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
VIDEO: Kritiq designs more emotional KC runway show with Goodwill crossover
When the Kritiq fashion show returns to the runway later this month, it will be an event styled with creativity and an intimate feel, said Mark Launiu, noting a new partnership with Goodwill stores across Kansas and Missouri. “For me, I grew up shopping at Goodwill, my family still shops at Goodwill, so it kind…
Against the grain: Coworking leader bringing alcohol-free ‘Sans Bar’ pop-up concept to KC
Entrepreneur events should focus less on alcohol, and more on connections, said Melissa Saubers. “Part of my goal is to help educate and bring awareness to people who are hosting events — and also have alcohol in the workplace — to help them be more sensitive and inclusive for people who don’t drink,” said Saubers,…
On the agenda: What are GEW’s 10 most popular events so far? Practical workshops
With more than 170 events planned, organizers of Global Entrepreneurship Week already are seeing registration trends from those building their weeklong agendas at GEWKC.org Topping the most popular are GEW’s kickoff breakfast — set to explore the future in terms of emerging Latino markets, transportation and the Hyperloop, and sports technology — and Marquita Miller’s…
BlackTech Week curating GEW conversation between founders with ‘true experiences’
Bringing BlackTech Week to Kansas City for a day — and debuting the event series during Global Entrepreneurship Week — seemed like a natural fit, said Denayja Reese. The Miami-based festival draws together black entrepreneur leaders who already are championing the startup hustle of their communities, she said. Powered by Code Fever, which was founded…