Collider Foundation Awarded Funds by the City of Rochester’s Community Building Grant
Collider Foundation is pleased to announce that it was recently awarded $12,250 by the City of Rochester through their Community Building Funds Grant.
This grant support will assist in funding Collider’s project, Startup Spotlight: Elevating Rochester Entrepreneurship. This project aims to raise the visibility and awareness of early stage businesses in our community, with a focus on those businesses led by people who identify as women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, refugees, immigrants, veterans, persons with disabilities, or those living below poverty level. This work would elevate the startup stories of these businesses and provide them with completely free materials that could be used in their own marketing efforts to raise the visibility of their business within the community.
Examples of provided services include a business expo which will showcase 10-15 local companies, podcasts and written interviews which will elevate business stories within the community, free professional photo services, and short business video tours — all of which will be provided at no cost to the entrepreneur. This project will allow us to expand upon our storytelling work and offer some new communication services to entrepreneurs we serve, helping them to share their own story with potential customers.
These efforts align with Collider’s mission to serve our community’s early stage entrepreneurs and make entrepreneurship more approachable and accessible, particularly for those who face the greatest barriers to business ownership. This project would lower barriers for entrepreneurs served through this work, providing them with professionally developed photos and promotional content that they could use in their own marketing efforts, which can be a significant cost challenge to many small business owners during early stages. Additionally, this work would expand how people view entrepreneurship within the community with its focus on early stage businesses run by founders who are traditionally underrepresented in mainstream media.
Collider Foundation is grateful for the support from the City of Rochester, and for their work in taking steps toward making business ownership more accessible for entrepreneurs from all walks of life.
If you have any questions about Collider or our work within the community, please contact Amanda Leightner at amanda@collider.mn or call (507) 722-0306.
If you are an entrepreneur who would benefit from these services, please contact us at hello@collider.mn
