Local foundations host cohort in support of new nonprofits

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City G.I.F.T. and the Health Forward Foundation are hosting a 16-week cohort aimed at helping new nonprofit organizations.

On Wednesday, September 25, the cohort was practicing the pitches they’ll make to leaders from GEHA and KC People’s Fund as they wrap up their cohort next week.

Brandon Calloway, the Founder and CEO of Kansas City G.I.F.T. says that a successful nonprofit is built on some of the same principles that any other business is built on.

“Each and everything from fundraising to annual planning, strategic planning, board recruitment,” he said.

He is one of the instructors of the cohort, lending his advice from starting Kansas City G.I.F.T.

“There are a lot of nonprofits doing massively impactful work that you have never heard about,” he said.

“Looking at those grassroot level nonprofits that are really in the trenches doing the work, they are making massive change.”

One of the participants is LaNee Bridewell, who started Athvantage, a program that invests in youth sports to increase access to a college education for kids in the urban core of Kansas City.

“I don’t want to play in a soccer game and I’m playing against students who are fully dressed in a uniform and I’m playing in a white t shirt,” Bridewell said.

“That’s very discouraging. And what does that say to me about my value as a student?”

She says that the program helped her to focus her efforts.

“This has really helped me just clarify my thoughts. It’s given me very clear steps, but it’s also given me the confidence and the mentorship that I needed to really take that next step,” she said.

Shelly Foster has attended other cohorts at KC G.I.F.T., but in this one, she’s focusing on her nonprofit Infinity Housing Group.

Her work focuses on foster children, as she’s been a foster parent for more than 15 years and has housed more than 160 children. She saw a need to help foster children transition to being self-sufficient.

“We need housing when they start to age out of foster care. A lot of our girls need financial literacy. They need cooking classes, they need sewing classes, they need life skills,” she said.

She says that the cohort has given her the confidence to keep working towards her goal.

“Keep pushing, keep your dream alive, keep moving forward, there’s going to be obstacles is not going to be easy. And if this is what your dream is, you’ve got to keep going.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.