News
Winrock Receives Visa Foundation Funding to Help Southern Small Businesses Recover and Grow
November 11, 2021
Little Rock, Ark. – November 11, 2021 – Winrock International has received a $500,000 grant from the Visa Foundation to promote economic growth in the U.S. South and Southeast by helping small businesses access loan assistance from the Southern Opportunity and Resilience (SOAR) Fund. Through the Visa Foundation-funded SOAR Technical Assistance Project, Winrock and partners […]
Winrock’s AWBC Wins Grant from U.S. Small Business Administration to Support Women-Owned Businesses Impacted by COVID
August 23, 2021
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ── August 23, 2021 ── The Arkansas Women’s Business Center (AWBC) has been awarded a Resilience and Recovery Demonstration Grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) Office of Women’s Business Ownership program. The AWBC is one of 14 women’s business centers in 13 states to receive the SBA awards, which aim […]
Power of Place: Winrock Fosters Revitalization and Innovation in Rural Arkansas
June 7, 2021
In the rear of an empty city lot in downtown Stuttgart, Arkansas, population 9,195, five school-aged kids sit down and quietly erect a giant Jenga tower. It’s just there, waiting to be built on a Saturday morning, so they do. Over on the side, a young couple plops into a pair of chairs facing an […]
Winrock International Announces New Online Hub for Opportunity Zone Investment
May 10, 2021
Little Rock, Ark. – May 10, 2021 – Winrock International and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission are proud to announce Opportunity Arkansas, Arkansas’s Opportunity Zone Investment Hub. Funded by the Delta Regional Authority and the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, Opportunity Arkansas builds the capacity of local leaders to develop investable projects that bolster small businesses and […]
Southern Small Businesses and Nonprofits Impacted by Covid Can Now Apply for Support from Multi-Million Dollar Fund
April 28, 2021
April 27, 2021 – Small business owners and nonprofits across the South can begin applying today for very low interest loans of up to $100,000 and free business support through the Southern Opportunity and Resilience (SOAR) Fund—a new program created by a diverse group of community lenders aimed at helping small businesses and nonprofits navigate and […]
Winrock International Announces New Small Business E-commerce Support Program
March 9, 2021
Little Rock, Ark. – March 10, 2021 – As fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic continues to challenge small businesses, Winrock International is pleased to announce the Small Business E-commerce Local Learning (SELL) project to support small businesses in Northwest Arkansas. Funded by the Walton Family Foundation, SELL leverages Winrock’s proven entrepreneurial programming support, coaching and […]
National and Local Community Lenders Announce Multi-Million Dollar Fund to Support Small Business and Nonprofit Recovery Across the South
March 3, 2021
March 3, 2021 – A diverse group of community finance organizations today announced the Southern Opportunity and Resilience (SOAR) Fund, which aims to raise $150 million to provide affordable capital and free business support to small businesses and nonprofits in 15 southern and southeastern states to help them navigate and rebuild from the COVID-19 health […]
Winrock Introduces Early-Stage Fund to Close Financing Access Gap in Arkansas
December 10, 2020
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS – DECEMBER 10, 2020 – Winrock International is pleased to announce the Validation Fund, Arkansas’ first evergreen, not-for-profit fund dedicated to deploying early-stage awards to validation-stage Arkansas startup companies. Powered by an initial $1.1 million contribution from the Walton Family Foundation (WFF), the Validation Fund aids in the creation of jobs and […]
‘Making’ a Safer World
November 12, 2020
As the COVID-19 pandemic brought regular life to a halt, the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub, which is implemented by Winrock International, launched a task force of independent makers and manufacturers to produce personal protective equipment (PPE). Using tools such as laser-cutters and 3D printers, the Hub’s task force produced face shields, acrylic barriers and other […]
Showing Resilience in Unprecedented Times
November 3, 2020
In January of 2020, Noah Asher was feeling good. Vascugenix, the Little Rock medical device startup where he serves as CEO, had completed its fundraising. It was on track to bring its first product — a medical device called the Speed Torque invented by Vascugenix co-founder Dr. Dwight Chrisman — to market by April. “We […]