Community Vitality Update

June/July 2005 Issue No. 19

This newsletter provides community leaders, economic developers, entrepreneurs, and other Iowans interested in community vitality with features on innovative strategies, updates on CVC projects, and info about opportunities for learning and networking.

Community Philanthropy Gets Boost from New Iowa Values Fund

The 2005 General Assembly wrapped-up this year with passage of the Values Fund bill which subsequently was signed by Governor Vilsack. Additional funding was allocated for future rounds of Endow Iowa tax credits and matching grants. Specifically included was:

• Funding for Endow Iowa Tax Credit program at $2 million per calendar year beginning January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2008
• Funding for Endow Iowa Matching Grant program at $50,000 for fiscal years 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08
• Redefine "Charitable purpose" to mirror the definition found in Section 501(c)3 of the IRS code
• Amend the definition of an "endow Iowa qualified," community foundation
• Provided for the lead philanthropic organization (which is currently designated as the Iowa Council of Foundations) to receive three percent of the county philanthropy fund for administration and marketing purposes

Review of Iowa County Endowment Applicants

The County Endowment Fund Review Committee met on June 24th to make decisions regarding the 81 applications that were received prior to May 1. Most of the applicants met the necessary criteria of more than 60 points with a minimum of 15 points in each of four categories. Additional information from some applicants has been requested in order to complete the review process for those applicants. An additional opportunity to submit an application has been extended to the five counties that had not applied by the May 1 deadline; those five counties have until July 29 to submit their completed application for review. Several applicants scored highly in all categories. In general, all applicants did a good job in outlining the diversity and strengths of their boards and local awareness efforts. The Review Committee recommended that each applicant should typically be reviewed on a three year cycle-which means that about 1/3 of the counties would be under review each year. This would allow the review committee to evaluate progress made by applicants with identified areas of weakness and it would also provide an opportunity to review applicants for which any complaints or concerns may have been filed.

Perhaps the most significant areas of weakest in many applications related to setting goals, describing the potential for future philanthropic activity, and specifying work plans that included specific activities to achieve the sustainability goals. For example, one best practice idea was to host an annual lunch to network with estate planners, attorneys, financial advisors, and donors to discuss illustrations, examples, and success stories. In the future, CVC hopes to provide some outstanding examples to provide local leaders with some ideas on what can be done.

In addition, some applicants have erroneously concluded that topics addressed in local grant applications are a sufficient indicator of countywide needs and priorities and that no additional evidence of need is required. Grant applications alone are not generally viewed to be sufficient evidence of countywide needs. If the local board has gathered no additional evidence of local needs and priorities, it may be vulnerable to criticism from local citizens who favor different priorities and from unsuccessful grant applicants. In general, a regular or periodic countywide needs identification and priority setting process is a good idea for boards who wish to remain in touch with the broad interests of the county. Some alternatives include focus groups, citizen surveys, and surveys from a wide range of leadership interests. See here for a template needs assessment survey instrument, academy power point presentation and fourth satellite meeting presentation on this topic.

County Philanthropy Needs Assessment Assistance by CD-DIAL

Those who attended the Statewide Community Philanthropy Academy during April may have attended a workshop by Kathleen Larsen, Research Director for the ISU Extension Community Development Data Information Analysis Laboratory (CD-DIAL for short). They have worked with local leaders in a majority of Iowa counties over the years conducting needs assessment and are available to assist local groups on a fee basis. They have considerable experience in drafting survey questions, managing data, and writing reports. They have a data base of questions used in previous surveys. They have statewide data base for drawing random samples of households for survey purposes. CVC has worked with Kathleen to outline the three options below for local philanthropic entities that may want some assistance in conducting focus groups or surveys. CVC proposals to cover some of the local technical assistance costs are still under review as the CVC Board wishes to consult with the Iowa Council on Foundations regarding the planned use of new Endow Iowa funds designated for administration and marketing in the near future. More information can be found on CD-DIAL website.

Option 1: 250 -300 sample to end up with 100 survey responses with 10% standard error

• Consultation and review of survey instrument
• Sample drawing from CD-DIAL household database
• Printing of survey Instrument
• Data entry and one computer run of percent distributions, transcript of written comments (pdf file) on CD
• No descriptive report or additional analyses provided
• Does not include postage cost for mail distribution and mail follow up, since distribution and follow-up calls can also be handled by local volunteers
• CD-DIAL charge - $1200

Option 2: 250 -300 sample to end up with 100 survey responses with 10% standard error

• Consultation and review of survey instrument
• Sample drawing from CD-DIAL household database
• Printing of survey Instrument
• Postage for initial distribution and follow-up
• Data entry
• Cross tabs analysis
• 1 copy bound descriptive report and report pdf file on CD
• CD-DIAL charge - $4,500

Option 3: Focus Group Process for 3 focus groups

• Consultation and identification of questions meeting with sponsoring group
• Separate Meetings with 3 separate focus groups
• County organization arranges meeting site; identifies, invites, and reminds participants; provides incentives and food
• 1 copy bound descriptive report and report pdf file on CD
• CD-DIAL charge $1900

CVC Rural Entrepreneurship Portfolio Presented at National Incubation Conference

This year’s National Business Incubation Association international meetings were held on May 15, 16, and 17 in Baltimore, Maryland and featured a workshop on rural business incubation organized and presented by two CVC representatives. CVC Director Mark Edelman made a presentation titled "Cost-Effective Approached for Rural Business Incubation" and CVC Board Member Burt Chojnowski made a presentation titled "Developing Entrepreneurial Networks". Power Point presentations are available here. The National Business Incubation Association web site can be found www.nbia.org.

National Entrepreneurial Rural Community Case Studies Workshop Held

CVC received a grant from Farm Foundation of Chicago to partner with Creative Fairfield in organizing and hosting a case studies workshop with a select group of rural entrepreneurial communities from across the nation. The purpose of the workshop and follow-up work is to draft a series of short case studies that briefly tell the stories, best practices, and lessons learned by entrepreneurial communities with some reputation for success. The National Rural E-Gathering event was held on June 2, 3, and 4 in Fairfield. Mason City and Fairfield were among the seven nonmetro communities and rural regions featured in the workshop. The lineup included:

• Regional Entrepreneurial Networks of Mason City, Iowa
  • Seed Capital and Entrepreneurial Programs - Jamie Zanios, NIACC Pappajohn Center
  • Ag Ventures Alliance - Don Hofstrand, ISU Extension & National Ag Marketing Center
• Northern Initiative of Marquette, Michigan by Dennis West, President
• Tapetes De Lana of Las Vega, New Mexico by Carla Gomez, Executive Director
• AceNet Kitchen Incubator and Entrepreneur Network of Athens, Ohio by June Holley, President and Founder
• Entrepreneurial Friendly Communities in Georgia by Don Betts, Georgia Tech University; Mary Ellen McClanahan, Director Governor's Entrepreneur & Small Business Office; Joanne Lewis, President, Douglas-Coffee County Chamber of Commerce; Lidell Greenway, Economic Development Assistant, Douglas-Coffee County Chamber
• Entrepreneurial History to Incubator Reality in Tupelo, Mississippi by Wayne Averett, The IDEA Center
• Fairfield Entrepreneurs Association of Fairfield, Iowa by Burt Chojnowski, past President

The case studies are at various stages of completion and will be posted on the CVC web site. At this point, most of the initial power point presentations are posted here.

CVC Shares Iowa Rural Development Perspective at Farm Bill Conference

ISU’s College of Agriculture hosted a conference titled, "New Directions in Federal Farm Policy: Issues for the 2007 Farm Bill," on July 6, 7, and 8 in Ames. CVC presented an Iowa Perspective for Enhancing Rural Development as part of the Rural Policy Panel Discussion. Below is a short summary of CVC’s presentation. The full paper is available on the web.

"Recent WTO decisions and the evolving farm bill context appear to generate some opportunities for designing incremental and new policy mechanisms that would add to the incomes of farmers and rural people without further eroding the competitiveness of U.S. farmers by capitalizing direct payments directly into land values. Payment reform and diversification strategies could be designed to make an enhanced contribution to jobs, income, and economic growth rates in the Ag-dependent counties that have experienced slower jobs and income growth. Such criteria could be an important element in "red state/blue state" analyses by political scientists. Given the growing dependence of farmers on off-farm income and concerns about brain drain migration, development of community and regional approaches to stimulating new ventures by building community entrepreneurial capacity, identifying actionable migration strategies, and creating community mechanisms to attract local reinvestment of wealth transfer are likely to become increasingly important attributes in creating future opportunities for income, economic growth, and quality of life in rural America."

Call for Innovative Community Entrepreneurship Challenge Grants

CVC is now accepting proposals until September 1st for Innovative Community Entrepreneurship Mini Grant projects. The maximum award for each project is $10,000 and requires a local match. The purpose is to help communities and regional entrepreneurial support networks to implement innovative entrepreneurial development concepts locally or to feature lessons learned from an existing innovative project that would be of interest to leaders in other communities. The Community Vitality Center has funded five or six mini grants to communities each year of the past three years. Local projects have included development of Community Entrepreneurial Centers, Entrepreneurial Coaching and Mentoring Programs, organization of Community Entrepreneurial Support Committees and Business Plan Competitions, Entrepreneurial Training Support, Sirolli workshops, and others. Application materials and spending guidelines are available here. Applications should be submitted by email to cvc@iastate.edu by September 1, 2005 for the July 2006-2007 fiscal year and are contingent on funding availability.

Call for CVC Board Nominations

The CVC Board Nominating Committee is receiving nominations of leaders that would be interested in serving on the CVC Board. The CVC mission is to serve as a catalyst for innovative projects and initiatives designed to improve the vitality of Iowa communities, particularly those in nonmetro counties. The CVC facilitates networking among small and medium size rural communities, sponsors policy analyses, engages communities in dialogue, and fosters discussion among rural and urban interests. CVC Board members serve 3 year terms and are expected to attend quarterly board meetings to establish budget priorities, set center policy and monitor projects and initiatives of the center. To submit a nomination, please Email the name and contact information for the nominee in addition to the name and contact information for the nominator to cvc@iastate.edu