Celebrating Growth and Collaboration
posted on Tuesday, May 7, 2024 in Economic Development
Just recently, Grow Cedar Valley celebrated the 20th anniversary of a pivotal merger that unified the Cedar Falls Chamber of Commerce, the Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, and Cedar Valley Economic Development Corporation into a single influential entity. This union has significantly propelled economic and community development within the Cedar Valley, enhancing both GDP and local tax revenues through sustained collaborative efforts.
The work GCV and predecessor organizations have done in economic and community development can’t really be measured in one year, four years or even 20 years. The work builds on itself over time and has reoccurring economic benefit to our communities contributing to the GDP and state & local taxes.
Let’s examine a four-year period of projects to demonstrate what this means over time.
Over a four-year span, the funds invested in Grow Cedar Valley for economic development programming have yielded the following results.
$3.6B in economic development output over 10 years
$501,677,821 in total workers’ earnings over 10 years
$113,081,284 in total taxable sales over 10 years
Alternatively, we could detail this further. For every $1 invested in Grow Cedar Valley’s economic development program, the following is generated.
$2,470 in economic output per dollar invested in GCV ED programming
$344 in additional workers earnings
$73 in additional local taxable sales
$61.61 in net benefits for local governments
(Source: Impact DataSource)
Understanding Economic Output
What exactly does "economic output" mean? It's a key measure of economic growth, critical for calculating Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In simpler terms, it represents the total value of all goods and services produced because of an investment.
Celebrating Economic Development Week
From May 6-10, communities across North America will mark Economic Development Week, celebrating significant contributions toward creating more vibrant and livable areas. This year, we spotlight our "Economic Development Heroes," recognizing everyone who plays a part in fostering the growth and vibrancy of the Cedar Valley. We celebrate and thank you, our community heroes, for your dedication and support.
Lisa Rivera Skubal, CEcD
Vice President of Economic Development
lisa@growcedarvalley.com