Filter: Community Growth Program

Heartland Forward and Builders + Backers Award Over $1M to Aspiring Entrepreneurs

In 2022, hundreds of entrepreneurs across 10 states received $5,000 grants with opportunity for additional funding Bentonville, Ark. – Today,  Heartland Forward and Builders + Backers announced they have given over $1 million in Pebble Fund grants to aspiring entrepreneurs throughout 2022 as part of the Idea Accelerator program. Heartland Forward partnered with Builders + Backers to bring… Continue reading Heartland Forward and Builders + Backers Award Over $1M to Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Business Record (Iowa): Would a $4/hour pay increase for child care workers reduce attrition rates in the industry? Yes, according to one experiment in Iowa City

Fearless, an initiative of the Business Record (Iowa) that focuses on female entrepreneurs and business leaders, recently took a deep dive into the project of three members of Heartland Forward + Builders and Backers’ first Idea Accelerator Iowa City cohort who studied the child care workforce crisis. Read about what Iowa City residents Jeanie Wade-Nagle,… Continue reading Business Record (Iowa): Would a $4/hour pay increase for child care workers reduce attrition rates in the industry? Yes, according to one experiment in Iowa City

Heartland Forward Receives Rebuilding Better Grant to Support Entrepreneurship in the Heartland

Grant from Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation will help Heartland Forward spur entrepreneurship in mid-sized cities across the heartland. Bentonville, Ark. – Today, Heartland Forward, a non-partisan think and do tank dedicated to improving economic performance in the middle of the country, announced they have received a Rebuilding Better grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.… Continue reading Heartland Forward Receives Rebuilding Better Grant to Support Entrepreneurship in the Heartland

Press Release: Applications Now Open For Iowa City Residents To Turn Ideas Into Reality Through Idea Accelerator Program

Led by Heartland Forward with partner Builders + Backers, the program is brought to the Iowa City community by the Iowa City Area Development Group Iowa City, Iowa (Dec. 6, 2021) — Today, Heartland Forward and its partners, Builders + Backers and the Iowa City Area Development Group (ICAD), announced it’s bringing its groundbreaking Community Growth… Continue reading Press Release: Applications Now Open For Iowa City Residents To Turn Ideas Into Reality Through Idea Accelerator Program