Author: Rick Kiernan

Rick has provided fundraising counsel in dozens of communities throughout the nation. His diverse fundraising experience provides Rick with a rare, well-rounded understanding of all aspects of community fundraising – both economic and community development.

The Interwoven Nature of Infrastructure in Economic Development

A graphic image of a city with buildings and cars

Infrastructure serves as the backbone of economic development, playing a crucial role in facilitating the movement of goods and people, providing essential services and supporting business operations. However, inadequate or deficient infrastructure can significantly impede local economic growth and competitiveness. From transportation networks to utilities and digital infrastructure, each component plays a vital role in […]

Ways to Increase Community College Enrollment and Fund Program Expansion

Finding quality employees is plaguing employers nationwide. One aspect of that struggle is procuring the necessary educational programming for individuals to receive training to match employer requirements. Community colleges are a natural resource to offer those services to support employers with customized programs at affordable costs for individuals. After a decade of declining enrollment at […]

An Inside Perspective on Economic Development Today

Creative Economic Development Consulting CEO Crystal Morphis and I met about seven years ago when we both worked on the Greenwood Partnership Alliance with Crystal providing the strategic plan, and Convergent coming in to test and fundraise for it. Getting to know this intelligent, strategic professional and truly calling her a partner and friend through […]

Promise Initiatives: Investing in a Long-Term Competitive Advantage

Promise Initiatives: Investing In A Long Term Competitive Advantage

This article was originally written for and published in the International Economic Development Council’s “ED Now” newsletter. We are excited to make it available to non-IEDC members here for the first time. There were 5.8 million job openings across the United States at the end of April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.[1] That matches the […]

EDO Fundraising: How Does Workforce Development Fit In?

This article was originally written for and published in the International Economic Development Council’s “ED Now” newsletter. We are excited to make it available to non-IEDC members here for the first time. Raising public and private funding for economic development is nothing new. Economic development organizations have financed their work this way for decades. Most […]

Thanks for Joining Us at the Northeastern Economic Developers’ Association Annual Conference!

This year’s Northeastern Economic Developers Association’s Annual Conference proved to be another success! More than 150 economic development professionals converged on Syracuse to learn and to share their best practices as it related to this year’s theme, “Re-Think, Re-Vive, Re-Thrive…Leveraging the Assets of Our Communities.” As NEDA’s website proclaimed, their goals were to “help you Re-Think the […]