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Fundraising with Umphh!
Obion County, Tennessee is a county of 32,000 people in Northwest Tennessee. A few years ago the Obion County Joint Economic Development Council (JEDC) outlined an ambitious economic development strategy. Their goal is to become the economic center of northwest Tennessee, but to do so you need money. How much money? How does $2 million sound? To Obion County it didn't sound too hard at all. That's right, Obion County (remember, only 32,000 people!) set about raising $2 million and without pulling teeth or raising taxes (I guess that might be the same thing!) they did it.

How did they do it? They combined homegrown enthusiasm and outside expertise. The JEDC enlisted Colorado based R&M Resource Development. R&M has a long successful track record helping economic development agencies reach their financial and strategic goals. Obion County is one of the firm's smallest endeavors, working typically with cities like Denver or regions such as the 16 county East Tennessee project done in 2003. In Denver, they raised more than $13 million. That comes to about $23 per person. In East Tennessee the goal was $10.75 million, equaling $671,875 per county. Yet, little Obion County was able to raise $2 million! Proportionally, nearly three times as much cash as Denver or any of the counties in the East Tennessee project!

It wasn't just R&M though; the JEDC constructed a diverse team of local business and community representatives. They included a cross-section of the community in the fundraising efforts, giving businesses and citizens a vested interest in the project and its effect on economic development.

What does a county Obion's size do with $2 million? The goal of their five-year plan is to create 2,500 new jobs, increase community wealth by $443 million, create more than 90 new businesses, generate $15 million in new local government revenue, increase real estate investment by $125 million and provide more than $84 million in new bank deposits. Their goals are even more ambitious than their fundraising. But considering how they attacked the fundraising, I have no doubt they'll approach these goals with the same zeal.