Business Alliance Program: Creating Business and Community Partnerships.

MENU TITLE: Business Alliance Program Fact Sheet
Series: BJA
Published: November 1995
4 pages
7,534 bytes

Bureau of Justice Assistance Fact Sheet

Business Alliance Program: Creating Business and
Community Partnerships

Background

Virtually all urban jurisdictions and many rural
communities in this country have disadvantaged
neighborhoods. Formerly self-sufficient and
prosperous, these areas have deteriorated over
time, with the arrival of lower income residents
who are unable to maintain the quality of housing.
High crime, abandoned housing, inaccessible
shopping, troubled schools, withdrawal of municipal
services, obsolete recreation facilities, perceived
or actual decline in police protection, and other
changes further lead to a decline in community
investment by businesses.

To help such disadvantaged communities establish
economic self-sufficiency and to stimulate
entrepreneurship, the Business Alliance Program was
founded by the Florida Chamber of Commerce in late
1992. Business Alliance pilot programs were
developed under grants from the Bureau of Justice
Assistance (BJA), U.S. Department of Justice, as
part of Operation Weed and Seed, a community-based
program that "weeds out" crime from targeted
neighborhoods and then "seeds" them with crime
prevention, intervention, and treatment services.
Today, business alliances may be found in Winter
Park, Cocoa Beach, Bradenton, Ft. Myers, and
Clearwater, Florida. The chambers of commerce in
each of these jurisdictions received $10,000 in
matching grant funds from BJA to develop and
implement business alliance initiatives.

The Program

The Business Alliance Program, which has since
grown out of Operation Weed and Seed, offers
communities a framework for rebuilding the economic
structure of their neighborhoods through
community-based efforts to improve living and
working conditions. The program is designed to
revitalize communities through public affairs
projects; legislative activities; and economic,
community, and human resource development. Business
alliances employ an array of tactics to stimulate
economic revitalization in targeted neighborhoods--
from conducting small-business seminars and
mentoring programs to establishing small-business
loan programs and business incubators for
entrepreneurs.

Business alliances often focus on increasing
business and job opportunities by expanding
existing businesses and attracting new businesses
and jobs. More business in the community adds to
the tax base, creates a thriving economic climate,
and generates new jobs. More jobs, in turn, lead to
fewer crime problems and an improved quality of
life for the entire community.

Business alliances also deal with the problems of
urban neighborhoods--high crime and unemployment,
drug problems, declining or stagnating business
districts, unsightly or abandoned buildings and
surroundings, and lack of any organization or
structure to stimulate economic renewal.

Tremendous benefits can result from pooling a
community's resources in a business alliance.
Renewed economic vitality, improved physical
conditions, and enhanced resident self-esteem and
productivity all breathe new life into a
neighborhood.

Key Elements of a Business Alliance

The basic unit of the program is the business
alliance, a voluntary organization of individuals
and businesses that band together to promote the
commercial, financial, economic, and civic
interests of a community. The following essential
elements characterize a business alliance:

o Business and community partnerships. Business
alliances take advantage of the flexibility of the
private sector and provide a means by which the
business community can develop mutually beneficial
partnerships. These partnerships reflect the unique
characteristics of a business community and the
perspectives of the business owners who are most
directly affected by revitalization efforts.
Through development of alliances, the program
brings together public and private groups and
individuals who are enthusiastic about fostering
real economic change in their communities. The
program helps community leaders and business owners
design and implement an action plan to meet
community needs. Each business alliance should
tailor its objectives to meet the needs, abilities,
and concerns of the residents and businesses it
serves. 

o Action group. The action group is the backbone of
a business alliance. It can take the form of a
council, a task force, or a committee. An action
group has clearly defined tasks that are designed
to accomplish goals and objectives. The action
group must be made up of "movers and shakers" who
can assess the needs of the community with an
awareness of the economic, racial, ethnic, and
sexual diversity. 

o Action plan. The specific activities of a
business alliance depend on community needs,
capacities, skills, and assets; its mission is
determined by the goals or action plan developed by
alliance members. An action plan can be established
either through an informal goal-setting program
agreed upon by its members or through a formal
needs assessment survey conducted in a targeted
community. Action plans can incorporate any of the
following activities: 

- Economic development projects, including retail
activities, area planning, wholesale activities,
industrial development, and services for existing
industries.

- Community development projects, including
education, housing, cultural needs assessment,
downtown redevelopment, crime prevention, public
relations, transportation, and urban planning.

- Human resource development projects, including
job training, recreation, human relations, and
health care.

- Public affairs projects and legislative
activities, including political effectiveness
courses, economic understanding programs, tax
studies, business-consumer relations, and high
school and college business symposiums.

o Board of directors. The business alliance is run
by a board of directors elected by its members. The
board, which serves without pay, establishes the
organizational policies and any necessary fees,
subscription rates, or dues. 

o Financial support. Financed on a voluntary basis,
the business alliance apportions its expenses among
its membership, which consists of both businesses
and individuals. A business alliance also may apply
to obtain grants from Federal and State sources to
help administer the program.

A successful business alliance program includes
sound organizational structure, definitive
objectives, participating members, adequate
finances, responsible leadership, and skilled
administrative staff. 

Forming a Business Alliance

Community representatives interested in forming a
business alliance can contact any of the
organizations and programs listed in the monograph
Business Alliance: Planning for Business and
Community Partnerships (NCJ 148657), which may be
obtained by contacting the Bureau of Justice
Assistance Clearinghouse (see "For Further
Information").

For Further Information

For additional information on the Business Alliance
Program, contact:

Bureau of Justice Assistance Clearinghouse
P.O. Box 6000
Rockville, MD 20849-6000
Tel: 1-800-688-4252
Fax: 1-301-251-5212
Internet: look@ncjrs.aspensys.com

U.S. Department of Justice Response Center
Tel: 1-800-421-6770