All things SourceLink was the theme of our March 17 SourceLink Affiliate Quarterly Conversation. We announced new projects including: ChiBizHub website redesign, Washington State Microenterprise Association (WSMA) – Evergreen BizLink, Ecosystem Building Leadership Project, SBA Community Navigators Pilot Project and welcomed new clients and affiliates: Monroe County – Launch 734, Oakland County, MI – Business Forward Oakland County, Louisiana Economic Development, BioKansas – KC Rising Biologics and National League of Cities projects with Jamestown, NY and Monmouth, OR.
Exciting features and new enhancements to our SourceLink technologies
The agenda included an overview of exciting new enhancements to The Resource Navigator®, SourceLink℠ CRM and SiteConnex™ website, The Resource Navigator® Smart Search Engine including: SiteConnex® Website Template, SourceLink Basic/Pro/Enterprise Decision Engine and future Developments for Q2 including: automated Personal Action Plan, chatbot install on SiteConnex (WordPress), SourceLink Enterprise and improved merging of client and people records.
A big THANK YOU to Toni VanDoren from The GRID Wisconsin and Scott Asmus from SourceLink Nebraska for sharing innovative features on their websites and creative uses of the tags including: adding the GRID’s ‘Innovators in Action’ feature on different webpages (with tags), Interactive Learning Map for Entrepreneurs (with sign up for newsletter), and SourceLink Nebraska’s Resource Navigator custom views including a filtered list of resources and events in the areas of Agriculture and Rural Business, Innovation, Makerspaces, Childcare, Veterans, International trade, Español and Disaster Recovery.
The SourceLink Affiliate Toolkit is now available online and includes sample files in the areas of Job Descriptions, Launch, Marketing and Metrics. Affiliates are invited to upload samples of their materials to create a robust crowdsourced exchange of materials!
And the Survey Says …
Johanna Cook, SourceLink communication specialist, shared results from the SourceLink Affiliate Engagement Survey recently conducted to learn more about affiliate preferences for communication.
We found that the majority of affiliates are attending and finding value in the Quarterly Conversations. Many are reading the newsletter and engaging with us on socials with the two preferred channels being LinkedIn and Facebook. They’d like to see us continue spotlighting best practices and community success stories in our newsletter and on socials, so please be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn for the latest and greatest from our network!
We also learned that the top areas of interest across the network include funding, ecosystem building best practices, metrics and reporting, resource partner engagement, marketing outreach and entrepreneur engagement. Finally, our affiliates expressed interest in convening the network for an in-person gathering, preferably in the Spring or Fall of 2023, and the SourceLink team is taking steps towards making that happen. More to come!
Join us
The public is invited to attend Building Rural Communities Through Entrepreneurship Webinar on April 21 at 10:00am CT, a SourceLink℠ webinar on strategies for growing rural communities through entrepreneurship-led economic development. Attendees will hear success stories and gain valuable insights from national thought leaders about solutions for sustainable, equitable economic impact. This session will be moderated by Dara Macan, SourceLink’s director of strategic partnerships.
SourceLink Affiliate Conversations
SourceLink Affiliate Quarterly Conversations is an exclusive benefit for affiliate members. Agendas includes topics, speakers and discussions suggested by our community of network builders and is an opportunity to share best practices and collaborate with one another. For more information about becoming a SourceLink affiliate and joining our conversations contact Dara Macan at [email protected].
