Results

The results above reflect the work and accomplishments of the organization going back many years. To establish the goals for our current three-year campaign (2019-2021), we first looked at the results of the previous five years, and we think you’ll agree that the impacts represented above by more than 150 projects reflects a region that supports its businesses.

Goals

Ultimately, our investors support the organization because they’ve come to expect a strong return on their investment. And, to understand that ROI is happening, the EDC Board has established stretch goals measuring projects, jobs, capital investment and utilized square footage in the market. We think you’ll be impressed when you dig deeper into our progress toward our goals in this section.

State & Federal Support

Every year, the EDC works with our clients to partner with state and local governments to support employment and investments our clients are making. In 2020, we helped our companies tap into a half-dozen state programs to support their growth.

In addition to state assistance, this year’s COVID-19 CARES Act was critically important to thousands of regional businesses. In the State & Federal Support section, you’ll see that hundreds of millions of dollars came into the local economy. The COVID-19 Regional Business Task Force members helped our businesses take advantage of those programs.

Economic Impact

Let’s face it, the EDC is not like other non-profit organizations; our mission is to provide an expected WIFM (what’s in it for me) for our investors. We are happy to say our work is making that a reality.

In fact, our efforts provide a return to all businesses, governments and citizens, whether they are a current investor or not. Why? Because the growth of all primary-sector companies positively impacts all other businesses and organizations regionally. Check out our economic impact section to see some of the results.

Amazon Project Lands in Fargo

Amazon’s expansion into our market is no small addition. While the physical space will take up 1.3 million square feet of new construction (we’re talking 20-plus football fields), the new primary-sector company adds new wealth to the region. The 500 jobs plus 320 additional jobs created as a ripple effect mean more coffee shops and grocery stores.

• 1.3 million square foot fulfillment center
• 500 jobs created with a ripple effect creating an additional 320 jobs
• $33.7 million in annual payroll and payroll ripple effects

The site is anticipated to launch in 2021.

*Source for Impact Data: Bangsund, Dean A. 2019-2020. Analysis of Recent GFMEDC Business Expansions on FM Area Economy
**Here is the citation: Source for Impact Data: Bangsund, Dean A. 2020. Analysis of Amazon on FM Area Economy