The E-Community has autonomy to determine additional types of businesses and/or uses that are ineligible for E-Community funds.Ĭonnect with an E-Community coach to review summary of benefits. renovating a building/storefront in hopes it will be easier to rent/lease/sell is not an acceptable use of funds. However, if a business has agreed to rent/lease/purchase the building/storefront if certain renovations or leasehold improvements are made, and that is document in the E-Community loan application, that is an acceptable use of funds), tearing down or renovating a building to create apartments, and housing (if the result of the E-Community loan will be a business with apartment/loft above or attached, NetWork Kansas must give prior approval or it is considered an unacceptable use of funds). NetWork Kansas has determined that at a minimum, the following are NOT approved uses for E-Community loan funds: paying off or refinancing debt, salary or owners draw, payroll taxes, non-profit businesses, building/storefront renovation that is not tied to a specific business (i.e. The E-Community has autonomy to determine that any of the above uses are not eligible. NetWork Kansas has determined that the following are eligible uses for E-Community loan funds, as long as they are tied directly to the business/project in the loan application: purchase of land, real estate, inventory, equipment, as well as blue sky (in the instance of the purchase of an existing business) and working capital. The annual loan fund max, loan max per business and other restrictions and explanations of Level 1, 2 and 3 can be found in Appendix A of the E-Community Award Agreement. Question: Are there restrictions to the funds, and/or what projects/businesses qualify for an E-Community loan?Īnswer: The funds must be utilized to provide matching loans to for-profit businesses in the geographical parameters of the E-Community, as per the E-Community Award Agreement. A marketing fund to support the development and/or implementation of special projects and initiatives.Access to entrepreneurship programming designed to benefit different types of businesses.Access to a statewide network of over 500 partners, focusing on connecting entrepreneurs and small business owners to the education, expertise and economic resources they need.Active engagement with local sources of public and private funding.Local financial review board, tasked with acting as the loan committee for E-Community loan applications.Local leadership teams, committed to meeting regularly to provide the overall direction and leadership for the E-Community and to discuss ways to create a flourishing environment.The following components are present in all 69 E-Communities: Forge a community vision centered around entrepreneurship as a tool for economic developmentĪ NetWork Kansas E-Community has made a decision to proactively pursue entrepreneurship as an economic development strategy.Create a revolving loan fund to provide matching loans to entrepreneurs and small businesses with local control of decisions and terms.Engage and/or develop entrepreneurial resources to meet identified community and business needs.Grow a flourishing, sustainable entrepreneurial environment supportive of business startups and expansions.To date, E-Communities have provided $21.5 million to businesses, leveraging an additional $99.2 million (bank loans, owner down payment, resource partner loans, etc.). The E-Community partnership, now in its thirteenth year, has grown from six communities in 2007 to 69 in 2021. Selected communities partner with NetWork Kansas to establish a locally-administered loan fund to assist entrepreneurs with capital, to increase connectivity to resources available to assist entrepreneurs and small businesses, to initiate activities to generate entrepreneurial development, and to participate in a statewide partnership with other E-Communities. A NetWork Kansas E-Community has made a commitment to cultivating an entrepreneurial environment by identifying and developing resources to help local entrepreneurs start or grow businesses.
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