BUSINESS RESOURCES & DEVELOPMENT
The Chamber provides programs, services and support for the start-up and growth of businesses in Baldwin City. Our goal is to sustain long-term economic vitality through the retention, expansion, and attraction of businesses and development that enhance property values, increase personal income, and make a positive contribution to the quality of life of the citizens of Baldwin City. Our local partners in business include:
The City of Baldwin City is The Chamber’s greatest Champion and supports us in all our efforts for the Community
Baldwin City Economic Development Corporation
The BCEDC is an organization which continues to strategically enhance and grow Baldwin City
CORE is a community initiative to energize Douglas County’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. CORE is dedicated to growing the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Douglas County. We meet monthly to address the needs of existing and aspiring business owners
Douglas County, KS - running a business
Douglas County provides multiple resources for growing businesses and this is one of note
Jill Jolicoeur, jjolicoeur@douglas-county.com, 785-330-2890
E-Community meets the third Thursdays/month, 3:00 pm. Location varies.Your Baldwin City Chamber actively participates with the Douglas County E-Community, a program of Network Kansas that is coordinated locally by Douglas County with the goal to provide resources to entrepreneurs to start and grow small businesses. Douglas County, in association with the Network Kansas E-Community Partnership, is proud to support the Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge (YEC) program. Douglas County is one of many communities across Kansas to host a locally organized event designed to give high school age students a hands-on entrepreneurship experience.Lawrence/Douglas County Economic Development Corporation
The Douglas County Economic Development Corporation is a notable supporter of The Baldwin City Chamber of Commerce
Kansas Small Business Development Center
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 as an independent agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation. We recognize that small business is critical to our economic recovery and strength, to building America's future, and to helping the United States compete in today's global marketplace. Although SBA has grown and evolved in the years since it was established in 1953, the bottom line mission remains the same. The SBA helps Americans start, build and grow businesses.
Kansas Department of Commerce Business Services
The Kansas Department of Commerce and The Kansas Business Center is your one-stop shop for starting and maintaining a business in Kansas. Find information about planning a business, registering a business, operating a business, closing a business, and moving a business to Kansas.
Kansas Dept. of Commerce Division of Workforce Services
The Department of Commerce is responsible for administration of labor exchange, labor recruitment, general assessment, testing, and screening services for employers and job seekers. The Local Workforce Development Board establishes policy, eligibility guidelines, and provides the designated administrative entity with any guidance needed to ensure successful Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) training program administration within the region.
For over 50 years, SCORE has served as America’s premier source of free business mentoring and education.
The Kansas Rural Center (KRC) is a private non-profit research, education and advocacy organization with deep roots in Kansas agriculture, communities, and grassroots organizing. KRC is led by a governing board of up to 24 members from across Kansas who are actively working in the food and farming sectors.
Network Kansas is a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to developing an entrepreneurial ecosystem in Kansas that connects aspiring, emerging, and established businesses to a wide network of business-building resource organizations across the state.
The Kansas Department of Commerce administers the KANSASWORKS workforce system, which links businesses, job seekers, educational institutions and training providers to ensure the state's workforce is equipped to meet industry needs.
The Kansas Association of Workforce Boards (KAWB) is a coalition of the five Local Workforce Boards (LWIBS) across the state. Local Workforce Investment Boards (LWIB) operate with the dual purpose of ensuring the local employers are competitive in the global marketplace and have a skilled workforce, and that residents of local areas have access to career paths that lead to family-sustaining jobs. Through KAWB, the executive directors of each LWIB collaborate on issues of common interest and concern, promote best practices and support regional sector strategies to ensure Kansas has the skilled workforce needed to strengthen and grow the Kansas economy.
The Douglas County Extension Office is a partnership between Kansas State University and federal, state, and county government. They conduct research throughout Kansas that is then shared by Extension agents and others on their websites and through numerous conferences, workshops, field days, publications, newsletters and more.
Douglas County Community Foundation
The Douglas County Community Foundation (DCCF) was created in 2000 as a tax-exempt public charity for the people of Douglas County, including the cities of Baldwin City, Eudora, Lawrence and Lecompton. We are a community leader convening government agencies, businesses, and nonprofit organizations, and coordinating resources to create positive change.
Baker University was the first university to be established in Kansas in 1858. Whether you are returning to school after a few years off, pursuing a graduate degree, or starting college straight out of high school, you’ll find your spot at Baker University. Specialties include the School of Professional and Graduate Studies, School of Education, School of Nursing and College of Arts and Sciences. Baker University is the gem in the downtown area of Baldwin City.
Main Street America has been helping revitalize older and historic commercial districts for more than 40 years. Today it is a network of more than 1,200 neighborhoods and communities, rural and urban, who share both a commitment to place and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development. Main Street America is a program of the nonprofit National Main Street Center, Inc., a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. There are 4 strategies which make up Baldwin City Main Street: Organization, Economic Vitality, Design and Promotion. Baldwin City is one of 3 cities elected to The Main Street program in 2021.
The Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) is the nation's first state department of agriculture. The agency is devoted to the total support of agriculture in Kansas. The department works for the entire Kansas agriculture sector, including farmers, ranchers, food establishments and agribusinesses. The department is dedicated to providing support and assistance to make Kansas businesses successful and encouraging more farms, ranches and other agriculture business to expand in or relocate to Kansas.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture provides leadership on food, agriculture, natural resources, and related issues.