NetWork Kansas gets $3M Kauffman boost to build inclusive ecosystems across state
March 22, 2022 | Startland News Staff
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation.
WICHITA — Newly announced funding will help a Kansas nonprofit increase its investment in BIPOC and women-owned businesses from $4 million to $20 million and serve at least 5,000 entrepreneurs and residents in the next three years, the organization said Tuesday.
Steve Radley, NetWork Kansas, left, at a recent Startup Grind Wichita event
“We want to partner broadly, empower locally, and impact deeply,” said Steve Radley, CEO of NetWork Kansas. “We work with local partners, and this allows us to accelerate in a variety of ways.”
Payable over three years, the $3 million grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is an investment following NetWork Kansas’ participation in the Kauffman Foundation’s Spark Heartland Program, a capacity-building program designed to bolster organizational effectiveness to increase entrepreneurial efforts in Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas.
NetWork Kansas, alternately known as the Kansas Center for Entrepreneurship, connects entrepreneurs and small business owners to a network of business-building resources. The funding will allow it to broaden the reach of its education, technical assistance, capital, and programming resources — especially in disadvantaged geographies and populations.
Click here to learn more about NetWork Kansas.
The grant will also help NetWork Kansas achieve its goal of expanding its Entrepreneurship (E-) Communities program, which establishes locally-administered loan funds to assist entrepreneurs with capital access and connect entrepreneurs to the resources they need to start, sustain, and grow a business. By the end of three years, the nonprofit hopes to grow its number of E-Communities from 66 to 80 across Kansas.
NetWork Kansas’ E-Communities Network
Established by the Kansas Economic Growth Act of 2004, NetWork Kansas has grown to have more than 550 partners, having created multiple loan programs and a venture fund. In the past 17 years, the nonprofit has provided cumulative loans and investments of almost $60 million to more than 1,000 businesses, having leveraged more than $575 million in additional capital for entrepreneurial development.
With the Kauffman Foundation’s grant, NetWork Kansas will continue to support entrepreneurs and the communities surrounding them with a local-first mindset.
“Our greatest strength at NetWork Kansas is that we don’t make the decisions,” said Radley. “We take the assets we have, and our partners in local communities drive the decisions. That’s the crux of empowerment.”
Click here to learn more about NetWork Kansas’ coming “NetWorked For Change” conference April 1 in Wichita, which features Dan Smith, co-founder of The PorterHouse KC, and Melissa Roberts Chapman, senior program officer for entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation.
This story is possible thanks to support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private, nonpartisan foundation that works together with communities in education and entrepreneurship to create uncommon solutions and empower people to shape their futures and be successful.
For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect at www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn
Featured Business
2022 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Fishtech securing market position in the face of emerging threats, founder’s own win record
On track to reach $100 million in annual revenue by 2020, it’s full steam ahead for the cyber security freight train Fishtech Group, said serial entrepreneur Gary Fish. “It took me about 14 years to get [to $100 million] in my first company,” explained Fish, founder and CEO of the three-year-old, Martin City-based, data-driven security…
University of Saint Mary launching entrepreneur boot camp to supplement OP campus’ healthcare focus
A new, four-week crash course in entrepreneurism is coming to the University of Saint Mary’s Overland Park campus, with officials hoping the pilot helps healthcare-focused students better connect with needed business skills. “We have a lot of wisdom to share,” said John Shultz, vice president for admissions and marketing at the university, noting a treasure…
Kauffman address leaves DC; Execs say the people (not politicians) will revive entrepreneurship
Everyone should have the opportunity to take a risk, achieve success, and give back to their communities through entrepreneurship, Wendy Guillies said. But it’s a collaborative process that begins at home, she noted. “The reality is we all have a part to play in creating a more prosperous national economy and that starts with growing…
No Coast finalists: Trio of startup heavyweights among KC Tech Council award contenders
Updated: Click here for No Coast winners. KC Tech Council released finalists Wednesday for its No Coast awards — a March 8 celebration of trailblazing innovators across the tech industry in Kansas City — which features a handful of startup founders and companies. “These are the folks who went above and beyond in tech,” KC Tech…