3 Cities Successfully Complete 2019 Community Accelerator Program
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Three cities in the greater Chattanooga region - Dayton, LaFayette, and Bridgeport, Al. - have completed the 2019 Thriving Communities program of Thrive Regional Partnership. They are now eligible to apply for a $20,000 seed grant from the Lyndhurst Foundation to kickstart their incubated strategies for local, asset-based community vibrancy and growth.
Thriving Communities is a 10-month community accelerator program designed to support cities to “grow from within.” The program engages local citizens and provides them with leadership coaching, tools and inspiration to leverage cultural assets that enhance economic vibrancy and growth in their cities and towns across the tri-state, 16-county Chattanooga region.
Team ideas are incubated, tested and reiterated in each individual community to foster continual feedback from fellow citizens and neighbors. As a result, the strategies are authentically shaped by the people who live, work and play in these communities, officials said.
“A key outcome of the Thriving Communities program is the discovery of our region’s hidden gems: both people and places,” says Bridgett Massengill, president/CEO of Thrive Regional Partnership. “It empowers emerging leaders to work together and create sustainable growth strategies that preserve a unique sense of place in their hometowns that can be celebrated for generations to come.”
The program is funded and co-developed by the Lyndhurst Foundation. To provide additional professional steerage, Thrive connects participating community leaders with representatives from ArtsBuild, Chattanooga Design Studio, Georgia Council for the Arts, Northwest Georgia Regional Commission, Southeast Tennessee Development, SouthArts, Tennessee Arts Commission and UTC’s Interdisciplinary Geospatial Technology Lab. Each organization has shared their perspectives and expertise to this placemaking movement in cities and towns throughout the tri-state region.