Find Support Here: Get Connected, Share Resources, Bolster Black-Owned Businesses

Our hearts are heavy over the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and too many others who have died as a result of systemic bias and racism, and the violence that has roiled our communities.

To our Black entrepreneurs and community members, we see you. Your lives matter. Your pain matters. Your dreams matter.

We know the power of entrepreneurship and its ability to promote economic mobility, solve problems and foster change. And we’ll continue to work toward making entrepreneurship easier for anyone who has a dream of a better future for themselves, their families and our community.

There is much work to do. Every effort may not be perfect, but that should not stop anyone from showing up and getting started.

Here’s how anyone can get connected and support our small businesses:

Connect with business help

COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted businesses of color. Let us know what your business (or a business owner you know) needs.

Starting a business? Meet virtually with a community-based Network Navigator and outline the next steps for your business.

Already have a business? Existing businesses can get one-on-one, no-cost help with accounting, applying for funding, pivots, e-commerce, marketing and more through Pair Up with a Pro. (Pros can also sign up to lend their services here, too.)

Browse the Resource Navigator, which features over 240 KC organizations who are ready to help you start, grow, reopen and recover at low to no cost.

Call us at 816-235-6500 or tell us what you need at kcsourcelink.com/myplan. We’ll help you create your Personal Action Plan, which will show you how to move your business forward.

Explore funding

Access to capital is still a barrier that limits the establishment, expansion and growth for business owners of color. KCSourceLink has worked with our network of 240+ service providers to improve access to capital for entrepreneurs of color. Check out these upcoming opportunities and call us (816-235-6500) if you want to find out about more.

• Attend Block Knowledge’s The Art of Raising Money on June 11 and June 18.

• Apply for the KC Region Small Business Relief + Recovery Loan Fund through AltCap.

• LISC Greater Kansas City is accepting and prioritizing PPP applications from minority-, women- and veteran-owned small businesses.

• Apply to pitch to Digital Sandbox KC.

• Apply to Opportunity Hub.KC.

• Entrepreneurial businesses and investors can apply to CapitalMatch.

• Get connected with financial assistance if your business has been affected by COVID-19.

Read and listen …

• … to Kansas City entrepreneurs. Every Wednesday at 6 p.m., Dan Smith and Charon Thompson of Porter House KC go live on Facebook with What’s Nexxt!, a partnership with Square One Small Business Services by Mid-Continent Public Library to share resources and stories of entrepreneurs in Kansas City. Find the latest What’s Nexxt! and its featured speakers on the Porter House Facebook page.
   

• … to the stories of Black entrepreneurs. This podcast directory will get you started on stories, tips challenges and success of, about and by Black entrepreneurs. You can also follow the stories of entrepreneurs of color KCSourceLink has featured, including Aisha Bullocks and Tiffany Cody of Smash Glam, Claude Harris of College Coaching Network, Philip Hickman of PlaBook, Janet Lockridge of Precise Operations Management and more at youtube.com/kcsourcelink.
   

• … to help build a better ecosystem for entrepreneurs of color. The Federal Reserve Bank’s guide on “Building Entrepreneurship Ecosystems in Communities of Color” is a playbook for racial equity-based work.
   

• … to Rodney Sampson, founder of Opportunity Hub (OHUB), in his Startland News piece “Your silence is an investment; I’m calling out so-called allies“:

“According to Harlem Capital’s 2019 report, there have been only 200 Black and Latinx founders that have raised over $1 million in venture in the past two decades. … Compare that to the 25,000-plus founders that were funded in 2019 alone, to the tune of $131 billion. Note that 3 out of 4 venture-backed startups fail. With a 75 percent failure rate in this industry, investing in Black funds and founders should be a no-brainer. The data don’t lie: Black-owned, high-growth, venture-backed startups yield 35 percent more ROI.”