Fashion Arts Fund names new leader as shift toward new vision comes into focus
November 20, 2024 | Startland News Staff
A Kansas City nonprofit dedicated to making impact on the city’s fashion scene announced its new executive director Wednesday — stitching a dyed-in-the-wool KC fashion designer into the organization’s new look.
Elon Kebede — founder, designer, and creative director for Kansas City, Kansas-based ELU by Elon — is expected to lead the Fashion Arts Fund, which began re-envisioning its programs and underwent a name change in early 2023.
As a first generation Ethiopian-American, Kebede’s overarching, long term vision is to develop her brand to a point she is able to have a related philanthropic endeavor that builds and operates schools in Ethiopia.
She’ll take a step toward those education-focused pursuits locally with the Fashion Arts Fund.
Among its initiatives, the organization boasts a competitive scholarship program, targeting promising Kansas City natives in their pursuit of fashion-related, postsecondary degrees. Award amounts range from $1,000 to $3,000 each and can be paid toward any two- or four-year fashion school.
Click here to learn more about Fashion Arts Fund’s scholarships. The organization also focuses on reaching aspiring designers through mentorships, and seminars.
Jennifer Lapka, Fashion Arts Fund; photo by Jeff Evrard
The years-long transition at the Fashion Arts Fund has been led by Jennifer Lapka, a leader in the Kansas City fashion community who was retained by the organization’s board as a consultant. In that role, Lapka has piloted the new programs, grown their donor base, and led the executive director recruitment process to find Kebede.
“Elon is a one-in-a-million person who thinks and acts with incredible foresight and character,” Lapka said. “Her experiences with Brother Vellis in New York, New York Fashion Week, and Nardos Bridal in Dallas, and the fact she is a fashion designer choosing to build her brand in Kansas City, all gave her a special edge in the selection process.”
Kebede’s collections have been seen at Kansas City Fashion Week, New York Fashion Week, Omaha Fashion Week, and Where Are You Outreach Fashion Show in Dallas — showcasing her credentials on the scene, Lapka added.
“With shared passions for helping others and elevating the Kansas City fashion community, I am so excited to share all of my nonprofit operational and fundraising experience with Elon,” she said.
Kebede’s experience specifically building her ELU by Elon evening wear and bridal gown business in Kansas City has shown her the region’s unique challenges — and opportunities for solutions, the new leader said. She emphasized a desire to help others in the fashion community the way the organization already helped her as a designer.
“Last year, Fashion Arts Fund provided me with an exceptional opportunity via their mentorship program where I was paired with an experienced fashion professional, Tisha Mitchell, who helped me solve some of these challenges,” Kebede said. “I believe in Fashion Arts Fund and want to see it flourish so it can help other designers like me.”
2024 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Meat the moment with valor: Veteran cattle rancher deploys co-op model to save the Midwest cowboy
WESTON, Mo. — Almost a decade after launching KC Cattle Company — his veteran-owned and -operated wagyu beef company — Patrick Montgomery is forging a new path to help fellow ranchers and farmers survive. He’s now digging his spurs into Valor Provisions, a direct-to-consumer online marketplace offering premium proteins from small, independent, veteran-owned ranches like…
Student-raised meats graduate to university storefront as consumers look closer at what makes the cut
WARRENSBURG, Mo. — A new partnership puts pork chops, brats and select cuts from across farming projects at the University of Central Missouri in a retail storefront accessible to community members shopping for locally raised meat. UCM Farms — which spans more than 1,000 acres of farm ground within 10 miles of campus — is…
Nonprofit founder, tech people leader join Kauffman as trustees on shared mission: economic inclusivity
The year-long transformation of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation continues this week as the influential philanthropic organization announced two new trustees meant to bolster its rebooted grantmaking strategy and commitment to driving equitable economic mobility in Kansas City. Newly appointed leaders to the Kauffman Foundation’s Board of Trustees, Aimée Eubanks Davis and Kristen Ludgate bring…
No cookie-cutter way to create an entrepreneur, so what’s the catalyst? Inside KU’s venture test lab
Editor’s note: The University of Kansas’ School of Business is a partner of Startland News. It’s a practical testing ground for KU students to flex their entrepreneurial muscles, Ryan Rains said, describing a business program built for could-be entrepreneurs who aren’t necessarily even business majors — and who, ultimately, might choose to abandon their concept…