Our History, Values, and Approach

Community Economic Partners is an expansion of the approach of an 11-year-old, award winning, women-owned, debt free, Delaware Benefit Corporation (B Corp) with 10 very experienced and highly qualified professionals. Today, as one of a very small handful of organizations willing to focus on small cities, small towns, rural counties, rural communities, Community Economic Partners is unique in America.

Our Purpose

To help people in communities live better lives.

Our Vision

To establish an online community of 10,000 communities that we assist on an ongoing basis through engagement and valuable information to help leaders in those communities help their people live better lives.

Our Values

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Our work is done with excellence in all things – we do it better than anyone else, and then we do it better yet.
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We serve the needs of our clients with principles that work, and we show them how to stand out from the crowd.

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We believe we should be in service to everyone, whether at work or not.

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With no shareholders to make a priority, we can concentrate on doing the best work for clients and customers.

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Our strong team runs with kindness, non-competition, collaboration, and open communication.

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We are truth tellers and honest with our clients so that they can be more successful.

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Development of resilience and sustainability in all actions and recommendations is critical for the success of our clients and our organization.

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We are family first and believe that doing our work successfully provides for our own better quality of life.

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Adversity makes us stronger and keeps our focus sharp and our vision clear.

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Diversity is a given. We value and celebrate the differences and uniqueness of all people.

As a B Corp, we are able to tailor our efforts and fees to suit each situation to deliver maximum value. Since Community Economic Partners does not have shareholders to please, instead we have committed to helping communities and clients use their strengths and resources most wisely to move ahead.

We believe each client deserves our best thinking and a plan that works with the uniqueness of their particular location, building on the assets and resources already present in their area. We become actively involved and invested in helping clients and communities improve their prospects and expand economic development as appropriate for their location, since there are no two exact combinations of locations in the United States.  Each area is distinct from all others and deserves an individualized plan.

We consider that discovery of accurate data and engaging in fact-finding crucial for assessing local economic conditions, identifying opportunities and evaluating the effectiveness of proposed projects and programs critical for success. We begin each project with thorough and detailed research to establish the starting point of where a community is and what it will take from an action standpoint to get from there to the vision.

Throughout any project we work together with you to maximize our time and expertise for your community’s benefit.

We deliver more value than narrowly focused consultants because:

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We work all over the United States, and that enables us to bring the best ideas and thinking throughout the country.

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We understand that cities, towns and communities are so much more than a geographic location in a goods or services producing region. Each has unique and special qualities all on their own.
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Because our multi-disciplined team has Economic Development, Main Street and Chamber of Commerce expertise in addition to very experienced tourism professionals, we bring a broad view to economic development and understand how all the factors work together to impact success.
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Our comprehensive community engagement skills enable us to speak to all echelons, from Commissioners and other officials, to residents, students, and the underserved.

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Our constant research into what is currently transpiring enables us to take into account economic, political and environmental changes as they occur.

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We have experience and expertise in townscaping, placemaking and other aspects of community enhancement that add another dimension to our recommendations. Rather than just recommending it, we know how to accomplish it, and thus are realistic in our suggestions. 

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Our multi-experienced team is able to generate effective actionable plans and assist with implementation, turning plans into actions.