We are excited and honored to bring you the first column in this new series titled, “GRO Greater,” which focuses on all things entrepreneurial in and around St. Helens in Columbia County. For those of you who don’t know, GRO Greater St. Helens is part of a larger initiative called Growing Rural Oregon (GRO), developed and funded by the Ford Family Foundation.
Launched in 2021, GRO works with a proven national network of initiatives in rural communities to help build economies and communities committed to strong entrepreneurial growth and “bottom-up” economic development.
GRO influences industry leaders and empowers local leaders to transform their communities for the better by helping participating communities identify opportunities, share and leverage best practices, build networks, connect with new ideas, and grow and share valuable business resources. More importantly, GRO builds this ecosystem for existing and future entrepreneurs, from concept microbusinesses to established companies committed to innovation.
“The Foundation recognizes the importance of helping build entrepreneurial ecosystems as an economic development strategy so that communities have the tools to support and uplift local entrepreneurs and leverage their unique community assets to stimulate innovation and sustainable economic vitality,” said Kathleen Flanagan, director of community economic development at the Ford Family Foundation.
We couldn’t agree more.
Tying into the national framework is GRO Oregon, which aims to provide small Oregon cities identified by the Ford Family Foundation with the tools to build a more resilient, diverse and sustainable economy for rural areas and support local entrepreneurs. Local residents in GRO communities work together to drive the initiative to customize and best reflect the unique needs of each community.
This leads us specifically to the GRO Greater St. Helens initiative.
GRO Greater St. Helens is a Columbia County-based pilot program of GRO activities designed to foster a culture that supports entrepreneurship and innovation and accelerate regional economic growth.
“St. Helens is well positioned to help local entrepreneurs become more competitive in capturing available and growing consumer spending. Our focus on understanding the needs of the entrepreneurial talent that exists throughout our community puts us in a good position for growth and wealth creation. The Foundation is proud to support St. Helens’ participation in the GRO program, which is committed to galvanizing entrepreneurial action and engaging the broader community in long-term prosperity,” added Flanagan.
The City of St Helens accepted the invitation to join the GRO community and is committed to developing the local economy by nurturing local talent and start-ups, supporting small businesses and encouraging entrepreneurial activity.
Because this work falls outside the core functions of a typical city or municipality, the City partnered with our organization, the Columbia Economic Team (CET), where GRO aligns very well with our new Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and long-standing small business promotion program, Keep it Local Columbia County.
A local “leadership team” made up of local businesses, community stakeholders – many of whom are entrepreneurs themselves – was formed and continues to grow and evolve alongside the “GRO Greater” initiative.
The goal of GRO Greater St. Helens is to build a network among entrepreneurs and connect them to the right resources at the right time – education and financial pathways, professional services, complementary businesses, and more.
“We are on the brink of a riverside renaissance and are putting systems in place to promote and encourage the development of our town as a vibrant, accessible economic hub and destination for residents and visitors. Due to St Helens’ position as the centre of so much across the county, the benefits of GRO Greater will ripple out from St Helens significantly across the county.”
“We believe this effort will succeed, as it has in other parts of the country, by building community, leveraging and educating with best practices and data, amplifying and sharing resources, inspiring local ownership, and building a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem to expand development opportunities that are more abundant in densely populated urban areas in ways that are typically unavailable in smaller, less populated rural areas. We have a lot planned and a big vision, and we look forward to bringing it to our community.”
Over the next few months, this GRO Greater column will feature guest contributions from stakeholders and the people and businesses who benefit from GRO initiatives. Guest contributors will include business leaders from St. Helens and across the county, successful entrepreneurs, funders, leaders from within the state and beyond, leadership from the Columbia Economic Team and Small Business Development Center, the GRO Greater St. Helens leadership and advisory team, and entrepreneurs… maybe even you!
We bring you local stories, tips and advice on how to bring your ideas to life, successes and failures, information on events and networking, interviews with business leaders and much more. Let us know what you want to hear more about.
