770.333.6343 kate@katemcenroe.com

These days a lot of places have more ideas about how to support workforce development initiatives than funding to make them happen. A few months ago I met Telly Tucker of Discover Danville (Virginia) and heard about how one of their creative solutions.  Some years ago they sold a community owned hospital and used the proceeds to start a community foundation.  Since that time, the foundation has placed career and student success coaches in area schools and funded a range of scholarships for local children.  That’s the short version, of course, you can read more here:  http://www.cfdrr.org/.

Going forward, I think it the places that get creative and find ways to fund economic and workforce development outside the usual channels will have the flexibility and the reach to execute on initiatives that might otherwise never make it off the page of planning documents.  That made Danville, Virginia a place I’ll remember.