Hometown Competitiveness Creating Collaboration Among Local Foundations, Nonprofits

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Hometown Competitiveness Creating Collaboration
Among Local Foundations, Nonprofits Local
Governments

• Iowa Community Philanthropy Academy
• April 22, 2005
• Craig Hertel
• Reaction Panel Rand Fisher Mark Snell

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Hometown Competitiveness Creating Collaboration
Among Local Foundations, Nonprofits Local
Governments

• Topics
• A Model called Hometown Competitiveness
• An instrument Youth as Partners
• A reaction panel of experienced community
  economic developers

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Hometown Competitiveness Creating Collaboration
Among Local Foundations, Nonprofits Local
Governments

• My objective
• To illustrate how our work on community
  philanthropy community foundations fits into
  the larger, more integrated picture of community
  economic development

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Hometown Competitiveness Creating Collaboration
Among Local Foundations, Nonprofits Local
Governments

• Collaboration the process of organizations
  sharing information and resources to achieve
  common goals.

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Hometown Competitiveness Creating Collaboration
Among Local Foundations, Nonprofits Local
Governments

• PM 1486 series on How to Build Coalitions
• Collaboration, Turf Issues, Planning, Facilitator
  Roles, Mobilization
• Go to http//www.extension.iastate.edu/pubs/
• Masterlist3.html1400

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Home Town Competitiveness

• A story illustrating the Hometown Competitiveness
  concept in action.

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Hometown Competitiveness Field Day on
Thursday, May 13, 2004
Windmill A Symbol of the Nebraska Community
Foundation
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Home Town CompetitivenessA Come-Back/Give-Back
Approach to Rural Community Building

• Sponsored by
• The Nebraska Community Foundation
• The Heartland Center for Leadership Development
• Center for Rural Entrepreneurship

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Welcome to Atkinson, Nebraska

• One of the reasons for the field day was to
  showcase an actual community, its physical and
  human attributes.
• This community sign is the first thing you see
  driving into town.

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About Atkinson, Nebraska

• Located in Northern NE, Holt County, is a
  geographically oversized county, about 50 miles
  by 50 miles. Population 11,500.
• ONeill is county seat, with 3,500 people.
• Atkinson, population 1,244 is 18 miles from
  ONeill.

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Down the road ¼ mile

• Further into town, I saw another sign that jumped
  out and caught my eye
• Little did I know how important it was to the HTC
  model

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The Home Town Competitiveness (HTC) model
encourages action

• Mobilize Local Leaders
• Energize Entrepreneurship
• Capture Wealth Transfer
• Attract Young People

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1. Mobilizing Local Leaders

• Communities must be intentional about recruiting
  and nurturing an increasing number women,
  minorities and young people into decision-making
  roles
• Tap into everyones potential, knowledge, talent
  aspirations
• Reject outdated notion of relying on the usual
  suspects to get things done
• On-going leadership training programs

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2. Capturing Wealth Transfer

• Rural residents do not always recognize local
  wealth, because so much of it is held through
  land ownership.
• Most people are at first shocked, and then highly
  motivated, once they understand the enormous
  amount of local wealth that will possibly
  transfer out of the area to heirs who have
  migrated.
• Planned gifts need to be cultivated now!

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3. Energizing entrepreneurship

• The Nebraska Center for Rural Entrepreneurship
  focuses on
• 1.Saving Mainstreet through planned ownership
  succession
• 2.Creating new wealth and good jobs by helping
  entrepreneurial companies that have potential to
  break through to a broader product-line and/or
  larger market
• 3. Using local charitable assets to support
  entrepreneurial development

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4. Attracting Young People

• HTC teaches
• How to target and attract youth
• Create career opportunities
• Nurture a sense of ownership and vested interest
  in the communitys future leaders

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Conference reinforced the 4 Pillars of HTC

• Most sessions had panel discussion
• Each time all 4 pillars were highlighted
• Community spokesman seemed very clear on the need
  for the 4 pillars
• For a relatively new model, people seemed to
  easily grasp terms, reasons and approach
• Many of the community examples were just getting
  off the ground therefore, immediate reflections
  of getting started (and motivation to perform
  since they had to report!)

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Panelist comments

• The Sandhills 3 County group residents appeared
  afraid of here we go again efforts that come
  and go.
• Valley observation youth had more profound
  comments than adults
• Think about strategically about succession of
  the home owned business.
• The 4 pillars may not all happen at once, or at
  the same speed. Adjust
• Think regionally

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Youth component.

• Very visible (presence, tour leaders, signage)
• Youth NOT the futurethey are the present!
• Strategy to personally connect with H.S. students
  and finding people to come back home
• Goal 11-14 of graduating class to return
• Goal is being monitored
• Personal mentoring and encouragement
• Want them to leave BUT come back!
• Early in their life connections to stay

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Leadership has progressed

• Used to be leaders had to know the right answer
• Then, leaders had to know the right question
• Now, leaders need to know who to go to!

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Observations

• Significant number of young adults in the
  audience from across Nebraska and border states.
  
• In visiting, enthusiasm and interest in making a
  difference!
• Same exact comments of community challenges as we
  hear in Iowa!

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Potpourri

• Importance of Entrepreneurial Skills I.D.
• Key is what community leaders say do, and
  setting a good example
• Old challenge of how to get the Old Guard to
  buy-in, always an issue
• Need rural (out of town) participation to balance
  out city resident needs
• Use Chamber list serve for outreach
• Build hope

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Philanthropy pillar

• Example City of Ord Valley County -- 1.2
  million gift via a will leveraged other giving of
  5.2 million in expectancies
• 5 Nebraska target of capturing wealth transfer
  was an often stated goal

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Downtown Attractiveness Pride

• The flags were out!
• A main intersection had a message board, with
  attractive landscaping
• Streets were kept up
• All field day participants were bused downtown
  for a 5-stop walking tour.

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Surprised that

• The importance of retail business in the model
  caught me off guard
• New business tied to retail
• Efforts put in by community facilitators to
  encourage retail
• Importance to community image was retail
  establishments
• Number of retail places in town of 1,244
• Retail seemed to attract youth

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more on Retail

• 6. Retail places visited all had their nitch
  market that covered a wider area
• -- IGA ?locker ? seasoning ? mail
• -- Ogden Hardware ? Dish
• -- Something Special ? asks wholesalers if
  anyone has this merchandise w/in 100miles
• -- Old fashion soda fountain
• -- Clothing jeans outlet

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Cautions

• Can that much retail hold on?
• Surprised that I heard retail business, but not
  manufacturing or other businesses
• Fear expressed of Wal-Mart by participants of
  conference retails
• Holt County early pioneer of crops irrigation
  in Midwest, therefore, lots of money made in late
  1960s, early 1970s

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The Sign

• It changed the Youths Attitude!
• Developed by the youth
• They owned the sign, and had tremendous pride
  in it
• Prominent!

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High School Youth Engagement

• The High School youth were not only the tour
  guides, but clearly actively involved in framing
  the enthusiasm and future community plans.
• Encouraging youth to return was one of the 4
  pillars of HTC.

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Town of 1,244 3 Hardware stores

• Ogden Hardware owned operated by a young adult.
• One line of merchandise, dish network, with a
  service area of about 100 miles.

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Gift Items EVERYWHERE!

• Something Special by Marilyn is indeed a
  special store
• Very large, two story retail store full of gifts
  galore for any occasion
• Business started about 11 years ago by two local
  women.
• Would be a draw for women everywhere!

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On the community center wall

• Were four wall hangings, strategically placed
  by the restrooms
• Each one was a positive quote that left a
  great impression

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Question?

• Can this Hometown Competiveness Model be
  implemented without cash incentive and grant
  money?
• Answer Perhaps if there is strong community
  leadership that is present and training to act.
  If no at the beginning to hire human resources,
  then it is up to the community to rally, see the
  benefits, and fund appropriately

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The Home Town Competitiveness (HTC) model
encourages action

• Mobilize Local Leaders
• Energize Entrepreneurship
• Capture Wealth Transfer
• Attract Young People

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Lets focus on one of the HTC pillars

• Attract Young People

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Reaction Panel How might this model really
work?

• Mr. Rand Fisher
• Iowa Area Development Group
• Mr. Mark Snell
• MHS Management Services