This story was originally published by the Fort Worth Report.
by Bob Francis | October 14, 2024
Eighteen months after creating a nonprofit to bolster economic development and hiring a high-profile state official to lead the effort, the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce and the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership are splitting.
Beginning the first of next year, the Fort Worth Chamber and the economic development partnership created under its umbrella will operate as separate, but complementary, organizations, according to an Oct. 10 joint letter sent by both organizations to investors and supporters.
In the letter, the two organizations say the economic development partnership will focus on its core mission of business recruitment and attraction, while the chamber will pursue advocacy and workforce development.
“We’ve delivered some nice wins that we’re very proud of for the community,” said Robert Allen, president and CEO of the economic development partnership. “So the time is right for this next step in the relationship and for the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership to truly stand on its own two feet so that it can continue servicing business attraction and recruitment for Fort Worth.”
Over the last year and a half, the economic development organization has built a strong track record, said Steve Montgomery, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Chamber.
He pointed to the announcement of a new Dick’s Sporting Goods distribution center, the opening of Big Ass Fans’ new manufacturing facility and the upcoming UTA West campus as key accomplishments by the economic development team.
“They are focused on business attraction while we are retention, expansion and advocacy,” Montgomery said. “We’ll continue to focus on our core mission, and they will focus on theirs. We’ve worked closely together, and we’ll continue to do that. I see this as a very positive sign.”
Mike Berry, president of Hillwood, and chairman of the board for the economic development partnership, said the changes are a natural evolution of the way the organization was originally structured.
“It was always intended to operate as a separate entity, but needed, and it was critical to have the connection to the chamber, because up until that point, economic development had been housed exclusively in the chamber,” he said.
That also allowed the organization to get off the ground faster, he said.
“It was a way to get started faster, because we could utilize the chamber’s infrastructure and support to handle things like it, human resources, marketing, physical space, all of that, without having to do it from scratch.”
That has paid off, Berry said, because the organization has progressed faster than expected.
“Robert Allen has really hit the ground running and he’s built a team of five people and developed his strategy,” Berry said.
They are also growing a base of community members and businesses that are supporting the economic development initiative as well, he said.
“Some of our investors are solely focused on that,” he said. “Some haven’t been chamber members in the past, or haven’t supported economic development efforts in the chamber, and now they want to focus their efforts on economic development.”
Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said in a statement the separation of the two organizations was proof that the economic development partnership was accomplishing its mission.
“The incubation period with the chamber was important, and the success of the FWEDP means it can stand on its own,” she said in a statement. “I look forward to continuing to work with both organizations as we work to make Fort Worth the best place in America to do business.”
Following the lead of the state’s other largest cities — Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio — the Fort Worth chamber set up a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization, the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership, to focus on economic development in March 2023.
Previously, in partnership with the city, the Fort Worth Chamber led business attraction and recruiting efforts in addition to its other priorities and responsibilities.
Fort Worth was viewed by observers as fighting well below its weight in economic development for several years. In 2017, the city of Fort Worth published its first Economic Development Strategic Plan. The report detailed the city’s shortcomings in marketing, development, workforce training and business attraction.
To lead the effort, the chamber hired a state economic development leader, Allen, with strong ties to Austin.
Allen previously served as president and CEO of the Austin-based Texas Economic Development Corporation, which is responsible for promoting Texas as a business location. Allen’s background includes work as chief of staff for Gov. Greg Abbott.
Allen said the shift to an organization dedicated to economic development has resulted in a more aggressive approach by city leadership.
“They want to go on offense,” he said. “They’re incredibly supportive of my team’s efforts offensively in these early stages.”
The economic development team now has five members and has raised an initial $3 million. It is working toward a $5 million annual investment goal.
“That’s the goal we’ve set for ourselves,” Allen said. “I’ve been clear with my leadership that I thought that’s what it would take for us to be competitive early on and to field the level of team that I wanted to field for Fort Worth. Our competition has a lot more than that, but we got to start somewhere.”
Currently the two organizations share office space, but the economic development partnership will find its own space soon, Allen said. They do not share any employees, Montgomery said, but do subcontract some back office functions.
The chamber is a membership organization, and both depend on support from area businesses, he said.
“In the past some people have been confused by what they were contributing to,” said Montgomery. “I think this will make it clearer to people and organizations.”
Berry said the economic development partnership has led Fort Worth’s economic development team to be more selective about the projects they focus on for the area.
“We are filtering projects better,” he said. “We’re more strategic about the fundamental criteria for the kinds of companies we want to bring to Fort Worth. I think just mechanically, we’re doing it more like some of our competitive cities are.”
Content retrieved from: https://fortworthreport.org/2024/10/14/fort-worth-chamber-economic-development-partnership-to-formally-split-in-2025/.
