$750K FORGE Grant Powers Emporia's Economic Growth

Emporia State University and Emporia Main Street Team Up to Drive Local Business Innovation

by Gwendolynne Larson

Emporia, KS (01/23/2025) — A transformative $750,000 investment from a FORGE grant is set to boost the economies of Emporia, Lyon County, and the surrounding region. This collaboration between Emporia State University and Emporia Main Street, supported by the Kansas Department of Commerce, will drive new business opportunities and innovation.

"This partnership is a great showcase of our ability to innovate and collaborate," said Emporia Mayor Erren Harter. "The FORGE grant is a transformative step forward for our community, creating new opportunities for businesses, entrepreneurs and our university to work together to fuel growth. This partnership between Emporia State University, Emporia Main Street underscores our commitment to building a diverse and resilient local economy that benefits all of Lyon County and the surrounding region. It's an exciting time for Emporia."

The Forging Opportunities for Research, Growth and Entrepreneurship, or FORGE, grant combines $375,000 from the Kansas Department of Commerce with a $375,000 match from the university. The program was created for Kansas universities and business communities to work together, using innovation to create new economic activity.

The three-year project will focus on these specific areas:

Helping businesses and entrepreneurs with access to technology;
Creating partnerships to help local and regional businesses find opportunities not always workable for small businesses; and
Tapping into Hornet Nation for skills that can help start, expand or recruit new businesses in the region.

"Emporia State University has a robust network of alumni whose expertise can help the university play a leading role in business development and to diversify the local economy," said Cory Falldine, ESU executive vice president and chief operating officer. "It is ESU's responsibility to help drive our regional economy, which is why we went after this grant. It's an investment into our community. This money, both from the state and our university match, goes directly into our local economy and our businesses. We thank the Kansas Department of Commerce for recognizing the economic impact potential when combining the resources and regional reach of Emporia State and thank Emporia Main Street for being the forward thinking, community first, agency that they are to take this on with us."

Said Casey Woods, executive director of Emporia Main Street: "It is important to diversify our business community, and Emporia is the linchpin of the I-35 corridor of economic development. We are perfectly situated centrally between Kansas City and Wichita, the two largest economies in the state."

Woods added: "By providing regional existing and emerging businesses with better access to resources through the combined efforts of Emporia State University and Emporia Main Street, we can better help businesses in the region start and grow, particularly business types that can retain our best and brightest from local educational institutions. Emporia Main Street is excited to partner with Emporia State University to help modernize our regional economy."

Next steps for ESU and Emporia Main Street will be to:

Create a "one stop shop" for regional entrepreneurship. The collaboration will add necessary team resources that allow for a "grow our own" strategy that enhances regional job growth, household incomes and economic diversification.
Level up our support of local entrepreneurs with new business incubation, entrepreneurial "reverse pitch" events, microgrants for local businesses and cohort educational activities.
Create business opportunities by helping monetize local experiences and the knowledge of regional entrepreneurs.
Build a cooperative approach to getting ESU and Emporia Main Street resources to regional entrepreneurial development, including dedicated staff to support regional growth.
Connect entrepreneurs in our economy to other Kansas business development services through broader education and research based digital networks.
Add new equipment to the Emporia Main Street Fabrication Lab for use by talented students at Emporia State University and Flint Hills Technical College, as well as regional entrepreneurs to retain our best and brightest with future-focused jobs.

About Emporia State University

Emporia State University offers a range of academic programs through its institute and seven schools: Applied Health Sciences, Business & Technology, Humanities & Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary Studies, Library and Information Management & Library and Archives, Science & Mathematics and Visual and Performing Arts, along with The Teachers College.

As the sole public university in Kansas to be recognized as a College of Distinction for eight consecutive years, ESU stands out for its innovative education practices. It ensures accessible education by offering in-state tuition rates to full-time undergraduate students from all lower-48 United States. Additionally, full-time undergraduates benefit from flat-rate tuition - students enrolled in 12 or more credit hours with at least one credit hour on campus pay a flat rate.

For more information on how to build your future at Emporia State University, please visit www.emporia.edu.

Emporia State University

$750K FORGE Grant Powers Emporia's Economic Growth

Emporia State University and Emporia Main Street Team Up to Drive Local Business Innovation

Emporia State University

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