NetWork Kansas is looking for more communities to join its E-Community Partnership program, which has brought more than $23 million of capital investment to Kansas businesses.

E-Community Partnership proposals for 2014 will be accepted through Aug. 8. Visit networkkansas.com/communities, and scroll to the bottom of the page to download the application.

In a NetWork Kansas E-Community Partnership, a town, a group of towns or a whole county raises seed money for local entrepreneurs through contributions from persons or businesses in the community. Many such communities have populations of 10,000 or less, and since 2007, they have created hundreds of jobs by helping local entrepreneurs to begin or expand their small businesses.

There are 44 E-Communities in Kansas. Each benefits from capital that is locally raised through the NetWork Kansas Entrepreneurship Tax Credit Program to generate a locally managed revolving loan fund to assist small businesses. Participants can apply for up to $125,000 in tax credits for funding entrepreneurial growth in their communities.

“It is exciting to work with local leadership teams that recognize the creation of a locally controlled loan fund is only one aspect of a thriving entrepreneurial environment,” Erik Pedersen, NetWork Kansas director of E-Communities, said in a release. “Engaging youth in entrepreneurship, and providing a process and culture where businesses can start and grow more easily – that’s when many of our E-Communities begin to realize positive, fundamental changes.”

NetWork Kansas was instituted as part of the Kansas Economic Growth Act and is backed by more than 500 resource partners statewide. For more information, visit networkkansas.com.