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Rebuilding Better RFP

The 2022 Rebuilding Better Request for Proposals is a two-year grant initiative that will execute policy engagement and entrepreneur advocacy projects in a variety of activities that will influence policy change at all levels and work towards a more supportive and inclusive environment for entrepreneurs.

Learn more about the projects being funded this year:

  • Business Education Fund (aka Main Street Alliance) | Support for the polling of entrepreneurs, production of policy recommendations, and advocacy training of entrepreneurs in order to educate policymakers of the barriers to entrepreneurship.
  • Engine Foundation, Inc. | Support for policymaker education on the structural barriers that underrepresented technology startup founders – particularly women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and rural founders – face.  
  • Institute of Justice (IJ) | Support for the distribution of a report that focuses on locally-imposed barriers to entrepreneurship and building grassroots support for overturning overburdensome local regulations in 10-15 cities. 
  • Heartland Forward | Support for the creation of video white papers to tell entrepreneurs’ stories and share creative and actionable policy solutions with local and state policymakers in 20 states across the Heartland.
  • National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) |  Support for would-be entrepreneurs with a history in the criminal justice system through content creation around Small Business Administration (SBA) fair lending practices, as well as support for ongoing oversight of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and enhanced monitoring of the Dodd-Frank Act regulation enforcement.
  • Rural Economic Development Center, Inc. (aka NC Rural Center) | Support for expansion of the NC Small Business Coalition with a targeted focus on reaching BIPOC entrepreneurs.
  • United WE | Support for the expansion of a project to educate policymakers about childcare barriers limiting women’s entrepreneurial risk-taking and advocate for policy solutions that reduce childcare licensing red tape to address the childcare crisis for entrepreneurial childcare providers and women entrepreneurs alike. 
Jennifer Kelly

Entrepreneurs deserve to have their voices recognized in policy discussions.

“The organizations in this portfolio know these entrepreneurs and are active in their communities. They understand how best to engage entrepreneurs in conversations with policymakers at all levels.” — Jennifer Kelly Ventura, Program Officer – Policy, Entrepreneurship

Many of these grantees are also members of the Start Us Up coalition. Start Us Up is a diverse coalition of organizations working to level the playing field for entrepreneurs in America. The coalition spans the entire nation and includes entrepreneurship support organizations, nonprofits, university centers, and more. Learn more >