Muskingum   Growth   Partnership

 

Supporting Economic Development in Zanesville & Muskingum County, Ohio

Mission

Background

Members

Organization

Strategies

Successes

Action Plan & Budget

Campaign

Links

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

  • 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.

  • High quality support materials and tools such as brochures, direct mailers telling our success stories, web sites, and site profiles.

Retention & Expansion

  • 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.

  • Training and education in the form of seminars and publications on timely topics to help local firms stay competitive.

  • Surveys and studies to systematically identify barriers and challenges -  and solutions -to local firms' stability and growth.

  • Recognition programs to celebrate the growth and accomplishments of area businesses.

Small Business

  • 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

  • Financial support for marketing the downtown as a business and residential location.

 

 www.zmchamber.com