The Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber has been awarded a $250,000 grant by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s Trusted Connector Grant program to help expand its services in Berrien County.
The chamber’s Arthur Havlicek tells us the Trusted Connector program backs organizations that engage under-represented small businesses. Specifically, the Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber applied for the funds to grow its CGA model.
CGAs are like local chambers that exist within individual communities. The Bridgman Chamber and Growth Alliance is an example, and one is now coming together in Stevensville. Havlicek says with this grant, there will be more CGAs formed.
“We have many other communities requesting us for CGAs in their respective areas, and this funding would help us scale that programming to more parts of Berrien County,” Havlicek said.
Havlicek says planning is well underway for the new Central Berrien CGA, comprised of Baroda, Berrien Springs, Eau Claire, Baroda Township, Oronoko Township, and Berrien Township.
“Those six communities are coming together to form a CGA with the regional chamber, and this funding will help us support some of the backend work that we do to set that CGA up and ensure its success and make sure that the person we hire and dedicate to that footprint is not a one man or one woman show.”
Local governments in communities where CGAs form have to be involved, and the municipal governments in each of those six have already signed on. Havlicek says another CGA in southwest Berrien County could come together by the end of the year.
Havlicek tells us this $250,000 grant is the largest ever received by the Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber.
