The Campaign
For the good of the community, we are seeking
to grow the Muskingum Growth Partnership, since economic development
is as important now as it has ever been.
Therefore, we invite you to join our other
members since we know you share an interest in supporting programs
that will lead to a growing economy and thriving marketplace for
your firms and for the people of the Muskingum County.
MGP members know their participation is
important to our collective future. They know the role holds
little direct reward or recognition for them personally and that the
return on their company’s investment is generally long term. In
short, MGP members embody the ideal of thoughtful and farsighted
community leadership.
Members
also receive valuable and exclusive benefits that directly serve
their businesses. Click here
for a list of MGP member benefits.
The
minimum annual contribution as set by the members themselves is
$2,000; some members contribute this amount, while others contribute
various amounts up to $5,000.
We hope you
will strongly consider membership. It is a worthwhile investment
that will provide returns to both your organization and the
community for years to come.
To join MGP contact Tom Poorman at the
Chamber of Commerce at 740-455-8282 or
tpoorman@zmchamber.com.
The Goal
The goal
for this campaign is 50 members. Our plan is to achieve that
level by year end of 2008. However, we will pursue the goal
until it is achieved since that is the level of involvement,
leadership, and funding we believe is needed to continue and even
accelerate the rate of positive economic growth in Muskingum County.
Reaching
50 members at the minimum contribution of $2,000 each would provide
a pool of at least $100,000 annually with which to aggressively
market the community, retain local businesses, support our business
incubator and smaller enterprises, and encourage downtown
revitalization.
The funds
would be budgeted by the members, employed in concert with the Port
Authority, and specifically reserved for direct economic development
activities. More specifically, those activities would be:
Marketing
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National and regional advertising via business journals,
professional journals, signage, and websites/emails all targeted
at specific industries to be identified jointly by the staff,
local officials and the members.
-
Trade
show attendance and display equipment, matching and supporting
the advertising to targets discussed above.
-
Familiarization tours for developers and site selection
consultants, which bring them to our community to see first hand
hand the successes and opportunities.
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High
quality support materials and tools such as brochures, direct
mailers telling our success stories, web sites, and site
profiles.
Retention & Expansion
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Information services, such as publications, newsletters, and
reports to help keep local firms informed about growth
opportunities like exporting and other new markets, and
assistance programs such as tax credits and incentives.
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Training and education in the form of seminars and publications
on timely topics to help local firms stay competitive.
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Surveys and studies to systematically identify barriers and
challenges - and solutions -to local firms' stability and
growth.
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Recognition programs to celebrate the growth and accomplishments
of area businesses.
Small
Business
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Support for the Muskingum County Business Incubator, which
serves as one-stop-shop for small business counseling,
referrals, and direct assistance to targted businesses.
Downtown Revitalization
