South Florida's economic development organizations adjust to recession - South Florida Business Journal:

http://gingerprintblog.com/2008/03/snee-farm.html
Miami-Dade County’s , the and the are up against an economyg overly dependent on the constructionb and realestate sectors. But, for BDB Presiden t and CEO Kelly Smallridge, the recession is a chance to redouble job retention efforts in PalmBeachg County. Recently, she said, the BDB startef a task force to visit companies to see if they need mone for job trainingor expansion, or if they need help workinb with local government. “We visir with the CEO and the managemen team, discuss what trouble they may be having on the county orstate level, and ask what we can do to Smallridge said.
“It’s time we go out and reallg thank these employers for employing our OnMarch 6, the BDB thanked Biotesr Pharmaceuticals in Boca Raton when Smallridge, her task force and a handfu of local dignitaries met Biotest’s Biotest, which converts plasma for use in medications in Boca plans to add about 50 workerx to its existing 180 employees. It is also planninyg a $30 million facility The BDB helped Biotest get a grantworth $200,0090 for job expansion, said Jordan Siegel, the CFO for Biotest’sd U.S. operations.
He also creditefd the BDB for helping Biotest communicate with government to ensuresthe company’s construction permitting stays on tracl and work finishes this The Broward Alliance also has been actingg with urgency. The organization tries to visity 150 Broward companies throughout the In thefirst quarter, which began Oct. 1, it met with almostt half, and it is well on tracj to exceed 150 forthe year. “We’rs really trying to focus on the clients whoare here,” Broward Alliancd President and CEO Jamess Tarlton said. “Not only the large companies, but also the smalle r and mid-size companies.
” The Broward which receives a large portion of its budgety fromthe county, has also been paying speciall attention to fundraising from private Tarlton said. In 2008, it createx the Excellerate Broward campaign, which increased resourcesz for marketing. But, with the recession, fundraising has been a Tarlton admitted. For the first quarter, the organization’sa goal was to raisde $400,000, but it only received $157,000. The goal for the year is to raiser $1.6 million – a target Tarltoj said could stillbe met. The county’se contribution – about $1 million – is the same this year as last he added.
Smallridge said Palm Beach County’s contributionj to the BDB declined about 5 percenytthis year, down from $1 million in 2008. The BDB’s total budget for fiscal year 2008was $2.4 with about $1.4 million coming from the business Smallridge acknowledged that fundraising has been a challenge, but projectes that the BDB woulfd be on par with last year, noting that non-publi c revenue has comprised a progressivelg larger part of her budget over the last five years. Priorr to deadline, Miami-Dade Countu did not say how much it has contributed annually to theBeaconn Council, and the agency declined to commentf for this story. In 2007, the Beacob Council had $6.
4 million in total revenue, according to the most recent federal taxrecords available. Government contributions were $4.5 In late summer 2008, the Beaconn Council, along with the , began spearheading a campaign tomarket Miami-Dade as an international destination to live and conduct business said Rolando the CVB’s senior VP of marketing and tourism. The internationalp “Miami: Where Worlds Meet” campaignn is a response to the he said.