OneSpartanburg Fall 2017 Update

OneSpartanburg is a volunteer-led initiative, focused around a five-year economic and community development plan that was more than a year in the making.

Released earlier this year, it includes more than 40 economic development action items and nearly 200 tactical recommendations. The cost to implement it fully will be $5.1 million. Smith expects to surpass that fundraising goal before the end of the year.

“It’s easier to raise money for a plan the community owns,” Smith said. “And this is a plan that Spartanburg owns. This is a community-driven process. The ramifications of that are exciting.”

The plan, which can be found at onespartanburg.com, identifies eight stories for the community to focus on over the next five years. The data-driven stories lay bare Spartanburg’s challenges and opportunities in educational attainment, workforce training, poverty, talent attraction, entrepreneurship and small business development, quality of place, community cohesion, and image.

Work on many of these issues is underway, thanks to a mix of organizations, non-profits, institutions, foundations, businesses, and the City and County of Spartanburg. From the Spartanburg Academic Movement and Partners for Active Living, to the ongoing rise of Downtown Spartanburg and the Northside Initiative, Spartanburg has significant resources engaged already.

Six months in, OneSpartanburg has made steady progress. Among the highlights:

– Three of six positions funded through OneSpartanburg have been filled. Jalitha Moore was hired as OneSpartanburg Strategic Coordinator, Jansen Tidmore as Executive Vice President of the new Downtown Development Partnership, and Will Rothschild as Vice President of Strategic Communications for the Spartanburg Chamber.
– Kickoff meetings for the OneSpartanburg Action Teams will occur by September. These volunteer-led teams are a key recommendation of the plan, and will provide guidance and help power the recommendations. The teams are focused on talent development, entrepreneurship, Downtown Spartanburg, quality of place, and image and marketing.
– Work with the College Town Consortium to develop a more robust internship network has begun.
– The Economic Futures Group hired Betsy Neely Sikma as Director of Entrepreneurial Development. Neely will focus cultivating a dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Significant work has begun around image and marketing, including the launch of a revamped Economic Futures Group website and a targeted digital campaign to promote Spartanburg as a place for investment. Work is underway on a campaign to better tell the “Spartanburg story.”

That last item is a recurring talking point for local leaders, and Smith has heard them. “Spartanburg is a strong and growing community with incredible assets,” Smith said. “That’s why we’ve led the Upstate in economic investment over the past three years. We have not done the best job making sure people know that. That will change soon. “At the same time, we have challenges, as every community does. OneSpartanburg is all about making sure we are being honest about those challenges, addressing them head-on, and making sure the world knows there really is only one Spartanburg.”

(Written by Will Rothschild via Spartanburg Chamber of Commerce.)