Up To Date

Give Black KC Focused On Funding Black Organizations

By Steve Kraske,

Published June 14, 2021 at 10:21 PM CDT

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GIFT founder Brandon Calloway currenly runs the nonprofit from his kitchen table. — Brandon Calloway is the co-founder and CEO of G.I.F.T, which provides grants to Black-owned businesses in Kansas City.

Give Black KC is a weeklong fundraiser to benefit the Black community in Kansas City.

In the days leading up to Juneteenth, the local collaborative aims to raise $80,000 to support eight Black organizationscurrently working to address priorities for Black residents, including incarceration, housing, generational wealth and access to healthy food. "All of those basic needs are still at the top of the list," Brandon Calloway says.

Brandon Calloway, co-founder and CEO of Generating Income for Tomorrow (G.I.F.T)
Ajia Morris, co-founder and CEO of Greenline Initiative

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Steve Kraske

When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.

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Danie Alexander

As senior producer of Up To Date, I want our listeners to hear familiar and new voices that shine light on the issues and challenges facing the myriad communities KCUR serves, and to expose our audiences to the wonderful and the creative in the Kansas City area. Just as important to me is an obligation to mentor the next generation of producers to ensure that the important conversations continue. Reach me at alexanderdk@kcur.org.

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Mackenzie Martin

Whether it’s something happening right now or something that happened 100 years ago, some stories don’t fit in the short few minutes of a newscast. As a podcast producer and reporter at KCUR Studios, I help investigate questions and local curiosities in a way that brings listeners along for adventures with plot twists and thought-provoking ideas. Sometimes there isn’t an easy answer in the end – but my hope is that we all leave with a greater understanding of the city we live in. Reach me at mackenzie@kcur.org.

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