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Community Capitalism
Brings Help to Distressed Areas;
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Support
to Urban Core’s Disadvantaged Entrepreneurs
The RCGA’s community capitalism initiative aims to stimulate for-profit,
business-driven expansion, job creation and investment in St. Louis’
urban core. The central thrust of this initiative is to bring substantial
private market-place investments and revitalize distressed areas
where economic disparity for years has created roadblocks to success.
Above:
Dr. Don Suggs Vice Chairman Community Capitalism President /
Publisher St. Louis American
The RCGA was part of a business and civic coalition that engaged
Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter and his Initiative
for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) to guide development of an action
plan recognizing intellectual and entrepreneurial capital as “the
lifeblood of a growing economy.” The resulting blueprint for St.
Louis’ inner city focuses on augmenting the existing strengths of
our inner city and expanding four of its key industries: metal manufacturing,
transportation and logistics, construction, and commercial services.
Former Solutia, Inc. executive Kevin Cahill, was recruited to oversee
implementation of the St. Louis Inner City Competitive Alliance
(ICCA), the focused effort to drive the ICIC business plan. ICIC,
a private-sector program, grew out of the Porter-commissioned study
on competitive strategy currently being carried out by the ICCA.
A second thrust is the St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative.
The RCGA is providing staffing and web page support for the St.
Louis Business Diversity Initiative, a broad-based coalition comprising
the RCGA, Civic Progress, the St. Louis Minority Business Council,
FOCUS St. Louis, St. Louis 2004, the Leadership Council Southwestern
Illinois and Regional Business Council. Goals of this initiative
include helping regional companies attract and retain a talented,
diverse workforce and developing a diverse supplier base. This initiative
also will provide resources to assist businesses in strengthening
their workforce. New materials and products are being developed,
including a resource manual with regional and national contacts,
and the web page to assist with job leads and link minority-owned
businesses and suppliers.
Above:
Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter, founder of
the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC), left, discusses
“community capitalism” with RCGA Chairman John Bachmann.
Recent accomplishments include:
- Significant
progress on the fourteen ICIC recommendations designed
to capitalize on existing St. Louis inner-city strengths
through targeted key inner-city cluster industries: metal
manufacturing, transportation and logistics, construction
and commercial services.
- Supported
the development and operation of the St. Louis Business
Diversity Initiative with staffing and web page support.
- In
conjunction with the St. Louis Clergy Coalition, initiated
and staffed an effort to provide development assistance
for faith-based organizations within the inner city. Assistance
efforts included: development planning for the 400-acre
tract around the new Vashon High School in North St. Louis
City; and identifying minority-owned vendors and contractors
for Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital’s $65 million
expansion project.
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Goals for the
coming year include:
- Focus
on and facilitate more development initiatives for North
St. Louis City.
- Host
a workshop to provide training for community and workforce
development opportunities in North St. Louis City.
- Continue
to work through the Inner City Competitive Alliance to
grow small and minority-owned companies relative to the
four key industries by providing access to capital and
skill building.
- Continue
working with Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler to help
develop a minority assembly supplier from the Inner City.
- Continue
to work with the Coalition supporting the St. Louis Business
Diversity Initiative.
- Participate
with four other regional business organizations from throughout
the nation in a Ford Foundation-funded multi-year collaborative
initiative that will design and demonstrate strategies
to galvanize sustained corporate involve-ment in building
wealth and economic opportunity in distressed parts of
these participating regions.
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