Economic development in Allen County has outgrown its first home. After years of attracting investment and helping businesses grow under the umbrella of Thrive Allen County, the effort is preparing for a new chapter as Allen County Economic Development (ACED), an organization designed to carry that work forward.
The new organization is being established as a standalone 501(c)(3), while Thrive will continue to host it during the transition toward independence.
At the center of that transition is Camille Lavon, vice president of economic development, who said the change reflects how far economic development in Allen County has evolved.
“Economic development corporations are traditionally either stand-alones or in partnerships with Chambers of Commerce,” Lavon said.
Allen County’s situation, however, is different. Economic development serves the entire county rather than one municipality, while Iola and Humboldt each have established Chambers serving their communities.
“This community and this county are working at a sophisticated level,” she said. “It needs to have a standalone economic development organization.”
LAVON SAID the distinction between Thrive and ACED is important because the two organizations have different missions. “Thrive isn’t an economic development organization,” she said.
Rather, Thrive has historically identified community needs and developed programs to address them. When those programs mature, Lavon said, the organization’s success can be measured in part by its ability to establish them independently.
She uses Thrive’s development of Allen Regional Transit (A.R.T.) as an example.
“Thrive is good at ascertaining where a gap exists and they create solutions,” she said.
Economic development, meanwhile, requires specialized knowledge and experience. “It takes real foundational understanding, experiential learning and education for you to do it correctly,” she said.
That does not mean Thrive is being pushed aside. Quite the opposite.
Thrive will continue to host ACED while the new organization establishes its own governance and financial systems.
“Eventually, economic development may not need to be a hosted organization,” Lavon said. “But right now, it needs to be.”
Lavon compared the arrangement to a young adult moving home temporarily after college.
“You’re hoping you don’t host them forever, but all the same, they’re in your basement,” she said. “Essentially, we’re in Thrive’s basement.”
