1. HomeTown Competitiveness
A Framework for Effective and Sustainable
Rural Community and Economic Development
An initiative of
Branch County Area Chamber of Commerce
Branch County Community Foundation
Coldwater Downtown Development Authority
Branch County Economic Growth Alliance

2. HomeTown Competitiveness is Focused on Critical Issues
Generational Wealth Transfer
Historical Youth Out-Migration Trends
Loss of Farms and Small Businesses
Erosion of Leadership Capacity
Rural Nebraska communities have struggled for many decades.
The economy is “land rich, cash poor.”
The HTC framers identified four critical issues:
Generational Wealth Transfer
Historical Out-Migration of Youth
Loss of Farms and Small Businesses
Erosion of Leadership Capacity

3. HomeTown Competitiveness Philosophy
Locally controlled
Builds upon community assets
Does not replace local resources or current activities; all HTC activities must add value
Builds community through empowering local leadership
Convenes and build partnerships
Believes in power of “Hometown”
Framers of HTC realized that to affectively address these issues---the solutions needed to be:
Locally controlled
Build upon community assets
Not replace local resources or current activities---but rather add to the positive things already going on
Build community through empowering local leadership
Convene and build partnerships
Support an overall belief the in power of the “Hometown”

4. HomeTown Competitiveness
The Four Pillars of HTC
Youth
Entrepreneurship
Charitable Assets
Leadership
I said before that there were four critical issues that the HTC framers identified
They designed specific ways to address those issue – which they call the FOUR PILLARS
The Four Pillars are designed to:
Energize local entrepreneurs to build a stronger economy
Capture the wealth transfer to raise local development dollars
Attract young people and strengthen community demographics
Mobilize local leaders & build community and civic capacity
HomeTown Competitiveness

5. Why Entrepreneurship?
Business development creates jobs and new wealth in the community
Assists in retaining existing businesses
Sustains population with manageable growth
Creates career opportunities for youth
Entrepreneurs can provide leadership and new ideas for the community’s development

6. Entrepreneurship& Business Attraction
David Birch & Cogenics
Based on a 12-year trend, conclusion growth comes from the following sources:
55% Existing Business
44% Startups
1% Relocations
Final example of change. What this tells us is Branch County has been an anomaly to the trends.
What we need to do to continue our success is to focus on the strengths we have locally and “sow the seeds” of entrepreneurship to create business opportunities here.

7. Entrepreneurship Elements of the Strategy
Identify and assess entrepreneurial talent within the community and region.
Lead the development of the community’s strategy for increasing local entrepreneurial business development.
It can be as easy as lending support to our entrepreneurs. One of our largest tasks in Branch County will be assisting in business transitions. According to the recent market study – 51% of businesses in Branch County had owners over the age of 50. Only 35% of those businesses have transition plans in place. What does that mean to us? There are approximately 430 businesses in Branch County that are in danger of closing forever in the next 10 to 15 years if we don’t assist in the transition process businesses = 1/3 of our business base. Can you imagine walking down the street and every third building is empty? We can prevent this from happening by promoting entrepreneurship.

8. Entrepreneurship Expected Outcomes
Strategy in place for increasing local entrepreneurial business development
Increased entrepreneurial activity within the community in private and public sectors
More current businesses retained and growing
New jobs and wealth being created within the community
Valley County Nebraska, the case study for Entrepreneurship, a county of 5,000 people has changed from no economic plan in 1999 to now (7 years later) having an entrepreneurial program in place, and in just the past year over 80 new jobs and $80 million dollars in new investment in the community’s businesses.

9. Case Study – Valley County Nebraska
Entrepreneurship
The last time Valley County had growth – Less than 5000 people in county
When a building becomes empty – it is not a failure, it is an opportunity for another business to grow.
Students create their own businesses.

10. Case Study – Valley County Valley County Chronology…
1999 – No Game Plan or Program
2000 – Economic Development Board
- Staffing Proposed
2001 – Tax Support Passed
2002 – Joined HTC
- Focused Development Goals
- Moved Towards Entrepreneurship
2004 – Hired a Business Coach

11. Case Study – Valley County Bottom Line Results…
Entrepreneurial Development System
Opportunity Focused
Last 6 Months
$80 Million in New Investment
80 New Jobs
Business Transition
Linked People Recruitment
Youth Strategy

12. HomeTown Competitiveness
Charitable Assets
Entrepreneurship
Youth
Charitable Assets
Leadership
Why Charitable Assets?
Charitable assets can create new possibilities because their use can be locally controlled
Allows communities to gather discretionary resources to pursue opportunities as they arise and to build on current resources
Such as:
Small town quality-of-life
Current and former residents’ affinity for and generosity to their hometown
Technology that allows people to live and work wherever they want to
Opportunity for new capital associated with the intergenerational transfer of wealth
Opportunity to build greater belief and hope for the future of our hometowns
HomeTown Competitiveness

13. “Charitable” defined Relief for the poor and distressed
Promotion of good health
Lessening the burdens of government
Advancement of religion
Advancement of education and science
Promotion of social welfare
We don’t typically think of “charity” as community and economic development
But the IRS defines charity as
Relief for the poor and distressed
Promotion of good health
Lessening the burdens of government
Advancement of religion
Advancement of education and science
Promotion of social welfare
It is possible to do community and economic development using charitable endowments.

14. Intergenerational Transfer of Wealth An Unprecedented Opportunity for Rural America “Millionaires in the Millennium” Havens & Schervish, 1999
Boston College
A study done by Boston College shows that over the next years, less for some communities, there will be a $41 trillion transfer of wealth over the 55-year period from 1998 to 2052, a minimum of $41 Trillion will pass from one generation to the next.
HTC offers communities an opportunity to:
retain local wealth
increase philanthropy and build endowments
prevent capital from being a limiting resource to community development – “there’s no money for that”
build sustained community development strategies (by using Asset-Based Community Development, or ABCD)
break out of a cycle of dependency on federal and state grants and tax revenue
[Study by Paul G. Schervish and John J. Havens entitled, "Millionaires and the Millennium: New Estimates of the Forthcoming Wealth Transfer and the Prospects for a Golden Age of Philanthropy.” released by the Social Welfare Research Institute at Boston College in 1999 ]

15. Strategic Grant-Making
Income from these funds are used to make grants that will specifically address HTC goals
After a community builds endowments for HTC projects, the proceeds need to be used strategically.

16. Examples of Strategic Grants
Non-Traditional Scholarships
High-quality affordable day care
Microenterprise Loan Program
Build Leadership with a Purpose
Retaining and recruiting volunteers
Value-added curriculum for K-12 schools
GIVE EXAMPLES
Educational loans that are forgiven if the recipient comes back to live and work in Branch County in the next 10 years
The idea is go out see the world, but come back to raise your family
Adults wishing to continue their post high school education
Apprenticeships for skilled trades
Workshops and seminars that support entrepreneurship and business transition planning
Adding entrepreneurship to K-12 curriculum

17. Charitable Assets Expected Outcomes
Community-controlled endowed assets
Grants awarded to specific activities that will improve economic prospects for individuals and/or technical assistance and business coaching to entrepreneurs and small businesses
Grants awarded to specific activities that will improve the likelihood that young people stay or return to their hometown
Retention of wealth in the community
What happens in Nebraska when the kids have moved out of town:
Funeral is on Friday morning
Go to the lawyers office on Friday afternoon
Go to the bank
See the tail lights leaving town--along with the assets their parents
As we’ve said before, training and retaining young people is vital to the health of the community.

18. Endowment Building in Holt County
O’Neill Community Foundation (pop. 3,733)
$50,000 challenge grant to build unrestricted endowment
50+ $1,000 Founding Members for HTC endowment
$2,000,000+ expectancy for endowment to support area-wide HTC activities
Grant Making to support entrepreneurship training, county-wide leadership class, non-traditional scholarships and HTC coordinator

19. HomeTown Competitiveness
Youth
Entrepreneurship
Leadership
Charitable Assets
Youth
HomeTown Competitiveness

20. Youth How do they enhance the HTC strategy?
Pool of young entrepreneurial talent
Fresh ideas, energy and community leadership.
Youth can create significant wealth over a lifetime.
Compelling charitable giving priority.

21. Youth Are Critical to Rural Vitality!
3:1 positive impact upon population
Long-term business and career goals
Educated workforce for expanding businesses
Substantial consumers of goods and services
New energy, skills, ideas and resources
Support and use public institutions
Retention of local generational wealth

22. Youth Expected Outcomes
Increased number of young people working towards returning to their hometown
Entrepreneurship curriculum and community-based learning available to more youths
Stronger school-community partnerships in place to support shared education and community economic development goals
Greater youth involvement in community service and leadership

23. Welcome Back Home Exercise
Asked kids in Knox County – “Put your feet where you want to live.” After getting an education, after “experiencing the world”, over 90% of the kids put their feet in the center circle – Knox County, Nebraska.

24. HomeTown Competitiveness
Leadership
Entrepreneurship
Leadership
Charitable Assets
Youth
The Fourth Pillar is Leadership
HomeTown Competitiveness

25. Leadership How does it support the HTC framework?
Develops emerging leaders
Expands the pool of volunteers
Expands the leadership skills of current leaders
Creates greater participation
It’s easy to see why communities need leaders---you’re all leaders in the community.
So you know that leaders are the ones that get things done.
Most of you would probably agree communities need more leaders.

26. Leadership Expected Outcomes
Increased community leadership
Enhanced leadership knowledge and skills
More volunteer engagement in community projects and activities
More people willing to run for public office
HTC helps communities develop skills-based strategies which:
Develop emerging leaders
Expand the pool of volunteers
Expand the leadership skills of current leaders
Create greater participation among all community members
Strengthen the capacity of residents to improve and sustain their community

27. Case Study Stuart-Atkinson, NE
Strengthening Local Leadership
Background
Stuart — Population 680
Atkinson — Population 1244
Eight Miles Apart

28. Biggest Outcome? “We can work together!”
HomeTown Leadership Institute Started in 2004 to Diversify and Refresh Leadership Pool
27 participants ages 16 to 60
Biggest Outcome? “We can work together!”

29. More Information. . . www.htcnebraska.org
Nebraska Community Foundation
Heartland Center for Leadership
Development
Center for Rural Entrepreneurship

30. HTC & Market Study
How are they connected?
The Market Study is our #1 resource tool for prioritizing what Branch County needs to plug into the HomeTown Competitiveness Strategy.

31. What’s Next? Entrepreneurship Charitable Assets Youth Leadership
Business Transition Planning Workshops
Charitable Assets
Create new endowment for community and economic development
Youth
Participate in leadership training to prepare for community boards
Participate in business transition planning workshops
Leadership
Leadership Academy
We are currently in the process of planning Business Transition Workshops and researching resources to assist the business owners of today and tomorrow.
We currently have one fund that is for community reinvestment in Coldwater. We need to grow that fund and make sure that endowments exist for all communities in Branch County.
Youth will be allowed to participate in the leadership academy – participants 16 and up. Creates vital link and sense that their community cares about them. Stop doing things to youth and for youth and start doing things WITH youth.
Leadership Academy – We hope to launch a new, energized Leadership Academy within the next 12 months.
This should be a team approach – the Chamber, the Growth Alliance, the Foundation and the Downtown Development Authority should be the key players in this new, exciting approach.

32. Final Thought Vision without action is merely a dream
Action without vision just passes time
Vision with action can change the world.
--Joel Barker
We hope this presentation has helped you see the possibilities that the Home Town Competitiveness framework can bring to Branch County. We’d like you to support us in the activities we implement in the very near future. On behalf of all of us, thank you.