Incentives and Resources

Development / Education Grants

Click here for the 2021 Community Development Grant application

Click here for the 2021 Continuing Education Grant Application

2021 Youth Employment Grant Information

Click here for the 2021 youth grant flyer

Click here for the 2021 youth grant application

Linn County Resources

• Linn County Resource Directory – Linn County has several cities, schools, libraries, parks and more within it.  Most of the items in this directory are not owned or operated by Linn County Government, but they do reside in and/or provide services to the residents of Linn County.  This directory will guide you through what there is to offer.

Financial Resources

• Kansas Department of Commerce – The Business Finance Unit of the Kansas Department of Commerce offers a variety of programs including job creation tax credits, investment tax credits, sales tax project exemptions, and revolving loans for local infrastructure.
• NetWork Kansas – NetWork Kansas has resources to help at all stages of the business lifecycle, from startup to succession management, and everything in between – including funding. The organization offers an array of gap financing assistance to provide the last amount of capital a business needs to start and grow.
• Property Tax Abatement Assistance – Assistance is provided to businesses and governmental entities applying for property tax abatement. Division staff liaisons with the Board of Tax Appeals (BOTA) provide technical assistance on the application process, and run a complimentary cost benefit analysis to ensure a BOTA response within 30 days.
• Public Activity Bonds – Qualified Private Activity Bonds (PABs) are federally tax-exempt bonds.

Infrastructure Improvements

• Kansas Partnership Fund – The Partnership Fund program provides loans to Kansas cities or counties for infrastructure improvements directly related to specific business projects creating new jobs and capital investment.

Workforce Training Funds

• High Performance Incentive Program – This program provides tax incentives to eligible employers that pay above-average wages and are committed to skills development for their workers. Eligible companies may receive sales tax exemption and corporate income tax credit up to 10% of their investment as well as credit for training expenditures..
• Kansas Industrial Retraining Program (KIR) – The KIR job retention program provides grants to restructuring companies whose employees are likely to be displaced due to obsolete or inadequate job skills or knowledge. This program assists restructuring companies wanting to retrain their employees. At least one existing employee must be trained to qualify for assistance.
• Kansas Industrial Training Program (KIT) – The KIT program provides funds to help new and expanding companies train workers for new jobs. Primary firms receiving assistance are manufacturing, distribution and regional or national service firms adding five or more new jobs.
• Registered Apprenticeship – The Registered Apprenticeship program is designed to provide employers with a skilled workforce while training existing workers in the latest technologies without loss of production time.

Demographic Information & Regional Statistics

• Bureau of Economic Analysis – The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) promotes a better understanding of the U.S. economy by providing the most timely, relevant, and accurate economic accounts data in an objective and cost-effective manner.
• Bureau of Labor Statistics – The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is the principal fact-finding agency for the Federal Government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics. The BLS is an independent national statistical agency that collects, processes, analyzes, and disseminates essential statistical data to the American public, the U.S. Congress, other federal agencies, state and local governments, business, and labor. The BLS also serves as a statistical resource to the Department of Labor.
• Data.Gov – This site provides access to the full range of official datasets produced by the federal government. Data.gov is one location for access to the full breadth of federal datasets.
• Institute for Policy and Social Research – A source of statewide data, the Institute for Policy and Social Research offers custom economic impact studies and regional research.
• Kansas Labor Market Information – The state’s Labor Market Information Services provides data on the region’s workforce and workplace climate.
• Kansas Agricultural Statistics – The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) conducts hundreds of surveys every year and prepares reports covering virtually every aspect of U.S. agriculture. A few examples are: production and supplies of food and fiber, prices paid and received by farmers, farm labor and wages, farm finances, chemical use, and changes in the demographics of U.S. producers.
• U.S. Census Bureau – The Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about the nation’s people and its economy.

Business Development Assistance

• Certified Development Companies – These nonprofit groups assist businesses by developing loan packages that meet the financial need of a project. These packages often contain more than one source of project funding, thus providing the small business customer with the best combination of rates and terms possible.
• First Stop Clearinghouse – Serves as a link between business owners and resources available through state government and provides a central point of contact to streamline the business-startup process. A NetWork Kansas referral coordinator will connect you with resources within the state that are involved in all aspects of starting a business, including legal structure, employment, taxes, licensing, and some federal requirements.
• Kansas Business Center – Provides information and links for Kansas businesses, and allows you to complete some filings and registrations online.
• Kansas Department of Commerce – The Kansas Department of Commerce offers a variety of options to help new and expanding businesses, ranging from direct financial assistance to technical and educational support. The department also helps entrepreneurs meet licensing requirements, works with clients to identify incentives appropriate for business expansion, and helps assess communities from a business perspective.
• Kansas Department of Revenue – The state office responsible for tax registrations, licensing, property valuation, sales tax, and exemptions.
• Kansas Secretary of State – Corporations in Kansas are able to file and search their official corporate documents on line.
• Kansas Small Business Development Center – Works to increase economic prosperity in Kansas by helping entrepreneurs and small business owners start and grow their businesses through professional consulting, training, and resources.
• KCSourceLink – A network of 140 nonprofit resource organizations that provide business-building services for small businesses, KCSourceLink helps link these resource organizations to one another and to established, emerging and startup small businesses throughout the region. Assistance is provided in four main areas: technical, education, financial, and marketing.
• SCORE – Volunteers for Score are real-world professionals with time-tested knowledge who donate thousands of hours to help small businesses succeed. Counselors are experts in areas such as accounting, finance, marketing, management and business plan preparation.
• U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) – Created to aid, counsel, assist, and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise, and to maintain and strengthen the nation’s overall economy, the SBA helps Americans start, build, and grow businesses. They have an online portal for businesses looking for an SBA lender, SBA LINC. Information is entered once then shared with multiple banks who respond to applicants within two business days.