Dear Business Partnership Members,
Today, our board approved a resolution of intent that our organization be formally merged with the Iowa City Area Development (ICAD) Group by July 1st, 2023. ICAD’s board approved the same resolution at their meeting last Friday, November 11th.
As many of you know, the Business Partnership and ICAD have been increasing our partnership for several years now. We co-located at MERGE in 2019 and worked side-by-side in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. It is now time to take the next step in our relationship and we couldn’t be more excited about it!
Our staff and board of directors believe this merger puts us in the best position to serve YOU and create a thriving business community in the Iowa City area. Merging with ICAD will ultimately give your business:
- Easy access to both organizations’ resources and network through a single membership investment model
- One front door for any business support services and inquiries.
- One unified voice for the Iowa City area business community.
- Greater impact on shaping our local economy and addressing our community’s biggest challenges.
We will also continue to partner with our economic development peers at Think Iowa City and the Iowa City Downtown District to lead the execution of the Better Together 2030 All In community vision.
Now the work begins! Equipped with our research on other chamber and economic development mergers and leveraging existing collaborative efforts with ICAD, we will now begin to design the new organization and a transition plan. Both boards will again vote to approve the design, plan, and governance structure of the new entity in the spring of 2023.
I am honored to work alongside Kate Moreland, ICAD’s President, on this endeavor and look forward to working with Tom Banta, current Vice President for ICAD, who will be stepping in as ICAD’s interim President in January 2023 as Kate transitions to her new role supporting Better Together 2030.
“Members first” is the value that guides all our decisions and this merger is no different! We want to ensure that we are designing an organization that will meet the most pressing needs of our business community. Stay tuned for more information and opportunities to give your input.
In the meantime, please visit our merger webpage to see a video message from me and Kate, answers to FAQ’s, and a brief form to submit your questions or feedback.
In Partnership,
Kim Casko l President & CEO
