Tag: Brandon Calloway

Meet the competition: 10 entrepreneurs vying for $60K at KC GIFT ‘Pitch Black’ business summit

By Tommy Felts / March 17, 2025

The return of Kansas City G.I.F.T.’s spring pitch competition not only opens the door to prize money for emerging Black entrepreneurs, said Brandon Calloway, it also allows community members and supporters of his nonprofit to see the impact of its mission firsthand. GIFT’s highly anticipated Pitch Black Business Summit 2025 is set for 10 a.m.…

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‘Black-owned dining passport’ launches in response to Trump’s attacks on diversity

By Tommy Felts / February 21, 2025

A new effort encouraging support for local, Black-owned businesses — many in Kansas City’s historically redlined neighborhoods — is a timely reminder of the purchasing power in each diner’s hands, said Brandon Calloway. Kansas City G.I.F.T. on Friday launched the first edition of its “Savor The Flavor” Black-Owned Dining Passport, which features 13 restaurants. Diners…

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Building a movement: How empowering one small business can change their world (and ours)

By Tommy Felts / February 19, 2025

Editor’s note: The perspectives expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Brandon Calloway is CEO and Co-Founder of Generating Income For Tomorrow (G.I.F.T.), and now writes a weekly blog, The Equity Advocate. The racial wealth gap in America isn’t just a statistic; it’s a reality that has defined the lives and limited the futures…

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Entrepreneurship is the path to freedom; how Black business pioneers’ legacies still stand today

By Tommy Felts / February 4, 2025

Editor’s note: The perspectives expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Brandon Calloway is CEO and Co-Founder of Generating Income For Tomorrow (G.I.F.T.), and now writes a weekly blog, The Equity Advocate. In the past eighteen months of traveling from city to city, I’ve made it a point to delve into the histories of…

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Chef brings Urban concept back to Troost; $25K GIFT grant boosts fight against gentrification

By Tommy Felts / August 16, 2024

Chef Justin Clark’s latest venture — an eatery that blends Asian and soul food influences — aims to not only blur the boundaries between menus, but break down dividing lines within and between communities. “The goal was to create familiar items that everyone actually can relate to as Americans, but then again, we add some…

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