Funding Stories

Young mom’s apparel for crawling babies wins best fit for UMKC Side Hustle Challenge

Riley Rhoads knows firsthand how overwhelming it is to shop for baby clothes, the University of Missouri-Kansas City student and new mother shared, so she created a product to help fellow moms. Hold Tight Baby — Rhoads’ venture that earned her first place at UMKC’s Side Hustle Challenge — makes pants for crawling babies. The…

$11.2M+ awarded: 53 orgs tapped for first-ever tranche of Kauffman capacity building grants

A new grantmaking strategy from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is manifesting through an inaugural round of funding to local and outside organizations whose work supports the priorities of college access and completion, workforce and career development, and entrepreneurship. The Kauffman Foundation on Monday announced its first tranche of grants — totaling more than $11.2…

K-State awarded $500K state grant to boost border-to-border innovation, entrepreneurship

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.  MANHATTAN, Kansas — A newly launched grant program is expected to help Kansas’ six state universities accelerate innovation activities within the world of higher education. At Kansas State University, a…

These KC nonprofits showed resiliency; their reward: $200K grants from Bank of America

Bank of America this fall continued the 20-year run for its Neighborhood Builder grants program, awarding two Kansas City nonprofits with $200,000 grants and access to exclusive leadership training resources and a national network of nonprofit peers. The 2024 honorees are Kansas City Girls Preparatory Academy and Cultivate Kansas City — tapped for their work…

How a crowdfunding site is adding extra cheddar to Buffalo State Pizza’s relocation plans 

Confidence is already in the box for Buffalo State Pizza Co.’s owners as they look to everyday investors to help their business complete and grow into a new space near downtown Overland Park, they said.  The duo — Philippe Lechevin and Steve Robson — launched a campaign this fall on the crowdfunding site Honeycomb Credit…