Tag: GIFT

Karis Harrington, right, chief of business development at Kansas City G.I.F.T.

GIFT launches We Are Black pitch competition with 10 entrepreneurs vying for $60K

By Tommy Felts / March 16, 2023

Editor’s note: Kansas City G.I.F.T. is a non-financial partner of Startland News. Ten Black-owned Kansas City businesses are expected to pitch March 24 for their share of $60,000 at what organizers hope will become an annual event that helps to close the funding gap for entrepreneurs of color. The We Are Black pitch competition is…

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HERImpact $50K pitch competition returning March 8; Here’s how KC women entrepreneurs can apply

By Tommy Felts / December 16, 2022

Women business owners and social entrepreneurs in Kansas City are encouraged to compete this spring for up to $50,000 in a Shark Tank-style funding event aimed at investing in women’s ambitions to start and scale local businesses. “Expanding access to capital and mentorship is critical to women’s success as they start their own businesses,” said…

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How investments in Black businesses can help close KC’s racial wealth gap

By Tommy Felts / November 25, 2022

Editor’s note: This story was originally published by The Kansas City Beacon, a member of the KC Media Collective, which also includes Startland News, KCUR 89.3, American Public Square, Kansas City PBS/Flatland, and Missouri Business Alert. Click here to read the original story. When Denisha Jones launched her business, Sweet Peaches Cobblers, in August 2020, it was just…

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Brandon Calloway, GIFT

Co-founder of nonprofit that boosts Black businesses among two winners of $100K Pinnacle Prizes

By Tommy Felts / November 15, 2022

Brandon Calloway reflects the best of Kansas City’s young leaders, said Maurice Watson, announcing the G.I.F.T. co-founder as one of two winners of the 2022 Pinnacle Prize — an award that comes with a no-strings-attached $100,000. “Brandon grew up in the urban core and is motivated to make social and economic conditions better than those…

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‘Funds and coaching equally crucial’: GIFT reports $460K for Black-owned entrepreneurs as business center books up

By Tommy Felts / August 19, 2022

In its second fiscal year, the Kansas City-based nonprofit Generating Income For Future Generations (G.I.F.T) has more than doubled its grant amount for Black-owned businesses — but there’s no hidden secret to that success, said Brandon Calloway. “We simply acknowledged this big elephant in the room that everybody already knew existed and created a path…

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