KCSourceLink’s budget clapback: Startups generated $37.6M in KCMO earnings taxes
February 28, 2020 | Tommy Felts
Editor’s note: Startland News is a program of STARTLAND, an ecosystem-building organization that is among the participants in an informal coalition of entrepreneur support groups hoping to increase funding for small business support in the 2020-2021 Kansas City, Missouri, budget. This story was produced independently by Startland News’ nonprofit newsroom.
Financial backing for entrepreneur support is an investment with a tangible impact — on the city’s own bottom line, according to data released Friday by KCSourceLink and the UMKC Innovation Center.
Nearly two out of three net new jobs in Kansas City come from startups — defined as new firms with fewer than 20 employees — and in 2018 the small business owners and entrepreneurs running those startups generated $37.6 million in KCMO earnings taxes, said KCSourceLink representatives through a series of documents released late this week to show the city’s return on investment with startup support organizations.
“Entrepreneurs are hungry for just-in-time training that helps them start or grow a business,” KCSourceLink said Friday.
KCSourceLink — a hotline- and email-based clearinghouse built to assist aspiring and existing business owners via a collaborative, 240-member regional resource network — is among the support organizations that would see a significant reduction in funding if a budget proposed by Mayor Quinton Lucas is passed March 26 by the City Council.
Click here to learn more about KCSourceLink.
The submitted $1.7 billion budget reduces small business support allocations from $400,000 to $250,000, said Sarah Mote, marketing director for UMKC Innovation Center and KCSourceLink. (The proposed budget also removes $50,000 for LaunchKC and $300,000 for the planned Keystone innovation district project.)
Click here to read more about the potential impact of the proposed budget and how entrepreneur groups are rallying to reinstate funding.
“The most important message here is that entrepreneurship is vital to the Kansas City economy and should be supported at all levels. Entrepreneurs create 58 percent of net new jobs and contribute millions in earnings taxes,” Mote said. “We’re grateful for the support the city has shown its entrepreneurs in the past, support that has allowed several entrepreneurship programs, including KCSourceLink, to leverage the FY20 $400,000 investment into $2,000,000-plus in matching funds for entrepreneurship support programs and direct grants to entrepreneurs.”
Highlighting the impact of matching funds and programs, KCSourceLink noted a 2019 KCMO investment of $25,000 from which the support organization leveraged $300,000 from other sources.
That initial KCMO investment was part of a five-year pledge ($25,000 per year) made in 2018 to match a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce in partnership with local corporate and philanthropic partners. Local support of $812,500 matches an additional $812,500 federal grant that provides core funding for KCSourceLink over five years.
Two more KCMO Resident Speakeasy Sessions are planned in the coming days — Saturday, Feb. 29 and Tuesday, March 3 — to serve as public budget hearings ahead of the proposed budget’s expected adoption by the Kansas City City Council on March 26.
Click here to learn more about a planned Budget Feedback Takeover.
Top requests for training and resources from KCSourceLink include assistance with marketing/sales, startups, business plans, financing and mentoring.
Many of those requests represent an opportunity for wealth generation and building in some of Kansas City’s most underserved communities, the support group said.
In 2019, KCSourceLink had 54,831 website users (54 percent from KCMO) and 9,489 hotline interactions (33 percent from KCMO), according to the organization’s data. Requests for assistance from KCMO’s lowest income/highest minority zip codes accounted for 68 percent of those local interactions.
The final two budget-related Speakeasy Sessions are set for:
- 9 a.m. — Saturday, Feb. 29 — Southeast Community Center, 4201 E. 63rd St., Kansas City, MO 64130
- 11:30 a.m. — Tuesday, March 3 — KC Health Department, 2400 Troost Ave., Kansas City, MO 64108
Featured Business
2020 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Mass Street fire leaves future uncertain for Blade & Timber’s Lawrence store
An early morning fire at Blade & Timber’s Massachusetts Street location in Lawrence has left the premier axe-throwing startup waiting for answers, said Matt Baysinger. “While it’s a surreal experience to learn that your business is on fire and that there’s nothing you can do about it, I’m incredibly grateful that nobody was in the…
Two Kansas City startups relocating to St. Louis to cash $50K Arch Grants awards
Two Kansas City tech startups are on the move — winning spots in the Arch Grants competition, an “aggressive effort” to build St. Louis’ startup ecosystem. Healthy Hip Hop and FastDemocracy were among 20 companies each earning $50,000 in equity-free cash grants through the selection, which also requires the startups run their businesses from St.…
KC Heart adopted as region’s official symbol: Charlie Hustle founder hopes icon will join KC skyline
Good things come to those who hustle. “Honestly, it was a long time coming when they showed up at our office. It was almost like, ‘Where have you guys been?’” Chase McAnulty, founder and CEO of Charlie Hustle, said of a new partnership between the startup and the Kansas City Area Development Council. The agreement…
‘Leadership is harder’: Founder duo debuting ‘Above the Fray’ in LinkedIn Live beta test
Two influential voices in the Kansas City startup community hope their new LinkedIn Live show can inspire fellow founders to be true leaders, said Eze Redwood, co-creator of “Above the Fray.” “We want to bring in diverse perspectives from entrepreneurs in different fields that leaders would need to be successful,” explained Redwood, who unveiled the…