Salem Awarded Economic Development Services
Salem has been selected as one of three Missouri communities to receive the Community Foundation of the Ozarks’ first-ever economic development grant, which could be worth over $100,000 to each community over a three-year period.
Salem, along with Marshfield and Sarcoxie, is an inaugural participant in the Growth in the Rural Ozarks program, a three-year initiative co-funded by the CFO and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and supported by the Dent County Community Foundation. The program is aimed at promoting job creation, entrepreneurship and economic and workforce development in the rural Ozarks.
A media event will be held 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Southwest Baptist University – Salem campus (501 S. Grand) to introduce the program to local media and stakeholders. GRO and local officials will speak, and the presentation is expected to last about 25 minutes.
“I think the GRO grant is one of the most exciting opportunities the Salem community has had in my 18 years of living here,” DCCF President Dr. Bernie Sirois said. “There was tremendous cooperation and collaboration that went into the grant process, and those organizations are poised and ready to move our community forward.”
GRO will be facilitated by JumpStart, Inc., a northeast Ohio-based economic development and entrepreneurship firm, and supported by the DCCF, municipal and county governments, school districts, chambers of commerce and other local entities. Salem was selected by a CFO volunteer committee through a competitive process.
To help gather data about Salem and the perceptions of the city by its residents, JumpStart asks citizens and stakeholders to complete an online “Voice of the Community” survey, which can be found at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Salem-VOC.
Read the full story at Salem News.