Initiatives
BUSINESS INVESTMENT IN CHILD CARE SOLUTIONS
Why are businesses investing in child care?
“There are areas of the state where infrastructure is the major issue. Here in Johnson County a major issue is staffing, in fact we have centers that have empty classrooms because of a lack of childcare workers.”
– Lynette Jacoby, Director Johnson County Social Services
CHILD CARE SOLUTIONS PROGRAM
The Wage Enhancement Plan: Fulltime employees, at qualifying child care centers, will have a wage increase of $2 per hour. The Wage Enhancement Program will be administered by Johnson County Social Services. Supplement will be paid in a lump sum to qualifying child care providers who will then pay the qualifying employee.
Funding & Implementation – A Community Collaboration:
- The City of Iowa City and Johnson County each invest $250k per year to fund operation of the Child Care Solutions program.
- Iowa City area businesses invest $150 per year/per employee to sponsor Child Care Solutions in our community.
- Community Foundation accepts business contributions and holds money until they are distributed to Johnson County.
- Johnson County Social Services will work with providers to pay bonuses to new employees and to supplement the wages of employees working within an approved child care center.
- 4C’s will work with childcare centers to educate them about the program and onboard them.
Your business can help!
Tax deductible donations to Childcare Coalition Charitable Giving Fund can be made by check or online.
DONATE TODAY
For questions, connect with:
- Cady Gerlach at Better Together 2030 at cady@bt2030.org
- Jennifer Banta at the United Way of Johnson & Washington Counties at (319) 325-4902 or Jennifer.Banta@UnitedWayJWC.org
- Lynette Jacoby at Johnson County Social Services at 319-356-6090 or ljacoby@johnsoncountyiowa.gov
- Shelly Maharry at the Community Foundation of Johnson County at 319-337-0483 or shelly@cfjc.org
Childcare centers that are interested in participating, connect with:
- Missie Forbes at 4C’s of Johnson County at 319-338-7684 (ext. 102) or missie@iowa4cs.com
Learn More
TALENT TUESDAY
The Talent Tuesday newsletter is designed to be shared with Human Resource professionals, executive leadership, and small business owners in Johnson County, Iowa. It is designed by the Iowa City Area Development Group and the Iowa City Area Business Partnership. Together, we curate content that will help you hire, train, and retain great people.
We send out the Talent Tuesday newsletter on the first Tuesday of the month.
WORKFORCE WELLNESS
The Workforce Wellness newsletter is designed to be shared with employees and community members in Johnson County, Iowa. It is designed by the Iowa City Area Development Group and the Iowa City Area Business Partnership. Together, we curate content for personal development and well-being that is sent out to the community every Monday morning.
WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS GUIDE
Our digital guide offers resources on talent attraction and retention, workforce committees and coalitions, the workforce pipeline, and other resources for employers and workers.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION (DEI) RESOURCE LIBRARY
Along with the Inclusive ICR Coalition, we helped develop the Inclusive ICR Resource Library. It is a free online resource featuring local, regional and national tools that specialize in one or more of five DEI pillars. The directory will continue to grow as new tools are brought to the attention of the resource committee.
JOHNSON COUNTY’S ALL IN VISION
After about 11 months of work, we launched the Better Together 2030 All In Vision during July 2022 in partnership with our community and economic development partners. This is a vision for our shared future in Johnson County and the first time our community has created a bold, collective vision. We are in the public launch phase, making sure everyone knows about the vision. We need our business community to engage. VIEW PLAN TO GET INVOLVED
The Innovation in Education Awards are jointly presented by the Iowa City Area Business Partnership and the Iowa City Area Development Group. The annual awards ceremony honors the educators, students, and classroom programs that model the future of K-12 education.
The awards are presented every April at The Englert Theatre. LEARN MORE
Our annual New Teacher Luncheon welcomes all the teachers who are new to the Iowa City area, or newly hired at a Johnson County school. We believe education is critical to our mission of making Johnson County the best place to live, work, and learn. If we want to continue to grow and strengthen our community, we need a strong, innovative education system to develop our homegrown talent. On behalf of the Iowa City area business community, thank you for all you do! LEARN MORE
Astig Planning developed an Inclusive Economic Development Plan (IEDP) in Johnson County in partnership with The Iowa City Area Development Group, The Multicultural Center of Iowa, The Iowa City Area Business Partnership, and Green State Credit Union.
The Inclusive Economic Development Plan is a community-led planning effort in highlighting the existing opportunities and barriers experienced by underestimated community members when starting and/or running a business in Johnson County, Iowa. This plan is intended serve as a guidebook for community leaders and local governments working to cultivate an inclusive economic development ecosystem throughout Johnson County and spark positive change in the community. The stories, experiences, and recommendations of underestimated entrepreneurs and community members are the driving force behind this plan.
NEW TEACHER LUNCHEON: August 10
Our annual New Teacher Luncheon welcomes all the teachers who are new to the Iowa City area, or newly hired at a Johnson County school. We believe education is critical to our mission of making Johnson County the best place to live, work, and learn. If we want to continue to grow and strengthen our community, we need a strong, innovative education system to develop our homegrown talent. On behalf of the Iowa City area business community, thank you for all you do!
innovation in education
The Innovation in Education Awards are jointly presented by the Iowa City Area Business Partnership and the Iowa City Area Development Group. The annual awards ceremony honors the educators, students, and classroom programs that model the future of K-12 education.
The awards were presented on Wednesday, April 27th at The Englert Theatre.
This event is sponsored by the following:
shop the block - coralville
Join us for our first ever Shop the Block event in Coralville! Shop local with us from 4:30 to 6:30 pm, and visit our members on the block! Participating member businesses include: West Music, Images Salon, Dwell Home Furnishings, Elegance on 5th, Radiant Boutique by Rhi, Pat & Fran’s Irish Pub, and The Mansion.
Grab a passport and visit all businesses to be entered to win door prizes at the end of the event. (Must be present to win).
project better together
Project Better Together aims to build a transformed future for our community with greater economic diversity, growth, inclusivity, resilience, and well-being for all. Led by The Iowa City Area Business Partnership, Iowa City Area Development Group, Think Iowa City, and the Iowa City Downtown District, this community-wide recovery effort includes leaders from the four partner organizations, all three hospitals, the school district, area non-profits, social services, private business, and elected officials from all levels of government.
Affordable Child Care
Currently, Iowa has one of the worst rates of accessibility to quality child care with a shortfall of 361,677 child care spaces throughout the state. In Johnson County, that shortfall is almost 13,000 spaces, and about 50-70 children are on a waitlist at the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County at any one time. It is clear to see that there is a crisis occurring, and that is why we have partnered with the Iowa Women’s Foundation to help solve this problem. In September 2019, we hosted the IWF for a Child Care Solutions Summit. From that summit, several teams of Johnson County stakeholders, including members of the Business Partnership & ICAD Group staffs, formed around the areas of Building & Expanding Childcare Centers, Child Care Entrepreneurs, Businesses & Child Care, and Before & After School Programs. These teams are working to address these issues, and are reporting back to the Iowa Women’s Foundation on a regular basis.
Read our Op-ed piece published in the Iowa City Press-Citizen on July 16, 2020.
Buy Here
Buy Here is a local economic development initiative of the Iowa City Area Business Partnership to strengthen our local economy through increased business-to-business purchasing. If every business in Johnson County shifted just 5% of their out-of-area spending, the change would result in approximately $95 million for our community. The program has brought over $6 million into the Johnson County area.
2017 One District. One Bond. Campaign to Pass the ICCSD General Obligation Bond
The Business Partnership, then known as the Chamber of Commerce, lead the charge to pass the 2017 General Obligation Bond for the Iowa City Community School District. We supported the passage of this bond because it aligns with our mission of fostering a better business environment. Many employers in our area cite recruiting and retaining talent as their number one challenge. Improvements to our schools’ infrastructure is necessary to attract the skilled workforce needed today and train the workforce of tomorrow.