Becoming an E-Community

Community Requirements

To be considered for NetWork Kansas Entrepreneurship Tax Credits, a community must complete the NetWork Kansas E Community application form and submit it along with a community description. Specific requirements included in the application are:

• The establishment of a local NetWork Kansas E Community Leadership Team to develop the entrepreneurial vision for the community;

• The establishment of a local financial board to review applications and approve/disapprove loans and/or grants, and develop a process for reviewing applications;

• An NetWork Kansas partner organization would be responsible for providing administrative support to the Financial Advisory Board. The administrative support organization will administer the loans and grants and provide the following information to the Kansas Center for Entrepreneurship Board of Directors: 1) A list of the approved businesses and specified loan or grant amounts; 2) The application and scoring system used for approval; 3) The initial information about the business.

• An internal analysis of the community concerning the strengths and weaknesses with regard to providing the 3Es—Expertise/Education/Economic resources.

Application Requirements

The application and selection process is a competitive process. NetWork Kansas E Community selection is based upon the following criteria:

• Demonstrated community leadership;

• Established local financial board to administer and review loan and grant applications;

• Established process for providing data to the NetWork Kansas BizTrakker Program;

• Enrollment of all local resources that provide assistance to entrepreneurs in NetWork Kansas;

• Connectivity to established community programs at the local, state and federal levels (Public Square, Kansas Leadership Center, Kansas Department of Commerce, USDA, etc);

• Connectivity to entrepreneurial education programs at the local and state level;

• Ability to raise local capital through the utilization of Entrepreneurship Tax Credits to establish a fund for entrepreneurs and small businesses;

The goal of the application is for each community to begin the process of strategically planning for its future by focusing on the areas important for it to flourish.

Next Step

To learn more about the E-Community Partnership, call Erik Pedersen, Associate Director, at 316-978-7310 or Steve Radley, Director, at 316-218-6304 to schedule a community visit to learn more about how to prepare for the next application round.