EDA Meeting Date: November 25, 2024
To: Members of the Economic Development Authority
From: Emery John, Community Development Programmer
Nate Carlson, Economic Development Coordinator
Title
Connecting Business and Community (CBC) Update
Body
Action Requested:
No action requested. The EDA Board shall receive an update from staff regarding the Connecting Business and Community program.
Summary Report:
In partnership with the Chamber of Commerce, the Friends of Downtown Northfield, the University of Minnesota Extension, and this EDA body, the CBC interviewing program has successfully launched. We are currently in Phase 1, which is focused on outreach to businesses. The CBC Team has reached out to over one hundred businesses so far, with dozens agreeing to participate.
Phase 2 is intended to empower businesses that have not yet been called to reach out to us, ensuring no willing business was unable to participate. Phase 2 is concentrated in the New Year, though we have launched a webpage and ad campaign to get the word out about the program. See northfieldmn.gov/CBC for additional information about the program. That page also houses a form, allowing businesses to directly reach out to us with their interest.
Spreading the word is paramount. If you or someone you know owns or runs a business and is interested in participating, please direct them to those resources or to staff to handle any interview requests.
In addition, KYMN featured the CBC program during a morning news segment on November 19, and staff is working with Northfield News to get a press release printed. So far, over a dozen interviews have been conducted across the City, with another 20 scheduled for the coming weeks. While our goal is every willing business in Northfield, we are aiming for between 50 and 75 completed, to ensure we have a large enough data set to analyze for the U of M team.
Thank you to our volunteers who are making this possible. And hats off to our hard-working and exceedingly thoughtful business people who are taking time from their busy days to talk with us about what we can do to keep Northfield vibrant.
Alternative Options:
None at this time.
Financial Impacts:
The EDA is contracted with the U of M Extension office. See the attached contract fees.
Tentative Timelines:
August - October 2024: developing and writing the interview guide with the U of M
October - November 2024: Launching Phase 1
Nov-December 2024: Phase 1 Interviews
January - February 2025: Phase 2 Interviews