Brandon Calloway has never been one to stand by and let things happen. In helping Black-owned businesses rise, Brandon’s own star has risen. For the past five years, Brandon has grown his co-founded non profit from the ground up. Since its inception in 2020, KC G.I.F.T. (Generating Income For Tomorrow) has awarded more than $1.8 million in grants, created more than 130 new jobs, and supported a thriving community of entrepreneurs in Kansas City’s under-resourced east side.
As a child growing up on the east side, Brandon saw firsthand how certain neighborhoods seemed to have fewer resources, opportunities, and signs of growth compared to others. These challenges seemed to persist generation after generation. As he got older, Brandon began working in other parts of the city, and the contrast became more stark. These experiences shaped his perspective, and eventually, his work. “I didn’t want to be the person who sees something that is less than optimal, through no fault of the people in that area, and not be thinking of solutions,” he said.
That sense of responsibility led Brandon to create solutions that support Black-owned businesses in under-resourced areas of Kansas City. In the early days, KC G.I.F.T. surveyed Black-owned businesses across Kansas City to ask what they truly needed. The answers were unanimous. Beyond grants, they needed help with marketing, accounting, legal support, and business culture. Brandon listened, and KC G.I.F.T. paired its grants with technical assistance. However, there were times when the team didn’t have enough funding to provide both. In a small handful of cases, they awarded grants without technical support. The outcomes were telling. “Out of the five that we did that for, I think four of them failed,” Brandon said.
Today, a KC G.I.F.T. grant allows entrepreneurs to implement their plans. The support helps them handle the challenges that come with growth. Brandon recalls Patrice’s Culinary Collective, a catering business, that received a $50,000 grant. “They were maxed out at capacity on their ability to fulfill purchase orders, so much so that they had orders they were turning away because they didn’t have the full built-out kitchen,” he said. With KC G.I.F.T.’s support, Patrice’s Culinary Collective built out their kitchen, expanded their catering menu, and hired two full-time employees. Within 12 months, their revenue grew by 929 percent. Another success story came from The Next Paige, a talent agency founded in the basement of a church. Brandon said, “She had to turn people away because she didn’t have the facility to take on more clients.” KC G.I.F.T. provided a $50,000 grant, and 100 percent of it went toward opening a new brick-and-mortar location on 59th and Troost. Brandon recalled the agency was also able to hire four new employees and achieve 221 percent growth.
Brandon stays motivated by individual success. Yet, his vision is bigger than helping one business at a time. “In my wildest dreams, we will have found and funded so many Black-owned businesses on the east side, and helped them grow and thrive to the point where we have four, five, or six Black-owned businesses that employ a significant amount of people on the east side that bring economic opportunity to the area,” he said. “I want to be able to ignite this economic engine that will improve the quality of life for all of the people who live there.” While KC G.I.F.T.’s impact is already evident, Brandon acknowledges the road ahead is long. “We are five years into this thing that will probably take somewhere between 20 to 30 years,” he said. “The more funding we get, the faster we can move, but our speed of growth is limited by the logical ability to maintain the same level of quality that we have.” Still, the work continues. Beyond the grants and mentorship, KC G.I.F.T.’s business center provides free services to the broader community. These include one-on-one business coaching, accounting, marketing, legal advice, website development, a media studio, and coworking space. In addition, the center provides various classes and workshops. It helps business owners develop marketing plans, build accounting systems, and even secure LLC registrations.
In just three years, the business center has logged more than 8,100 appointments with more than 2,650 unique individuals walking through its doors. “There have been a couple of hundred LLCs that we registered and launched out of here, and a couple of hundred marketing plans and accounting systems that we have helped to set up,” Brandon said. “All of that within five years and starting from scratch with no previous experience in any of this.” Brandon finds the work both humbling and inspiring. “I am excited about what we have left to do and what we can do,” he said.
For this Rising Star, the future is bright. With each grant given, each entrepreneur supported, and each job created, Brandon and his non profit are building a future that will lift generations to come.
Featured in the June 14, 2025 issue of The Independent
By: Monica V. Reynolds
Photo Credit: Tom Styrkowicz
