May 22nd was a particularly exciting day last month, as over a year of preparation and work behind the scenes was revealed publicly in a press conference. Fueling Our Future is now launched!

What is Fueling Our Future? It is a long-term community initiative, divided into four-year programs of work, led by over 30 private and public investors. Its main purpose is to provide a regional approach to decision making, bringing everyone involved to the table to decide what is best for our metro. It doesn’t aim to solve today’s or tomorrow’s issues, but rather, positions us for success long into the future by providing funding, time, resources and support to back projects and programs needed for our community, businesses, residents and visitors.

We’re thrilled to call the Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corporation a partner in this initiative. Their leadership, vision and resources have been immensely helpful in getting Fueling Our Future launched. Together, now and moving forward, we can accomplish what neither of us could do on our own. It’s truly an example of the collaboration needed to advance the most important issues facing our region.

Fueling Our Future work will fall under three key pillars:

• People (workforce development)
• Prosperity (economic development)
• Place (community assets/quality of life)

Kick-off projects include:

• Support career academies across the region
• Create a certified shovel-ready sites program for the region
• Create a business-focused task force to support local air service
• Support the establishment of a business accelerator for the region

We’re grateful to everyone that has invested, supported and guided Fueling Our Future to date. A governance board—comprised of community leaders from private and public sectors who have invested significantly—has been assembled to approve and review projects and funds brought forward by the partners. Together, we are well equipped to fuel our future!

To learn more, visit fuelingourfuture.net or catch the live streamed press conference on either The Chamber or EDC’s Facebook pages.