Tag: Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City (EDCKC)

LaunchKC accelerator

LaunchKC reviving $50K grants competition with 8 big checks for startups ready to call KC home

By Tommy Felts / August 1, 2022

After a four-year hiatus, LaunchKC is officially set to bring back its signature grants competition. Early-stage tech companies will have the opportunity to each win $50,000 in non-dilutive grants, plus access to business support and networking.  Co-founded by the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri, (EDCKC) and Downtown Council (DTC), the non-profit LaunchKC’s cornerstone…

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2018 LaunchKC winners

LaunchKC grants competition gets boost toward relaunch with newly announced funding, MTC says

By Tommy Felts / March 22, 2022

A popular grants competition that helped raise the profiles — and buoy the bank accounts — of dozens of Kansas City startups could be relaunching with renewed funding from the Missouri Technology Corporation, the agency announced Tuesday. LaunchKC was named one of seven organizations to together receive more than $1 million in grant funding to support…

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Father Justin Mathews, Thelma's Kitchen, Reconciliation Services

LaunchKC’s latest: a Social Venture Studio to tackle social, racial, environmental issues

By Tommy Felts / November 16, 2021

A new Kansas City-based social venture studio is expected to help social entrepreneurs avoid grant starvation — and depending too heavily on financial gifts — in lieu of models that focus on innovative steps toward sustainability, said Father Justin Mathews. “I got very excited about social venturing — this idea of being able to harness…

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Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri, grant recipients

‘A critical lifeline’: EDCKC grants $80K to Black-led non-profits impacted by COVID-19

By Tommy Felts / February 27, 2021

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,…

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Kevin McGinnis, Keystone Community Corporation, and Rodney Sampson, Opportunity Hub

OHUB.KC an investment in equity infrastructure, founder says; minority accelerator deadline Sept. 18

By Tommy Felts / September 10, 2020

Kansas City’s startup community still has room to improve on racial equity and access issues, said Rodney Sampson, but the ecosystem should safeguard the progress it’s made now — before COVID-era re-settlers arrive, bringing potentially problematic culture with them from larger startup hubs. “When a lot of those folks leave regions like the coasts and come…

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