A $300,000, three-year grant recently was given to the University of Missouri-Kansas City's Center for Neighborhoods to support community-focused research analyzing barriers Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs face in Kansas City.
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation provided the grant to support further research on how a legacy of racially biased restrictions affects entrepreneurs of color and their perceptions of how location can affect business performance.
Lack of access to capital, inconsistent financing and pre-existing economic challenges related to redlining are just a handful of barriers Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs encounter, UMKC Center for Neighborhoods Director Dina Newman said in a release.
UMKC will first develop relationships within urban neighborhoods to get a baseline understanding of these issues before moving to interactive collaboration with the UMKC’s research team during the second year of the grant.
The grant is part of the Kauffman Foundation’s mission to break down systemic barriers by addressing root issues and enacting change in Kansas City.
These five other recipients also received community-engaged research funding from the foundation from across the country:
- Brooklyn Communities Collaborative, Inc. and Hunter College, CUNY
- University of California at San Diego
- University of Michigan
- Virginia Commonwealth University
- William Marsh Rice University
UMKC expects the research to lead to new programs, workshops and training to boost business development in urban areas, Newman said in the release.
