In communities across Kansas and the region, progress often stalls not from a lack of ideas, but from a lack of alignment and resources. Opportunity Funding LLC, a Topeka-based firm, has built its practice around solving that problem. Through consensus building, strategic planning, and capital campaign management, the firm helps chambers of commerce, economic development organizations, and other nonprofits turn stakeholder input into funded projects.
### A Focus on Consensus and Implementation
Opportunity Funding specializes in three interconnected services: developing strong forged consensus among stakeholders, creating strategic plans with clear performance metrics, and raising the private and public resources needed to implement those plans. The firm’s approach is straightforward. As principal Doug Kinsinger puts it, the more people help “write” a vision, the more they will help “underwrite” it. Rather than delivering a report and moving on, the team embeds itself within the client organization and community to keep campaigns on track.
This model has been applied to economic development groups, chambers, downtown organizations, and other community institutions. According to the firm’s Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives listing, their campaigns average 130 percent of stated goals.
### Leadership Rooted in Kansas Economic Development
The firm is led by Doug Kinsinger, who previously served as president and CEO of the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce and GO Topeka. During his roughly 14-year tenure, those organizations reported attracting and retaining more than 11,000 jobs and over $1.2 billion in investment. Kinsinger’s career in chambers began as a college intern in Waterloo, Iowa, and included stops in several states before he returned to Kansas. He can be reached at (785) 554-8785 or kinsinger@opportunityfunding.net.
Senior Project Director Adam Kinsinger, Doug’s son, has been with the firm since around 2020. He brings experience in finance, stakeholder coordination, and large-scale project management, with a focus on feasibility studies and multi-million-dollar campaigns in Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Other senior project directors include former Ottawa Area Chamber president John Coen, former Manhattan Area Chamber president Lyle Butler, former Kansas Secretary of Commerce David Kerr, and longtime Topeka engineer and City Councilman Neil Dobler.
### Documented Results
Client testimonials on the firm’s website cite specific outcomes:
- In Ardmore, Oklahoma, a public-private education initiative in a community of about 25,000 exceeded its $2.5 million goal, raising more than $3.3 million in six months.
- Downtown Topeka Inc.’s “Imagine Downtown” campaign not only met its goal but exceeded it by more than 35 percent.
- Pottawatomie County Economic Development Corporation secured over $1 million from 72 mainly private-sector investors in a matter of months.
- Campaigns for the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce, Dickinson County Economic Development, Junction City First, Greater Morris County Development Corporation, and efforts in the Table Rock Lake / Stone County area have also been described as exceeding targets, often by 35 percent or more.
### Local Project Highlights
Two Kansas projects receive particular attention in local coverage. In Ottawa (Franklin County), the Onward Ottawa campaign supported Legacy Square, a downtown outdoor event pavilion and park located at the intersection of major regional trails. The effort raised roughly $3.7–4.1 million; construction was completed around 2019, and the space now hosts markets, events, and community gatherings. Multiple stories in the *Ottawa Herald* covered the process from planning through groundbreaking and construction.
In Dickinson County, Opportunity Funding worked with the Dickinson County Economic Development Corporation on campaigns tied to job and investment goals, including targets in the range of 250 new jobs and $50 million in new investment. Related coverage appeared in the *Abilene Reflector-Chronicle*.
### A Specialized Role in Community Funding
Opportunity Funding LLC is not a lender or a Community Development Financial Institution. It is a consulting firm that helps existing organizations build the internal alignment and external funding necessary to pursue their own priorities. Its website (opportunityfunding.net) remains relatively lean, with pages devoted to leadership bios, testimonials, and a curated list of local news coverage. The firm also maintains a Facebook page at facebook.com/opportunityfunding.
For organizations weighing a feasibility study or capital campaign, the firm’s public materials point to a consistent pattern: immersive process, emphasis on stakeholder ownership, and a track record of campaigns that meet or exceed stated targets. In a region where many economic development efforts depend on private investment alongside public tools, that combination continues to draw attention from chambers and development groups looking to move from vision to funded implementation.
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