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NCK Business Relief Loan Program Update

Second Phase Announced for Businesses Less than 2 Years Old

A second phase of the NCK Business Relief Loan Program is now available — this time for businesses less than two years old.

image of NCK Business Relief Loan Program Logo

“This next phase was developed to help businesses that have not been eligible for some of the other COVID-19 economic relief programs that are available due to the start date of the business,” NCRPC Business Finance Director Debra Peters said.

The newest loan funding will assist start-up businesses in North Central Kansas adversely impacted by COVID-19. Businesses must be less than 2 years old and have started no later than August 1, 2020. Funding requests for the program are being accepted on qualified applications on a first come, first served basis until funds are exhausted or the program ends on December 31, 2021. All owners must have a credit score of 700 or greater prior to the pandemic.

The new program provides loans on favorable terms for response and recovery needs due to the COVID-19 crisis. For-profit businesses less than 2 years old in Clay, Cloud, Dickinson, Ellsworth, Jewell, Lincoln, Marshall, Mitchell, Ottawa, Republic, Saline, and Washington counties are eligible for the program. Loan funds may be used for operating capital/inventory and asset purchases needed to pivot operations/increase productivity.

Phase 1 of the NCK Business Relief Loan Program launched in November 2020. The NCRPC is administering the program. Phase 1 was made possible through funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA). Program demand was high and all funds were allocated by December 31, 2020.

Funding for the new phase was made possible through generous donations from area banks and the NCKCN-Four Rivers Business Loan Pool.
Visit the NCK Business Relief Loan Fund – Businesses Less than 2 Years Old page to learn more.

This article appeared in the March 2021 NCRPC Newsletter.


Leadership Lessons Learned

Scholarship Recipient Reflects on Training Experience

By Ellen Barber

Leadership has many definitions, but I like the one the Kansas Leadership Center (KLC) uses — “It’s an activity that mobilizes others to make progress on difficult challenges.” Anyone can do that sort of leadership; they don’t have to have a title. I guess that speaks to me too, because what I do, economic development, is all about doing the hard things, and not doing it alone, because that’s just impossible.

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Ellen Barber is Executive Director of Marshall County Partnership 4 Growth and was the first recipient of the McKinney Leadership Scholarship.

I was able to attend the KLC’s Leadership Edge Class via Zoom recently on the Doug McKinney Scholarship from the North Central Regional Planning Commission. It was a unique covid-safe experience with nearly 200 people sharing the screen and being “dropped” into small groups for fleshing out the concepts.

Something I learned was that there are two parts to leadership and choosing the skills that go with each type becomes crucial to success. One type is the how-to or technical skill side. I deal with this having to follow rules in speaking to city councils, in writing a grant, or finding research. There isn’t usually a lot of conflict or different interpretations here.

But the other leadership part is adaptive. It requires “new learning with stakeholders engaged in smart experimentation.” Lots of interpretation here! That’s where the leadership gets hard. Cultures at work, home, and community don’t always care to experiment or try new things. There is unwanted conflict that comes from the “unspoken motivations” involved with changes to a system. Yet an open mind and a willingness to learn and grow and try new things to benefit others is a key to any progress. Leaders realize some conflict is necessary if there is to be new growth. Challenging the status quo and asking good questions helps people grow their viewpoints.

In the class, we shared an issue and then challenged each other with questions that made us think deeply about how we were handling that issue. Were we involving all the stakeholders needed to truly solve a problem? What kinds of smart experimentation were we leading our group to try?

Shortly after the class, I found out that the Marysville Pony Express Museum and the Convention and Tourism office were working to join ranks to solve some shared staffing problems. I found this a great example of leadership. They were working on the technical things like the job descriptions each group would share with the one person who would work part-time with both groups. But they were also doing the creative side of how to meld values and what sort of system would attract and keep a great employee.

I am pleased to earlier see our Chamber and Main Street join under one roof, and now two entities of tourism. Topeka has combined 11 offices with similar economic goals under one roof, and Manhattan has one office with many facets for economic development and a single website that covers all of the city, tourism, development ideas, and even the town’s job site. It’s a stretching idea, but much more progress has come with working together to share the challenges, ideas and purpose. NCRPC is also a great example of so many segments of regional development working under one roof with great success.

Any organization can make progress when we take action not only on the how-to side of leadership, but also the creative, adaptive side where we are willing to try new things to solve old problems…and even if they should fail, it will lead to the next better outcome from the lessons learned. To those who aspire to better leadership, keep on taking (technical and adaptive) actions to motivate each other to do the hard things!

This article appeared in the March 2021 NCRPC Newsletter.


Increasing Resiliency

Region Working to Recover from COVID-19 Economic Impacts

As the region continues to deal with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCRPC has been working with many communities and organizations to assist with response and recovery.

A large factor in the continuing recovery efforts is an award the NCRPC received from the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA) in August 2020 to help coordinate a response to the pandemic’s economic effects within the 12 counties the NCRPC serves. The EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance Grant will help support the work of a regional disaster recovery coordinator and provide technical assistance to the business and nonprofit sectors in North Central Kansas as part of an effort to boost the region’s economy.

In November, a full-time Regional Economic Disaster Recovery Coordinator was hired to help coordinate response and recovery.

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Results of a recently completed survey will be used to customize free training opportunities this year for entrepreneurs, businesses, and nonprofits in North Central Kansas.

To help determine the technical assistance that will be made available in 2021, a brief online survey was conducted. It ended January 15. Results are now being analyzed to customize training topics and tools that will be most beneficial to businesses and nonprofits and increase the region’s resiliency going forward. A Request for Proposals from area consultants who can provide the needed expertise will then be prepared. Additional details will be announced once consultants are in place and schedules are finalized. It is anticipated that free trainings will begin in spring 2021 and go throughout the year.

The NCRPC also continues to partner with Technology Development Institute at Kansas State University to provide businesses and manufacturers in the region with the ability to apply for no cost engineering and business development assistance as part of the Innovation Stimulus Program. More information about the program is available from the Technology Development Institute. Funding for it is also made possible through the EDA CARES program.

We will continue to update our region’s COVID-19 Information and Resources page as needed.

This article appeared in the January 2021 NCRPC Newsletter.


Remote Working

Staff Share Learned Benefits, Tips to Working Remote

The NCRPC and affiliate NCKCN have practiced remote working for select staff for several years. That small group grew in spring 2020 when the office went nearly entirely remote for a number of weeks. As was the case for many offices and organizations, the process of going remote on a large scale was a learning one.

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When staff participated in a virtual meeting in December 2020 as part of the Kansas Beats the Virus Initiative, remote work rose to the top of the list for a group action project. The Kansas Leadership Center launched the initiative in partnership with the State of Kansas to encourage local solutions to help control the spread of COVID-19. Gretchin Staples facilitated the meeting in what ultimately resulted in a social media campaign to break remote work myths based on the personal experiences of staff with remote working.

“Having staff working remotely was not really new to us, but we never explored the remote option any further because it simply did not seem feasible given the nature of our work,” NCRPC Executive Director Emily Benedick said. “As a result of the pandemic, we were suddenly an entirely remote office overnight. As an organization, we learned a ton about the benefits of and tricks to working remote.”

The myth breaking and points of advice were shared on the NCRPC Facebook page in late December and early January. The series covered a wide range of topics including communication, accountability, technology and more. To view the tips, visit the NCRPC Facebook page.

This article appeared in the January 2021 NCRPC Newsletter.


Home Ownership Program Update

Pilot Assisted in the Purchase of 25 Homes in 2020

Financial incentives offered through the NCK Home Ownership Program assisted in the purchase of 25 homes in the region last year.

The pilot program officially expanded to Ottawa and Republic counties in April 2020. It assisted eligible home buyers with down payment and closing cost assistance. The total value of the 25 homes was nearly $3 million, with $300,000 coming from the pilot program. There were 8 homes purchased with program assistance in Ottawa County and 11 homes purchased in Republic County. Another 6 homes were located in counties where the NCK Home Ownership Pilot Program had launched previously.

The NCRPC administered the program offered by its housing non-profit, NCK Housing Opportunities, Inc. The non-profit serves Cloud, Ellsworth, Jewell, Lincoln, Mitchell, Ottawa, Republic, and Saline counties. An award from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation of Logan, Kansas, assisted in the creation of the loan and grant pool. An award from the Evergy Hometown Economic Recovery Program provided the grant portion of the program for Ottawa County home buyers.

Program data indicate positive local impacts. In a survey of home buyers, 44% were first-time home buyers and 44% also took a job in the last 24 months with one-third of those reporting the program incentive was a factor in their job decision. In addition, 43% were under 30 years of age.

“With the expansion of the pilot program to Ottawa and Republic counties, we continued to see strong interest from individuals with local ties to the region with 62% of home buyers reporting that they graduated from a school in the NCRPC 12-county service area,” Home Ownership Program Manager Debra Peters said. “We were also encouraged by the high percentage of young buyers accessing the program and staking roots in the region.”

A similar home ownership pilot program is underway in Dickinson County. Additional pilot programs have been completed in the City of Marysville and Cloud, Ellsworth, Lincoln and Mitchell counties. Future plans include the expansion of pilot home ownership programs in each of the remaining counties in the NCRPC 12-county service area, pending the availability of funding. Results of the pilot programs will be used to develop a permanent regional home ownership program. Visit the Home Ownership Program page to learn more.

This article appeared in the January 2021 NCRPC Newsletter.


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