Kauffman Foundation dishes $840K to 8 area accelerators
May 30, 2017 | Bobby Burch
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is hitting the gas on its support of area accelerator programs.
As part of the 2016 KC Accelerator Challenge, the Kauffman Foundation announced Tuesday that it’s awarded a total of $840,000 in grants to eight local venture accelerator programs.
“Our goal is to increase entrepreneurial success in Kansas City through high-quality support programs because we know from recent research that more startups lead to higher productivity, wage growth and quality of life for the entire community,” Kauffman Foundation CEO Wendy Guillies said in a release. “We believe the startups are empowered when they connect to established resources. The KC Accelerator Challenge directly supports organizations that are demonstrably increasing early-stage entrepreneurs’ success and accelerating business through growth.”
The foundation’s accelerator challenge aims to cultivate the area’s entrepreneurial ecosystem through accelerators that provide mentoring, access to resources and other services helping entrepreneurs scale their companies. Grant recipients are required to meet a funding match of Kauffman Foundation funds.
Victor Hwang, vice president of entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation, said that accelerators are key to a vibrant entrepreneurial community.
“Kansas City has many of the ingredients for a strong ecosystem for entrepreneurs,” Hwang said in a release. “The KC Accelerator Challenge is part of the Kauffman Foundation’s comprehensive approach to address barriers that too many of our entrepreneurs face in Kansas City and the Midwest.”
Area accelerator organizations receiving grants and sponsorships are:
- BetaBlox
- Enterprise Center of Johnson County’s Investment Bootcamp
- Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program’s Amp Up
- Sprint Accelerator
- Techstars Kansas City
- Project United Knowledge
- Rightfully Sewn
- ScaleUp! Kansas City
The challenge is part of the Kauffman Foundation’s Zero Barriers movement, which is a national campaign to address barriers that entrepreneurs face. Another program within Zero Barriers is Inclusion Open, a grant program that aims to enable champions of underrepresented entrepreneurs to expand their services to topple barriers.
Featured Business
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Lawmakers redeploy bill to boost veterans as entrepreneurs; targeting easier access to capital, credit
Bipartisan legislation to help veteran small business owners and entrepreneurs overcome barriers on the home front is back in Congress, with backing from two area lawmakers who say the time is now to get resources to those who served. U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kansas, introduced the Successful Entrepreneurship for Reservists and Veterans (SERV) Act alongside…
This sandwich shop’s top menu item: Make Gallatin beautiful again (and don’t skip the sweet rolls)
Editor’s note: The following story was produced through a paid partnership with MOSourceLink, which boasts a mission to help entrepreneurs and small businesses across the state of Missouri grow and succeed by providing free, easy access to the help they need — when they need it. Feeding a busy family doesn’t necessarily mean leaning on…
Chris Boyle wants you to reach for kombucha on instinct; his plan: make it as accessible (and tasty) as your favorite beer
Daily Culture Kombucha’s expansion is not quite as effortlessly self-replicating as the scoby that powers the Kansas City brand’s bold, full-bodied flavors — but a commitment to consistency and authenticity has fermented a strategy founder Chris Boyle said keeps his company on the tip of consumers’ tongues. “We’ve just been growing,” Boyle said, noting Daily…
Olathe restaurateur brings comfort food home from the Mediterranean (starting with falafel bowls)
Summer Salem looked around her city for an authentic Mediterranean restaurant and found a gap in the Olathe marketplace. So a year ago she began planning one of her own. She teamed with her husband, Abraham, who also is a partner in a downtown Kansas City Mediterranean restaurant. But the recipes would be Summer’s own.…