Long before the pandemic, or the renewed focus by the Legislature on economic development, Extension professionals in Kansas began
a webinar series in hopes of building an ecosystem of entrepreneurs around the state. The purpose of the First Friday E-Call is to increase the local community’s knowledge of the experts, education, and economic resources available to help small businesses and entrepreneurs and to share innovations in community development. On the first Friday of each month, dozens of stakeholders across the state gather to share with and learn from one another. 
In 2023, as many as 75 attendees logged in for unique expert sessions discussing the Build Kansas Fund, the role of housing in economic development, rural downtown economic development, tools and support for Main Street Development, creating safe spaces for workers, and K-State resources for childcare development. In addition to these topics, entrepreneurs in communities shared their lessons learned and best practices for creating Airbnb’s to support vibrant economic development, and work in downtown revitalization and tourism. Evaluation of the program shows that the majority of participants are easily able to identify three or more people in their sphere of influence with whom they will share the information from the webinar each month. When asked what they learned that they would share:
- “I now appreciate the importance of historical preservation in my town.”
- “Cities need to act in their best self-interest and not wait for others. Upgrades are contagious. Historic designation can make a tremendous difference in funding opportunities.”
- “The possibilities of revitalizing downtown and doing so in a way that could incorporate healthy living.”
- “Tourism equals jobs.”
An additional focus of the webinars in 2023 included doubling down on networking during the webinar, creating a platform for colleagues to come together to connect, not just listen to a speaker. Those efforts paid off and when the K-State 105 funding was announced, the relationships formed on First Friday E-Call became the backbone of a successfully funded project to build entrepreneurial community capacity. We look forward to providing an update on the impact of this follow-on programming in our 2024 report.
Additional information:
This impact statement was originally published in the North Central Region 2023 Community Development Extension Impact Report.
More CD Extension Impact Statements