Community Vitality Update

November 2005 Issue No. 22

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.

Philanthropy Web Tools Demonstration Meeting 10AM, Nov 18 at ISU

Community foundations and county endowment affiliates are invited to send representatives to a web tools demonstration meeting starting at 10AM on Friday, November 18 in Room 248 of the ISU Memorial Union. At a recent Board meeting, CVC approved funding for the development of a web tools platform that will be designed by and for community foundations and local county endowment entities to enhance philanthropy. The ISU Extension Information Technology Service (ITS) will participate in the project and has developed, conducted training, and deployed a similar web tools platform for managing state and locally generated information for Iowa’s network of 100 county extension offices. The Extension web tools platform will be demonstrated at the November 18 meeting. Following the demonstration, community foundations and county affiliates will be invited to provide feedback and preferences regarding the content and design attributes desired for their own use. The intent is to develop a prototype that allows each county with enough flexibility to meet their own needs, encourages incremental improvement, and creates a voluntary statewide network so that philanthropy can be enhanced for the benefit of all. The meeting will end around noon.

A smaller design team including representatives from the Iowa Community Affiliates Network, Iowa Area Development Group Community Foundation, the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation, and CVC in partnership with the Iowa Council of Foundations and other interested community foundations and affiliates will work with ISUE-ITS staff to design, construct, and test the web tools platform over the next few months. One practical use of the platform would be to provide former Iowans now living in other states with easy to find access and capability to donate to their hometown foundation via the internet. In order to appropriately plan for participation, community foundations and affiliates that would like to send a representative to this demonstration should email their intent to chertel@iastate.edu.

Manning Entrepreneurship Academy Attracts 75 to West Central Iowa

The 2005 Community Entrepreneurship Academy attracted 75 participants to the Manning Hausbarn on October 21. Speed Herrig, Cookies BBQ Sauces of Wall Lake received the Community Entrepreneur Leadership Award and the Entrepreneurial Community Award went to Manning, Iowa. Brian Dabson, RUPRI, provided a National and International Perspective on Rural Entrepreneurship that was one of the conference highlights. In addition, positive comments were received for each segment of the program. Power Point Presentations and web site links for the speakers are available here.

CVC Co-Sponsors NIAAC Entrepreneurship Forum for Local Leaders on Nov. 30

CVC is a co-sponsor for a Symposium titled “Regional Economic Development and Entrepreneurism” that is being organized for elected officials of North Central Iowa by the NIACC Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship on Wednesday November 30, 2005. The symposium is scheduled to start at 7:45 AM and run to 1:00 PM at the Muse-Norris Conference Center. Speakers include Don Macke from the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, Lincoln NE and June Holley, Co-Founder and CEO of the Appalachian Center for Economic Networks ACEnet of Athens Ohio. The ACEnet story was recently included as one of the Entrepreneurial Community Case Study reports that are now available on the CVC web site. The NIACC symposium has registration fee of $15.00 per person. To register, call Dana at 641-422-4111 or 1-888-466-4222, ext. 4111.

Boone County Business Plan Competition awards $10,000 to Tri-M A.I., LLC

During the past year, CVC has encouraged the development of four pilot community-based business plan competitions. A countywide economic development group called Boone’s Future recently announced the winner of their first Business Plan Competition Award in an annual meeting on November 1. The winner of the award is Tri-M A.I., LLC. Tri-M A.I., LLC is a startup company that plans to offer cutting edge products and service for livestock artificial insemination. Bob Fisher, Executive Director of Boone’ s Future said that this company has literally been operating out of the Mueller’s garage and the award will help them establish a business location. The CVC was acknowledged during the annual meeting for presenting the business plan competition concept to the development group and providing a $7,000 grant to organize the initial program. Funds for the award were raised locally. Fisher said that business plan competition materials developed by Boones Future and were sent to the 38 inquires that were received for the 7-week period after the program was announced. The winner is required to operate in Boone County and receives $10,000 over the next year after periodic consultations with the local development group. The process helped to sort out the cream of the crop.

“Three excellent business plans were completed,” said Fisher. A panel of 3 judges representing the area SBDC Director, ISU County Extension Director, and the President of Boone’s Future, who is a professional accountant, judged the business plans and listened to presentations by the finalists. Fisher said that the presentations were a very important part of the competition. He indicated that at least two of the three finalists will be starting a business in the local area. He indicated that the Boone’s Future was pleased with the program results and that prospects were good for doing the business plan competition again in the future.

Sample materials from Henry County’s Business Plan Competition can be found on the CVC web site. Henry County’s program is sponsored by the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce and it just completed its second year community-based Business Plan Competition program. CVC suggests that if at least one entity steps forward in every county to sponsor a business plan competition, the statewide network would have more than 100 new businesses created each year. There would be statewide network of local sponsors collectively providing a million dollars worth of incentives in support of new business startups. If that were the case, Iowa would take a giant step forward in creating a culture for community entrepreneurship.