Here is our Top 10 for this week celebrating work and successes to grow and strengthen the Great Falls regional economy -- Montana's Golden Triangle. And, sharing business resources and skill-building opportunities to empower your success.
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Mountain View Cooperative started a 4 million dollar expansion on its older Black Eagle convenience store location. They will raise the old building and will begin construction on a new building will include a Convenience Store, Bar, and Casino. Mountain View Cooperative recently moved into their beautiful new corporate headquarters behind their newest truck stop and convenience store. Thank you for investing in our community!
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The government buys everything. Are you ready to bid for government contracts? Are you registered in SAM the federal database to win government contracts? What are procurement specialist looking for? With the MAFB expansion there will be more opportunities to contract your goods and services. We can help you prepare and successfully bid on government contracts. Reach out to Shannon Clancy to learn more, [email protected] or 406.590.1184.
- Submitted two major business attraction proposals. While the majority of our time is spent helping existing businesses grow and work with entrepreneurs to start their business; we are always excited when we can promote our community as a great spot for an out of state company looking to expand to Montana.
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The Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research brought their 2022 economic outlook conference to Cascade County. The topic this year is Where Housing is Headed. The keynote was Abigail St. Lawrence, Attorney and Great Falls native. She made the strong case that in order for us to collectively meet our housing needs communities need to say yes. Yes to the Trades, yes to all types of housing, yes to new neighbors, and yes to change. To view the BBER information click here.
- Great Falls College-MSU's welding test facility has been recognized by the American Welding Society as an Accredited Test Facility. GFC-MSU Trades Division Director Joel Sims explained, "Having an accredited testing facility through the American Welding Society is something that we have to do. Every year, we have to get it re-accredited. Every three years, we have to have an on-site visit to make sure that we have everything in order to be able to conduct a viable weld test to the AWS American Welding Society's standards."
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We value our team of investors. Their funding of GFDA supports growing and diversifying the regional economy. Recent investments include: Advance Division—D.A. Davidson; Pacesetter Division—A.T. Klemens and Hinebauch Agency; Community Divison—Neighborworks Great Falls; Supporter Divison—City Bar. Join our team of investors and become a champion of Great Falls to help bring new money to the region, improve downtown, and increase our skilled workforce. Contact Investment Director Jenn Gallmeier at 406-781-9499 or [email protected].
Cheers!
Jolene
Jolene Schalper
Senior Vice President
Connect with me on LinkedIn to network with the Great Falls Montana region. Forward the GFDA Top 10 to friends and colleagues. You can join our distribution list HERE or text GFDA to 22828.
"Embrace what you don’t know, especially in the beginning, because what you don’t know can become your greatest asset. It ensures that you will absolutely be doing things different from everybody else."
--Sara Blakely
We are HUNGRY to Grow the Great Falls regional economy, create higher wage jobs, build our tax base, improve our market competitiveness, and enhance the quality of life and economic opportunity for residents of Great Falls, Cascade County, and the entire 13-county Great Falls trade area.
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GFDA Career Opportunities
Cost-Effective Rail-Served Industrial Sites Available
If your company needs a rail-served, BNSF-Certified, shovel-ready site with all municipal services at your door, we have lots available for immediate construction in the Great Falls AgriTech Park. Contact Jolene Schalper at 1.406.750.4481 or [email protected]
December SBA 504 Loan Rates
The 25-year loan effective rate came in at 3.023%; 20-year at 2.875%; 10-year equipment loan at 2.793%; and, 20-year refinance 2.889%; 25-year refinance 3.036%. These rates are FIXED for the life of the loan and are inclusive of all fees. If you would like to find out how to get financing for commercial real estate and equipment at potentially lower rates than you're paying for your home mortgage, please contact Jill Kohles at 406-590-1056 or [email protected].
Invest in Great Falls Regional Economic Development
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Events, Business Training, and Opportunities
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We are convening a Housing Production Task Force and a Housing Production Summit, on March 15. Register for the Housing Production Summit here. For more information or to join the task force, call or email Jake Clark at [email protected] or 406.403.4937.
We’re launching a new initiative to inspire and enable more business startup activity in the region. Accelerate: Your Startup will be a four-module, in-depth, and action-oriented course designed for pre-venture and early stage startups. To learn more or apply to participate in our first 10-business cohort for young companies, send Jason an email with the subject line “Tell me about Accelerate: Your Startup” at [email protected].
We are now recruiting growth-minded companies to participate in our first cohort of the peer-to-peer mentoring program, PeerSpectives. If your company has at least 10 employees, generates at least $1M in annual revenue, and has the desire and capacity to grow, you may be experiencing the same growth challenges as others. To apply for our first roundtable or for more information, contact Jason at [email protected].
Seats are starting to fill up for our Wednesday, February 9th course, Fast Tracking Your Human Resources. This seminar is geared towards new human resources staff, as well as other management level individuals who want to strengthen their skills in the functional processes of HR. For more information or to reserve your seat, click here or contact Jason for more information at [email protected].
The Montana Department of Commerce announced a $500,000 Recovery Destination Event Grant application cycle to assist Montana communities as they re-schedule and plan for new events that will increase non-resident visitor traffic and expenditures. Eligible events could receive grant funding from $5,000 to $25,000 and no match is required. Applications open January 5. Submissions will be reviewed, scored, and awarded until all available funds are awarded or June 1st, whichever occurs first. For information, eligibility criteria, or to view a workshop about the grant cycle, visit the Tourism Grant Program website at MARKETMT.COM.
The biennial application cycle for the Montana Historic Preservation Grant (MHPG) is now open. Grants are available for public and private entities to support the preservation of historic sites, historical societies, or history museums; this includes “brick-and-mortar” improvements to address various infrastructure, maintenance, building code, security, climate control, or fire protection issues. Funding decisions will be made during the 2023 legislative session. Application and further information here. Application Workshop on January 12 from 3:00 - 4:30 PM. This webinar will provide an overview of the program, timeline, and environmental review process. Register for the webinar here. If applicants have questions, contact the Community Development Division at 406.841.2770 or [email protected].
A number of state special business programs using American Rescue Plan funds are rolling out. The Workforce Training Grant Program has been launched by the Montana Department of Commerce and has up to $3,000 per eligible employee available for training expenses by businesses. The Apprenticeship Training Grant Program will be able to reimburse construction-related apprenticeship expenses up to a limit of $3,000. Track all state ARPA economic programs on the state's ARPA website.
Attention Small Business doing Government Contracting: There has been an update to the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). The plans for the next iteration of CMMC which is being call CMMC 2.0 has been released. Like the initial CMMC (which was pilot tested but never implemented) this version has to go through the public comment and rulemaking process and nobody knows what changes will occur to the proposed CMMC 2.0 during those processes. A few proposed changes included in CMMC 2.0 include decreasing certification levels from 5 to 3 and increasing opportunities for (no-cost) self-assessments. While the rulemaking efforts are ongoing, the Department intends to suspend the current CMMC Piloting efforts and will not approve inclusion of a CMMC requirement in any DoD solicitation. The Department encourages contractors to continue to enhance their cybersecurity position during the interim period while the rulemaking is underway. Please visit the CMMC website and projectspectrum.io to learn more.
The best resource we scan daily to stay abreast of business and community innovation is MATR.net (Montana Associated Technology Roundtables) which we are proud to help sponsor. Sign up for their free newsletter.
The Montana Department of Commerce launched an investment matchmaking website for Montana business projects. The Opportunity Exchange’s - Montana Investment Portal is a website where investors can easily view and connect to projects in the state. Click here to view listed projects. Click here to get your investment project listed on the portal. For help posting your project or property on the Montana Investment Portal, contact Kristian Richardson at 406-841-2032 or [email protected].
We deliver print copies of the Great Falls Livability talent attraction magazine around town every Friday – if you would like copies of this great recruitment tool, email Soren at [email protected].
Montana DPHHS will be accepting one-time Child Care Stabilization grant applications from now until December 31! These funds are meant to stabilize your business coming out of the public health emergency. The process is not competitive and licensed centers are eligible for up to 80-100% of their operating expenses. Go to https://dphhs.mt.gov/arpa/childcare/ and click on “Grants for Licensed & Registered Child Care Programs (Stabilization).”
Join the Trailing Partner Email Group specifically for employers to share resumes of trailing spouses/partners across the Great Falls region with other employers looking to hire. Connect with Talent Attraction Director Soren to learn about more great talent attraction tools for employers. “Your (Live in Great Falls) website is very impressive and helpful! Great Falls looks amazing, and we love what we've seen real estate-wise, and business-wise.” This quote was from an email sent to us from a couple considering relocation to Great Falls. We will be sharing their resumes (with their permission) on the Trailing Partner Email Group.
Looking to take control of your business’s financials, increase profit, and improve your bottom line? We have had interest from businesses in scheduling a Profit Mastery course. These courses are scheduled by demand. If you are interested in taking this two-day workshop, contact Jason Nitschke at [email protected] or call (406) 750-0314.
Pro-tip: Post positivity! When you’re using Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn and share something positive about Great Falls, tag @LiveinGreatFalls or @GrowGreatFallsMontana. We will like and share your posts. Follow our talent attraction effort, Live in Great Falls, on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, and follow the Great Falls Development Authority to help us attract entrepreneurs and business investment on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
You are facing tough decisions right now. We’ve developed toolkits to help you decide what is best for your business. Toolkits include: Crisis Toolkit, Hibernation Toolkit, Business Resiliency Guide, Re-Opening Toolkit, and a Child Care Whitepaper. All of these can be found on our website.
A new access to capital option for businesses has launched. Crowdfund Montana is an investment crowdfunding platform, affiliated with the national platform Crowdfund Mainstreet, to bring people together to fund good business projects. Unlike traditional crowdfunding, investment crowdfunding allows funders to receive a financial return on their contribution, and in some cases own shares in the companies they are funding. NBC Montana has published this story about the platform's launch.
Visit our relocation website LiveInGreatFalls.com. This website was the #1 request we got from local recruiters and HR professionals for aiding in attracting talented workers to Great Falls. The Great Falls At-A-Glance two-pager is a great complementary resource that highlights Great Falls for people unfamiliar with our community.
We have Brownfield Clean-Up money that we want to put to work! Our low interest Brownfield Loans can be used to clean up hazardous materials including but not limited to lead paint, asbestos, etc. Are you working on a project that could use some clean up? Call Lillian today to discuss eligibility 406.750.1253 or [email protected].
Manufacturers, if you're not engaged with the Montana Manufacturing Extension Center hosted by MSU, you're missing out on powerful resources, services, and networking. MMEC clients report cost savings of $160.3 million, new investment of $328.4 million, $1.3 billion in new and retained sales, and 6,186 new and retained jobs since 2000. We're proud to host an MMEC business adviser who covers the Golden Triangle region. Contact Doug Roberts at [email protected] or (937) 489-3985.
Of our online business planning tool, LivePlan, one said: "LivePlan is Awesome!" The LivePlan tool is helping her streamline her strategy in preparation for presenting to bank partners. We offer LivePlan licenses for free to active clients. Learn more about LivePlan on our website.
All of our recorded monthly business strategy webinars are available online for viewing anytime, click them out here.
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Vision
Hungry to Grow the Great Falls region
Mission
Grow and diversify the Great Falls regional economy.
Create higher wage career opportunities.
Improve market competitiveness.
The first economic development organization in the Rocky Mountain West to earn accreditation from the International Economic Development Council.
GFDA is a certified Community Development Financial Institution and a 501(c)3 charitable organization. High Plains Financial is a certified Community Development Corporation that offers SBA 504 loans statewide. GFDA and High Plains Financial are Equal Opportunity Employers and Lenders.
GFDA is proud to host a Montana Small Business Development Center, a Montana Procurement Technical Assistance Center, and a Montana Food & Ag Development Center. We are also proud to provide office space for MSU's Montana Manufacturing Extension Center.
For more info, click to our website.
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