‘A critical lifeline’: EDCKC grants $80K to Black-led non-profits impacted by COVID-19
February 27, 2021 | Startland News Staff
Relief grants from a leading economic development initiative are as much about building momentum as surviving the pandemic, said Nika Cotton, emphasizing Troost as a good place to start.
Cotton, owner of the Soulcentricitea tea shop at 30th Street and Troost Avenue, is using a $5,000 award from the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri, to help launch efforts for her community organizing fund.
Nika Cotton, Soulcentricitea
“We currently have two community organizing projects we are working on,” she said, detailing a youth internship program to teach young people about social entrepreneurship, business plans, peace-building training, and industry-specific knowledge on barista service and food handlers permits.”
Click here to learn more about Soulcentricitea’s summer 2020 launch.
“The second project is a Black Troost Business Association to address the effects of gentrification along Troost on Black businesses,” Cotton added. “We will be holding a listening session to understand the needs of Black businesses along Troost or Black businesses who are interested in moving to Troost to understand how a Troost Black Business Association can be responsive to their needs.”
“I’m just excited to have this funding to get things started.”
The EDCKC publicly announced $80,000 in funding to Black-led Kansas City non-profits Friday, including the award to Cotton at Soulcentricitea.
“Over the course of the pandemic, we’ve been working hard getting grant funding into the community to support our city’s Black-owned organizations that are suffering due to COVID-19 impacts,” said T’Risa McCord, interim president and CEO at EDCKC, calling recipients’ characterizations of the COVID-19 relief grants as “a critical lifeline.”
The full list of grants includes:
- Black Archives of Mid-America — $10,000
- Delta Educational and Economic Development Foundation — $10,000
- Friends of Alvin Ailey — $10,000
- Friends of Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Center — $10,000
- Negro Leagues Baseball Museum — $10,000
- HELP(KC) — $10,000
- Generating Income for Tomorrow (G.I.F.T.) — $10,000
- Soulcentricitea — $5,000
- Prospect Business Association — $5,000
Brandon Calloway, GIFT
The funds awarded to Generating Income for Tomorrow (G.I.F.T.) — a nonprofit that’s raised more than a quarter million dollars in eight months to provide grants to Black small businesses — are expected to help the organization continue serving the urban core, as well as providing business coaching and accounting services to GIFT grantees.
“We truly, Truly! Appreciate all the help and support we’ve gotten from the EDC,” said Brandon Calloway, executive director and co-founder of GIFT.
Click here to read more about GIFT’s February grant recipient, Mike Rollen, owner of Ophelia’s Blue Vine Farm.
Featured Business
2021 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Fitbit integrating Sickweather illness forecasting into new wearables
Sickweather is stepping into the wearables market. A new partnership with industry leader Fitbit is expected to see the Kansas City-based startup’s illness forecasting technology integrated into Fitbit’s new products. “Smartwatches provide a powerful platform to deliver important health tools that help our users manage conditions more conveniently than ever before,” said James Park, co-founder…
Surveys, rewards dying: Tapyness scores customer feedback with one-tap, 3-second experience
No one takes 15-minute surveys anymore, said Matthew Korte, co-founder of Tapyness, a Lawrence-based customer experience platform that provides real-time feedback via kiosks in client businesses. A typical Tapyness interaction takes three seconds, he said. “We’re down to the millisecond, and we’re aggregating hundreds of tablets simultaneously within one brand to go: ‘Here’s the health…
Lean Lab rebrands to reflect its evolution within education innovation
The Lean Lab has announced a rebranding effort to better reflect and differentiate it from other groups in education innovation, said co-founder Katie Boody. Unveiling a new look in late April, the Kansas City-based organization is now LEANLAB Education, which Boody hopes will better communicate its mission, she said. “We know the nature of our…
H3 win at Regnier challenge puts Roy Scott $20K closer to his slice of $3B edtech market
The oversized novelty checks are piling up at H3 Enterprises’ headquarters in the Crossroads. Founder Roy Scott secured another $20,000 in prize money Friday, winning top honors in the Regnier Venture Creation Challenge. “We are continuing to grow and preparing to launch our new technology in schools across the country,” he said in social media…