KC Disability Collective, A Project Of The Empower Network, Launches Kansas City-Based Feasbility Study To Strengthen Entrepreneurship Support For Founders With Disabilities
The KC Disability Collective (KCDC), a project of The Empower Network (TEN), is launching a regional feasibility study aimed at building a more connected, accessible entrepreneurial ecosystem for disabled and chronically ill founders across the Kansas City area.
Made possible with support from KCSourceLink’s Forging the Future program and the Kansas Health Foundation’s Kansas Innovation Fund, the initiative examines a persistent gap in the region’s entrepreneurial infrastructure. While Kansas City is home to more than 200 entrepreneurship support organizations, few are designed specifically around the needs and realities of entrepreneurs with disabilities and chronic illnesses.
An estimated 253,000 working-age people in the Kansas City metropolitan area live with a disability, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Self-employment can offer flexibility traditional employment does not, but resources available to help disabled residents pursue entrepreneurship aren’t coordinated in a consistently accessible way.
“This study is about asking what becomes possible when disabled and chronically ill entrepreneurs no longer have to navigate a fragmented system on their own,” said Stephanie Swanson, founder and CEO of The Empower Network and team lead for the KC Disability Collective. “There are organizations doing important work across our region. Our opportunity is to better understand what exists, where the gaps remain and how we can build the connections and infrastructure necessary for entrepreneurs with disabilities to easily find the support they need to build sustainable businesses.”
Through the multi-month feasibility study, KCDC plans to connect the disability community through accessible convenings designed to gather input directly from disabled founders and the organizations serving them; map existing resources and publish them in an accessible public directory; build foundational infrastructure to improve information-sharing across the community; and develop an evidence-based feasibility report and action roadmap examining potential long-term models for KCDC, including such possibilities as a disability chamber of commerce or resource-navigation supports.
For KCDC, the feasibility study represents an opportunity to determine how existing organizations, resources and expertise can work together more effectively to foster economic independence for people facing barriers within traditional employment.
“We don’t want to decide what this community needs before listening to the people who will actually use what we deploy,” Swanson said. “This process gives disabled founders, service providers and entrepreneur support organizations a meaningful role in shaping what the collective becomes. The goal is to build something informed by evidence, grounded in lived experience and capable of lasting beyond a single grant or project.”
The KCSourceLink-backed feasibility study, supported by KHF, is expected to culminate in January 2027 with final recommendations for KCDC’s structure and next steps. Recommendations intend to lay the groundwork for future funding and implementation.
Founders interested in connecting in person to learn more about the collective or provide insight are welcome to participate in a Global Entrepreneurship Week Kansas City (GEWKC) workshop on Nov. 19 from 9-10 a.m., titled “Building a More Accessible Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: A Community Conversation.” Registration is free and available at GEWKC.com. KCDC also plans to have a booth at GEWKC in Union Station, set up 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 18.
Community members, entrepreneurs, service providers and organizations across the Kansas City metro who are interested in following or contributing to the disability collective’s work may learn more and sign up for updates through the collective’s webpage.
