Now, More Than Ever, Partnerships Should Be Strong
At SEDCOR, we have a catchphrase. “We know a guy,” or “We know a gal.” This means we are always finding new and better ways to use our connections and partnerships to make life better for the businesses we serve. With the outbreak of COVID-19, collaboration became a necessity. That’s why we decided to take a concerted effort to strengthen an existing alliance with four of our strongest partners. This alliance will be increasingly important to our region’s manufacturers. No matter who they contact first, manufacturers will have the resources of Willamette Workforce Partnership, SEDCOR, the Small Business Development Center, Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership, and Chemeketa Customized Training. We asked the leadership from each organization the same four questions to give our readers a chance to understand who they are, what they care about, and how they view the importance of strategic partnership in the future.
Willamette Workforce Partnership Kim Parker-Llerenas How has your organization stepped up since the outbreak of COVID-19? Our work has shifted and increased in a number of ways. The support we’ve been able to facilitate for local businesses have included providing layoff aversion funds for almost 60 businesses ranging from $1,000 - $20,000 grants, to managing www.sedcor.com
Marion County economic stimulus funds for 102 companies. All said, we’ve distributed more than $400,000, and anticipate more funds coming to continue this type of support for local businesses. Participating in regional planning around the economic impact and recovery has also become a major focus for our organization. We’ve received two different federal grants totaling almost $1,000,000 to support disaster recovery and employment recovery. Assuring our funding is wisely spent to respond to the COVID crisis has taken time, planning, communicating, and collaborating with local governments and partners.
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Enterprise Summer 2020
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