Dropbox just donated $500K to Blue Valley schools
Blue Valley schools, teachers, and students are expected to benefit greatly from a newly announced fund launched by the homegrown Johnson County tech entrepreneur who later co-founded the cloud storage giant Dropbox. Arash Ferdowsi, a 2004 graduate of Blue Valley Northwest High School, has put up $500,000 to launch the Arash Ferdowsi Fund, which benefits…
Ronawk accelerates its growth with exec hires, creation of expansive ‘Bio-Block Universe’
Synergy and chemistry are just as important as expertise when hiring strategic, high-level positions within a startup, said A.J. Mellott. “Ronawk has gone from this startup with its organized chaos, to having structured pathways that have emerged because we are better informed. That in itself has been really exciting and stimulating. We are more of…
WATCH: Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2022
This broadcast features Startland News reporters in conversation with the founders who lead the Startups to Watch companies showcased in the publication’s 10 Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2022 list and explore ways in which they’re disrupting industries in Kansas City and beyond. Use #KCSTW22 to interact with other viewers on social media. Click…