This process is led by a Community Council, a curated group of formal and informal leaders that either live, play, work, or worship in the community. Each council will engage in a process to create a customized innovation model that:

• Engages regional business and property owners, residents, stakeholders through facilitated support, resources, and tools;
• Measures and aids in the development of a community’s wealth assets and innovation ecosystem’s economic assets, physical assets, and networked assets;
• Encourages resources that contribute to the elevation of wealth in a community through an asset mapping, business creation and expansion, entrepreneurial activity, employment opportunities, access to capital, and estate planning resources;
• Demonstrates the positive impact that innovative growth can have on inclusive outcomes through job creation, open sharing of networks and learnings, and entrepreneurial supports.

Each Community Council should be comprised of a dynamic, intentionally diverse group of community leaders. Each community council should strive for as much diversity in its composition as possible, considering variables such as age, career or industry, education level, ownership type, ethnicity, gender, etc. Interested members should complete and submit the Community Council Ownership Acknowledgment Form and Initial Pilot Survey. We will review your form and if accepted, you will receive a Community Council Guidebook via email. The materials in the guide will describe additional program details and will introduce you to the pilot program.

As a member of the Community Council, you understand and agree that:

• The Community Council commitment is to attend and participate in at least 90% of the scheduled meetings, and the schedule will consist of two events per month
• As a participant in the community council, you will help facilitate or host at least one of the meetings
• If you are unable to attend a regularly scheduled meeting, you give notice to program facilitators in advance
• You may become privy to confidential information about the community or the development of certain programs not yet made public, and you agree to maintain the confidentiality of information not publicly available.
• All community related decisions remain under the full control of the participating council members.