Its eyes on making the Rockford region a Top 25 community over the next decade, this nonprofit group is leading the charge for the area’s self-improvement – and they’re seeing results.
Transform Rockford is a grassroots community movement geared toward transforming the Rockford region into a Top 25 community.
The movement involves people from across the region’s business, public, nonprofit and faith sectors. Since the nonprofit Transform Rockford launched in 2013, this organization and its subsequent movement have engaged more than 4,000 residents in the development of the region’s:
• shared values
• shared vision
• and transformation plan.
The community’s transformation plan includes 140 projects aligned to achieve the community’s vision by 2025. Currently, there are 32 projects underway, all aimed at improvements in education, economic development, safety and much more.
For each project, Transform Rockford provides access to best practices, tools and community talent, while enabling the alignment of stakeholders and resources.
We believe in keeping the broad community engaged in the region’s transformation and keeping our community’s vision and values at the center of this important work.
Through our collaboration, we are seeing progress, as you’ll note on our Community Scorecard above.
Capital investment in the region has boomed (more than $2 billion now invested), and downtown Rockford has been revitalized into a destination for entertainment and dynamic urban living. The advanced manufacturing and logistics industries have driven increased employment and wages in recent years. Further growth is now underway with improvements to the Chrysler manufacturing plant and supply base, as Belvidere welcomes production of the Jeep Cherokee.
But that’s just the start.
We are attempting great things in the Rockford region. We should. We have great assets and the potential to be Top 25 by 2025.