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Article Published September 2005 Corridor Business Journal
By Inga Beyer
ingab@corridorbiznews.com
 In kicking-off the public portion of their fundraising campaign last week, Priority One officials gave investors a tangible example of the type of impact the economic development group has on the Cedar Rapids community.
During the kick-off breakfast Priority One and Genencor International, a biotechnology company that develops and produces enzymes for the bioproducts market, announced plans for Genencor to expand its Cedar Rapids location. The project, which is contingent on approval of a number of incentives, will have a capital investment of roughly $35 million and will create up to 20 new positions over the next three years.
Priority One officials said they hope investors take to heart the type of economic ripple effect announcements such as these have on the Cedar Rapids community. They emphasized that contributions to the campaign are far more than just monetary donations, but rather an investment in the community with a tangible return on that investment.
For example, since its creation in 1986, Priority One has assisted in the creation of 27,850 new jobs, the recruitment of 142 new companies to the area and the expansion, training and support of 410 companies.
“An investment in Priority One doesn’t cost you, it’s provides you with a tangible return,” said Kyle Skogman, president of Skogman Homes, and co-chair of the Priorities 2010 Campaign. Jack Evans, president of the Hall-Perrine Foundation, is the other co-chair.
During the breakfast, Priority One announced that it already has secured more than $4 million toward its $5.8 million fundraising goal. The Priorities 2010 – Focus on the Future Campaign launched last May by focusing on securing investments from large local companies to lay the foundation for the campaign. Last week’s breakfast marked the second phase of that campaign, which will build additional financial support from small and mid-sized companies.
Priorities 2010 is a five-year economic development strategy that calls for the creation of 6,000 jobs, with over half of those jobs paying at or above the average Linn County rate of $17.50 per hour. In addition to wages, these new jobs could generate $167 million annually throughout the Cedar Rapids area in consumer expenditures for food, shelter, clothing, automobiles and other items and services.
“In recent years, attracting quality jobs has become a very sophisticated and highly competitive endeavor,” said Mr. Skogman. “In order for Cedar Rapids to compete in a global environment, we need an aggressive and targeted business strategy that enables us to successfully pursue and secure new business opportunities for our community.”
Additional business goals of the economic development plan include assisting in the location of 40 new companies, aiding 150 existing businesses in expansion, training and support and encouraging an increase in capital investment of $850 million.
Officials also said that marketing the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Corridor as a single region is a major focus of the aggressive five-year initiative.
“Our competitions for projects tend to be communities much larger than our area, such as Dallas, Denver, Kansas City or Portland. By working as a Corridor we provide more advantages that will help level the playing field,” said Mr. Evans in a press release.
In order to determine the level of support from the community, Priority One contracted with National Community Development Services, Inc. (NCDS), an Atlanta-campaign management company, to conduct a fundraising feasibility study.
Mr. Skogman said that one of the main reasons Priority One contracted with the business was to enable the organization’s staff to continue to do their jobs during the fundraising campaign.
Russell Leach, senior development director with NCDS, has been working for Priority One since February, and has been traveling between his home in Ohio and Cedar Rapids since.
NCDS staff met with more than 60 current and potential investors to assess the program and to gauge support for Priority One. The confidential interviews were conducted in face-to-face meetings over the course of three weeks. This background research enables Priority One to give prospective investors direct feedback on the type of return on investment they can expect within their industry, said Mr. Leach.
The campaign is expected to run through the middle of November.
“Given the response we have seen to date, we have great expectations,” said Mr. Skogman. “We are confident that area businesses will give a vote of ‘yes’ to our 2010 plan by making a financial investment.”
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