News Release
January 15, 2021
CBIC Awarded $76,500 GO Virginia Grant to Build Digital Connection Platform for Charlottesville/Region 9 Business Community
Project underway and expected to launch in stages in the first quarter of 2021
(Charlottesville, VA) ... The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the need for virtual and remote connections for everyone in the business communities of Charlottesville/Albemarle and the greater Region 9 counties. While virtual connections were a growing option for many prior to the pandemic, they became a lifeline and a necessity for many this past year.
Code for Cville is a local chapter of Code for America, which brings together volunteers with tech, data, design, research, and community-building skills to work on projects to benefit area nonprofits and local government. The group held it’s 2021 kickoff event via Zoom on Monday, Feb 22, 2021 with nearly 90 attendees!
This work begins by understanding and addressing the different levels at which racism operates and how white supremacy impacts organizational culture. (To receive further resources and news on related trainings, add your name to our waitlist for Frameworks For Addressing Organizational Inequity.)
If the Pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that the survival of our families and businesses relies on the quality of both our connection and interconnection. The importance of our interconnection was laid bare this past year when it became threatened; like a river that changes course due to changes in the makeup of the rock surrounding it, when our local business ecosystem found itself cut off from its normally vibrant and interpersonal backdrop, it found another path, another way to be survive through a reorganization involving Zoom; live music directly from artists as well as from the Front Porch and IX Art Park; online networking events and annual banquets; and a patchwork of take out, delivery, and pop-up, outdoor dining rooms from most of our favorite restaurants and bars. All the elements of the ecosystem adapted in concert as best they could.
Joining the Charlottesville Business Innovation Council (CBIC) as a member is a great way to connect with your community and gain access to unique members-only benefits. The group is composed of organizations of all sizes, as well as individuals and students. Our member base consists of leading tech companies, both small and large, in the greater Charlottesville area, non-profit organizations focused on technology and entrepreneurship, and a vibrant community of entrepreneurs, investors, innovators, and contract organizations that support their success, who are always on the lookout for creative solutions to today’s challenges.
While the annual budgeting process often is met with dread, effective leaders know that strategic budgeting is an exciting process to implement vision and opportunity.
While it is true that technology does make human contact a luxury one can choose to seek out or not - intelligent, talented people do also enjoy getting together to socialize, collaborate, share ideas, and form professional relationships. We know this not only to be a vital component of attracting and retaining a highly skilled workforce, but to building a healthy, reliable community.
Now is the time to consolidate authority for tech-based economic development in the Commonwealth. Article includes resources to comment on critical proposed legislation...
What do people mean when they talk about startups in a town like ours? As we all know well, Charlottesville is a town of many identities and realities, and the local startup scene is no exception.
From the Desk of Hope Rana McCutcheon, Ce2 Program Director
Mark your calendars for the next edition of Charlottesville Entrepreneurs & Espresso (Ce2), a free and open event where entrepreneurs, startup founders, and advisors, (and those aspiring to be any of those things) meet to learn from one another.