Through this Request for Proposals (“RFP”), West Central Community Development Corporation (dba New Growth) seeks proposals from qualified firms to develop an application for 2022 Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) certification. The scope of work for this RFP includes consultant guidance on organizational structure for New Growth to operate rural community development and business assistance programs alongside its certified CDFI.

On July 6, it was announced that Tiffany Frost would be the new Director of the New Growth Women’s Business Center (WBC). The New Growth Women’s Business Center advances rural entrepreneurs in all stages of business development and growth.

“If we don’t have affordable housing, our communities can’t move forward.”

A lack of housing options could nip new rural opportunity in the bud. Can the west central Missouri region muster the private-public collaboration and innovation needed to ramp up housing supply? This question is the topic of a “5th Monday” regional networking luncheon 12:00 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. Monday May 24.

Strawberries are here! And again this year, friends, family, and neighbors with limited budgets will be able to take locally produced fruits and vegetables home with them thanks to the Double Up Food Bucks Program. Seven farmers’ markets in west central Missouri participate. They are part of a national wave of communities adopting the Double Up Food Bucks approach to helping families, farmers, and communities grow healthy.

Two new Benton county businesses are the latest to get the startup boost they need from a new nonprofit financing resource in west central Missouri: The START HERE Revolving Loan Fund. Both are prime examples of what the START HERE Revolving Loan Fund is designed to do: Support rural businesses that are ready to get going and growing but are too new, too small, or too credit-challenged for traditional bank loans.

Resources here for small businesses preparing taxes this year, including our recorded Tax Tips webinar, guest speaker Timothy Carter’s presentation, and a Small Business Tax Workshop series of videos from the IRS.

Learn about new relief for small businesses in the American Rescue Plan Act. Mike McWhorter with the Small Business Kansas City district breaks it down for us. Download information and resources here from our March 31, 2021, webinar.

The New Growth Women’s Business Center is a new resource for rural entrepreneurs in all stages of business development and growth. It focuses on the power and potential of women to employ themselves, provide jobs for others, and build their local economies and communities.

New Growth Women’s Business Center! Open House events March 8-12, 2021, across 15 counties in Missouri and Kansas will celebrate women in business. They will also launch a new rural resource for all entrepreneurs, the New Growth Women’s Business Center.

APPLY BY MARCH 10. Launch U is a proven one-on-one, six week course for getting businesses going and growing. Participants put their plans together with intensive guidance and support from business counselors, other entrepreneurs, and experts that every business needs to consult for legal, financial and other questions.

West Central Missouri Community Action Agency (West Central) and the Missouri Rural Health Association (MRHA) seek volunteer drivers to help with healthcare rides in the region. Drivers receive a mileage reimbursement of $.80 per loaded mile, volunteer insurance coverage, flexible schedules, and training as HealthTran drivers.