Mari Hunt Wassink is the founder of Black Earth Gardens, a local farm that specializes in producing—using sustainable practices—premium quality vegetables, herbs, and fruits that are culturally important to Black communities in Eastern Iowa. They grow over 30 varieties, including okra, turnip greens, collards, mustard greens, and specialty hot peppers,
The EntreFEST Pitch Competition, presented by Hy-Vee, brought together community leaders, founders, investors, and supporters at Big Grove Brewery in Cedar Rapids on June 13th, 2025, to hear from five entrepreneurs and their solutions to real-world problems. Out of over 40 applicants, the five finalists for 2025 were: Black Earth
At NewBoCo, we’re thrilled to celebrate an exciting milestone for Kiva Iowa—we’ve now supported more than 100 small business borrowers across 36 unique Iowa cities, ensuring that business owners from diverse backgrounds have access to capital through the power of crowdfunding! Since launching in late 2021, Kiva Iowa has facilitated
For Black History Month, we are excited to shine a spotlight on the incredible Black-owned businesses supported by Kiva Iowa. From international grocery stores to healing skincare products, these entrepreneurs exemplify creativity, resilience, and innovation. Supporting these businesses not only celebrates their achievements but also strengthens our communities. Let’s dive
Looking for the perfect holiday gifts while supporting small businesses? This curated gift guide highlights unique offerings from local businesses in our Kiva Iowa community
On March 22, the Fairfield Co-lab was especially crowded over the lunch hour. Local entrepreneurs had been gathering there for months for Traction Thursday, a new networking program for members of the Fairfield business community. Today, however, there was some extra buzz. Participants wanted to hear about Kiva Iowa.
Giving Tree Theater in Marion had some big goals when it first launched in 2015. One was to be “the best little arts organization in the region.” Another was to always give back to the community, by sharing $1 of every ticket sale with local nonprofits.
That tradition is still in place. And for the next few months, Giving Tree has selected NewBoCo as its latest nonprofit partner.
From tech education to supporting entrepreneurs, NewBoCo’s work has drawn plenty of interest across the state. So it’s only natural that other communities would want to learn more about it. That’s where the Community Partners program comes in.
NewBoCo Studios came to be in 2016. The aim? To work with clients of all sizes to develop software solutions that meet specific requirements, and then deliver high-quality software products that are scalable, reliable, and user-friendly. Eight years later, that idea has grown into a team that’s not only served dozens of new companies, but also helped established organizations like UFG Insurance, the Cedar Rapids Community School District, and more.
Four years on from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Foster believes Vault has fully bounced back to being the vibrant community that it was before 2020.
“During the pandemic, Vault was empty,” he says. “But then slowly and surely, we started getting those people who want to try it out, just like back when we started in 2015. And they’re saying ‘Hey, this works for me.’ Today we’ve got a good collection of people, and it’s a great community again.”
