ADVANCE DEKALB is the 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to the economic strength of DeKalb County.  Established in 2019, Advance DeKalb is supported by public and private investors and civic and business leaders to drive Decide DeKalb’s vision of growing of jobs, businesses, and capital investment; fostering workforce development that integrates companies’ needs with training organizations and educational institutions; and implementing a sound infrastructure system to revitalize the community with catalytic redevelopment projects.

An investment in Advance DeKalb is your contribution to the future growth of DeKalb’s business community and overall economic future.

• It builds upon, and funds, many of the recommendations from the DeKalb Thrives Economic Development Strategy.

• It will be implemented by Decide DeKalb, the county’s primary economic development agency. Decide DeKalb operates under an appointed, independent board of business leaders that works with partners, stakeholders and the business community to spur capital investment, encourage job growth and business sustainability. They have a strong track record of success: working to create or retain 10,284 announced jobs and $1.47 billion in announced capital investment in the past three years alone.

With new county leadership and a new vision for the future, we are perfectly positioned to tackle some of the biggest challenges to our long-term growth and prosperity:

• Increased competition from peer communities for businesses, jobs, and workforce;

• Local employers struggling to attract and retain qualified workers;

• Older parts of our community in need of redevelopment; and

• Negative perceptions from the past that do not reflect today’s realities.

We are also prepared to take advantage of the many opportunities before us:

• Building upon the momentum of new leadership and recent successes;

• Stronger collaboration between public and private sectors;

• Renewed focus, investment, and trust from residents; and

• The potential to transform entire neighborhoods for the better through redevelopment.

The campaign will fund specific strategies, tactics and additional resources focused on three goal areas:

• Goal 1: Comprehensive Economic Development – to grow jobs, business and our brand.

- Strengthen Our Brand and Marketing Capacity

- Enhance Resources to Recruit, Expand & Retain Businesses

- Nurture Target Industry Start-Ups and Small Business Growth

• Goal 2: Talent and Workforce Development – to develop, retain and attract a skilled workforce for local employers.

- Assist Employers in Identifying, Attracting and Retaining Talent

- Grow and Align Education and Workforce Resources with Existing Business Needs

• Goal 3: Infrastructure and Community Development – to invest in revitalization, the community and our future.

- Create Best Practices for Our Community and Sense of Place

- Revitalize Older Areas with Catalytic Redevelopment Projects

- Invest for the Long-Term Through Creative Financial Tools

To fund this effort, the campaign is seeking new (mostly) private sector support (in addition to existing public-sector support) to aggressively grow and expand the core of Decide DeKalb’s work.

• The goal is to raise $1.5-2 million in pledges to fund the 5-year initiative.

• The timeline of the fundraising campaign will run from the summer of 2018 through the winter of 2019 with a public kickoff and phase starting in Q2 2019.

• Investor levels run from $1,000 per year to $50,000+ per year with tiered benefits. Campaign investors will also be an exclusive group – we estimate there will be less than 100 total investors by the end of campaign operations.

The results and impact will be significant, measurable, and far-reaching, setting DeKalb County up for long-term, sustainable job growth and economic success. According to an independent Economic Impact Analysis Report conducted in July 2018 by the Economic Impact Group, ADVANCE DEKALB is projected to generate the following economic impacts:

• 17,206 total jobs

• $405 million in new income

• $536 million in personal consumption expenditures

• $183 million in new and retained personal bank deposits

• A minimum total Value-Added Impact of $1.4 Billion over the five-year initiative.