About the author: Dusty Reynolds is the entrepreneurship director for the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce and is one of the four organizers of Omaha’s Event Draft.
Thursday evening is Omaha’s inaugural Event Draft, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Aroma’s/402 Collective, 6051 Maple St., in Benson.
Each event will receive up to $400 in grants from a $20,000 fund provided by the Omaha Chamber of Commerce to help fund tech entrepreneurship events.
The Draft will help bring the community together like never before by keeping the 2014 calendar full of events and free of scheduling conflicts.
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There’s been plenty of questions about the new format, so here are some of the answers in the form of the five things you need to know about Event Draft:
Q: What can the grant money be used for?
A: Anything necessary to pull off your event. Rental of facility, drinks, snacks…the list goes on.
Q: Can existing or ongoing events apply for a grant?
A: Absolutely. The only thing to remember is that only one grant will be awarded per individual or organization.
Q: What type of events qualify for a grant?
A: Our goal is to improve the Omaha startup and tech community. There are no hard boundaries, nor should there be. Be creative and do something that you are passionate about.
Here are a few examples of what types of events other communities are hosting:
- Crash course on term sheet literacy which could include a Q&A with a local VC or lawyer. The funds could be used for drinks, appetizers or supporting literature.
- UX case studies where local designers could congregate and discuss UX/UI of certain sites. Funds can be used for snacks, drinks or door prizes.
- Open coffee where you invite the community to a local coffee shop for a one-hour event. Funds could be used to cover coffee and breakfast for attendees.
Q: Do I have to be present at the draft to receive a grant?
A: Yes, you or someone from your organization who is organizing the event needs to be there.
Q: Can Lincoln come play?
A: I’m all in with bridging the gap between Omaha and Lincoln. Anyone can put on an event, but it needs to take place in the greater Omaha area. My hope is to expand this as we move forward.
Omaha has the opportunity to do something really unique and noteworthy. I’m hoping you take part in this and help better the startup community, and I would like to personally extend an invitation to the first-ever startup community Event Draft this Thursday evening at Aroma’s in Benson.
Credits: Dusty Reynolds photo from Greater Omaha Chamber.
