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Notes from APP and NMDC
Volume 1, Issue 11
Aug. 17, 2012
In This Issue
Caribou Entrepreneur Program
APP Board Meets
Dues Set for 2013-14

Caribou entrepreneur pilot program revamped

 

   CARIBOU - A new deadline and changes to the program have officials with the Caribou entrepreneur pilot program hoping more people sign up for the free program, which could be the first step to owning a business in Caribou.

   "We are joining forces with Top Gun prep course from the Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development," said Duane Walton, finance director Northern Maine Development Commission. "We still have local investors ready to bankroll viable businesses once the candidates finish the course."

   The new signup deadline is Aug. 31 and applications and more information can be found on the NMDC website, www.nmdc.org. brochure  

   Selected applicants, if they live within 50 miles of Caribou, will need to attend the classes at the NMDC office. If a person lives beyond the 50 miles limit they can take the course online.

   The nine sessions begin Wednesday Sept. 19 and continue each Wednesday until Nov. 14. Topics will cover products, business models and companies, innovation engineering for entrepreneurs, customer development, startup market research, entrepreneurial marketing, revenue streams and business model innovation, financials for entrepreneurs, financing your business and final pitch night.

   A key to be one of the entrepreneurs to have their pitch picked for funding "is to find out what's needed in Caribou and that's part of the process," he said.

Walton is hopeful this program may convince some, who long to return home, to do so.

"In addition to being open to anyone, I really hope this will also entice some people to take a second look at their hometown and invest their time and come back and have a good life which we offer here," said Walton.

   This program serves as a pilot program from which best practices will be documented and used in other areas of Aroostook and Washington counties to improve local communities and promote economic development.

   NMDC applied to USDA Rural Development for $50,000 and the money was granted. The funds used to match the USDA program come from Northern Maine Finance Corporation in the form of a $50,000 cash donation obtained from the Northern Border Regional Commission.  

    For more information, contact Walton at the NMDC Business Finance Department at (207) 498-8736.

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APP Board Meeting 8-10-12
    Members of the Aroostook Partnership for Progress board of directors meet at the University of Maine Presque Isle Friday, Aug. 10. From top left are: Bob Dorsey, pres. APP, and board members Cal Deschene, Larry Shaw, Linda Schott and Steve St. Pierre.
Priorities outlined to APP
board of directors

 

   PRESQUE ISLE - It wasn't the big issues before the Aroostook Partnership for Progress board of directors Friday, Aug. 10, but the discussion should prove extremely valuable in the operation of the economic development organization.

   APP president Bob Dorsey presented board members with detailed information on the workings of the organization, from a revisit of the mission statement, to how priorities are determined and how the Mobilize Northern Maine strategic planning process helps to set overall development goals.

   "Just codifying the process and putting it in a top down flow was something that hadn't happened before and it is important in explaining how we function," said Dorsey.

   Dorsey developed a pyramid process that features three distinct priorities - priority one (must do) at the top of the chart, priority two (Mobilize Maine driven) come next in the pyramid and emphasize the Mobilize Northern Maine industry cluster activities, and priority three (exploration) activities that investigate potential business growth/expansion opportunities across all clusters.

Priority Pyramid 
Click here for a larger image 

   When determining priorities the APP board of directors has the final say on the APP effort category and the strategy to pursue.

   "Although we have our major priorities, it would be short sighted to ignore any possible opportunity," said Dorsey, referring to the Bald Mountain mining project northwest of Ashland, which could lead to 700 direct and indirect jobs in the region.

   Board members were also updated on plans to develop a more formal partnership agreement, but that will require a change in the organization's bylaws and a vote at a future meeting.

   

NMDC member dues set for 2013-14

   

   LITTLETON - For the eighth straight year the Executive Board of Directors of the Northern Maine Development Commission has voted to request the same funding amount from member communities. That vote took place at the most recent board meeting held at the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum in Littleton Aug. 9.

   "The board determines the amount of money we are going to raise from the communities in the aggregate and it traditionally has been around $150,000," said Bob Clark, executive director NMDC. "They also set the Aroostook County dues at about $25,000 for $175,000 total from the 72 members."

   The municipal dues are based on fifty percent state valuation and the other fifty percent is determined by population. Every year dues may increase or decrease a little with changes in valuation, what hasn't changed is the total amount of money to be collected by NMDC.

   "The board could have chosen to raise the total to $200,000 in the past but hasn't, realizing budgets are tight," Clark added.

   Presque Isle is assessed a little more than $18,000 in dues, the highest for municipalities. Glenwood Plantation pays the least at about $80. The funds raised from the municipalities and county only amount to 2 percent of NMDC's annual budget.

   "The municipalities and counties are like the owners of this business [NMDC], and the federal and state government and other funding sources are the stockholders," he said.

   Clark said the return on investment for the communities is easy to track, from direct investment in communities through loans, planning, small business development and cooperative purchasing the benefits outweigh the costs. Clark added there are also regional benefits as well like tourism promotion and regional planning.

   "Most communities recoup their dues just by participating in our cooperative road salt buy," he said.

   As an example in 2010-11 Madawaska paid about $10,000 in dues and the road salt savings amounted to $13,000 for the community.

   Fort Fairfield in 2013-14 will be assessed $6,170.

   "We believe that the many services that NMDC provides Aroostook County are well worth this investment," said Fort Fairfield town manager Dan Foster. "Economic development opportunities are not simplistic and NMDC's wide variety of services helps to facilitate the many facets of making an economic development opportunity a reality." Return on Investment 

   A detailed look at the return on investment can be found on NMDC's website, www.nmdc.org.

   The Northern Maine Development Commission is a membership organization comprised of participating communities and counties in the Aroostook-Washington Economic Development District. The organization provides federal and state services at the regional and local levels. NMDC also provides management and support for Aroostook County Tourism (ACT), Aroostook Municipal Association (AMA), Aroostook Partnership for Progress (APP), Leaders Encouraging Aroostook Development (LEAD), Northern Maine Finance Corp. (NMFC), Aroostook/Washington County Local Workforce Investment Board and Northern Maine Solid Waste Management Committee (NMSWMC).