I.C. may raise EntreFest funding to encourage future events

IOWA CITY — A city committee has recommended the Iowa City Council increase funding of a statewide entrepreneurial program with hopes that it will bring the annual conference to the community indefinitely.

Iowa City's Economic Development Committee, which consists of Mayor Matt Hayek and council members Susan Mims and Michelle Payne, voted 3-0 Monday to increase the city's sponsorship of EntreFest from $2,500 to $10,000.

'It's a real positive for the community, not only for the event, but for business growth and attracting people to the area,' Mims said.

EntreFest is a statewide business conference geared toward connecting and training entrepreneurs to better grow their companies.

Led by the University of Northern Iowa with funding from a number of public and private organizations including the Iowa Farm Bureau, Iowa Small Businesses Administration and Iowa Economic Development Authority, the annual EntreFest conference began in 2008 with a different community hosting the event each year.

Iowa City hosted the event for the first time last year. The conference marked the highest attendance in program history with participants doubling from the previous year to more than 500 people.

In an effort to bring that number to 1,000 participants this year, EntreFest is returning to Iowa City for the May 20-22 conference.

EntreFest officials have touted Iowa City's downtown atmosphere and pedestrian mall, multiple venues and nearby amenities make the community a perfect location for the annual conference.

'We think that Iowa City is perfect because of the way that downtown is structured,' said Amanda West, EntreFest director and CEO of entrepreneurial focused agency Seed Here Studio. 'I think it's actually the perfect human scale setup for this kind of event.'

With that in mind, EntreFest officials plan to host the conference in Iowa City for years to come.

'I like the idea of doing what we can to keep it here,' Mims said. In other entrepreneurial news, the committee voted 3-0 to recommend the council approve funding for the Entrepreneurial Development Center, a Creative Corridor-based organization that fosters the creation and growth of local startup companies.

If approved by the council, the city would give the center $6,250 for the remainder of this fiscal year and $25,000 in the following fiscal year. A placeholder would be budgeted for $25,000 in fiscal year 2017 as well.

Both the EntreFest sponsorship and Entrepreneurial Development Center funding will require full city council vote at a later meeting.