Kansas Sampler Foundation in collaboration with Kansas Spanish Speakers, and JenRus Marketing will offer ‘Rural Digital Front Door Training’. This series will equip rural Kansas businesses and community leaders with the tools to create welcoming, accurate, and engaging "digital front doors" that attract newcomers, visitors, and diverse audiences.
Register for the webinars you would link to attend through this Zoom link.
Community Friendly Business: September 23, 2 p.m.: Community Friendly Business: What makes a business feel welcoming and connected to its community? Explore simple ways to be language-friendly, work with neighboring businesses, cross-promote, and think creatively about your space and your role in a Community of the Future™.
Show Up Online: September 30, 2 p.m.: Your online presence is often someone’s first introduction to your business. Learn practical ways to show up through social media, simple landing pages, the Kansas Sampler Foundation Online Guidebook, and content that connects with customers from different cultures.
Your Digital Toolbox: October 7, 2 p.m.: AI, Canva, Adobe Express and other digital tools can make marketing easier, but they should still sound and look like you. Explore tools that can save time, where AI can help (and hurt), and why authenticity is still your best marketing tool.
Help People Find You: October 14, 2 p.m.: Make it easier for customers to discover you and stay connected. We’ll cover Google Business Profiles, email marketing, Google Translate, and other practical ways to strengthen your digital front door. ?
Bring the Community Along: October 21, 2 p.m.: A strong digital front door works even better when the whole community is involved. We’ll bring the series together with ideas for working across businesses and organizations, plus resources to put ideas into action, including $250 microgrants and the Kansas Micro-Internship Program.
Participants will be eligibale to apple for $250 micro-grants. These are being offered to help businesses and organizations put new ideas learned during the Rural Digital Front Door webinar series into practice. From community collaboration to creative ways to improve marketing and collaboration, our goal is to help businesses and organizations take a step in the right direction to make improvements to their digital presence. Applicants must have attended at least one webinar in the series to be eligible. Funding priority will be given to projects that support local initiatives, collaboration, and improvements to digital presence or outreach.
Application will be sent to attendees following the final webinar on October 2. Deadline for application: November 20, 2026 at 5:00 p.m.
This program is possible thanks to a Networked Community Solutions Grant from Network Kansas, helping turn collaboration between organizations into practical tools and resources for rural Kansas communities. Thank you to Network Kansas and its funding partners for making ideas like the Rural Digital Front Door Training possible.