The DEC@Redbird has landed new funding to help it “close the opportunity gap” in Dallas.
The Oak Cliff-based innovation hub run by local entrepreneurial support nonprofit The DEC Network received a $75,000 grant from retail giant Target to support the launch of a new startup training program.
The organization said the investment would help “support a broader effort to provide new and inclusive income-, wealth- and credit-building strategies to foster resilient small business growth in the historically underserved community of southern Dallas.”
Called the Your Startup Cohort, the program will provide entrepreneurial resources, training and networking, focusing on female founders and diverse founders. Demetra Brown, senior director at The DEC Network, said the program would focus on early-stage companies largely in the products or services industry.
According to The DEC@Redbird, the Target grant will allow it to provide the program free to participants. It will also allow it to provide cohort members with $2,000 microgrants.
The program looks to have 25 founders in its first cohort, which is set to kick off in July.
Your Startup Cohort is among several other initiatives The DEC@Redbird has undertaken aimed at under-represented founders. In 2020, the organization, along with about 200 others, developed the Broaden Urban Investments to Leverage Dallas initiative to develop a resource network for small- and medium-sized businesses. Earlier this year, The DEC@Redbird launched the eight-week Second Start boot camp designed to provide formerly incarcerated people with entrepreneurial knowledge and resources to start their own businesses.
“Small businesses play a critical role in our ecosystem,” Brown said via email. “Our goal is to support our founders in positioning them to grow their businesses to create jobs and wealth in communities.”
The DEC@Redbird opened in 2018. The network also has locations in Addison and previously had a partnership with Capital Factory’s Dallas location before closing its doors last year.
