Regional Industry Support Enterprise (RISE)

RISE 2024 Year In Review

2024 was an exceptionally exciting year for the Regional Industry Support Enterprise (RISE), given that it was our first year as an organization. From our team coming together on January 2 to our first board meeting on November 19, the RISE team accomplished a remarkable amount in a very short period of time.

In November 2023, the results of a regional workforce study were released which predicted our region would have more jobs than people to fill those jobs in 2025. One recommendation from the study was the creation of a new regionally focused organization to serve as the quarterback for workforce development. In response, the Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA) announced it would fund the start-up of a new regional workforce development organization, which at the time did not even have a name. However, thanks to the dedication of the SEDA marketing team and our regional partners, we soon had our name, RISE.

Before the creation of RISE, when we said “region,” we were typically referring to the four counties that make up the Savannah Harbor I-16 Corridor Joint Development Authority (Savannah JDA). However, based on the study’s results, we knew that the workforce impacts from the growth in Savannah and the surrounding communities would extend well beyond the Savannah JDA. Because of the widespread nature of these impacts, we knew we needed to redefine what we meant when we talked about the “region.” Ultimately, RISE’s initial service delivery area was defined as an eight-county region, including Bryan, Bulloch, Candler, Chatham, Effingham, Evans, Liberty and Screven.

Once we knew the region our team would serve, we began working to secure commitments from the development authorities in these communities to join as members of RISE. Simultaneously, our team established working groups focused on identifying barriers to employment and potential solutions in six key areas outlined in the study, including Military, Education, Underrepresented, Transportation, Housing, and Marketing. Additionally, our team partnered with the development authorities in these communities to either provide programming for existing or establish new employer forums. These forums are places where industrial employers from the communities we serve can come together to network and discuss best practices around topics such as employee recruitment and retention.

RISE’s Seven Working Groups

While doing all this, our team also worked with our attorney to complete and submit an application to the IRS to establish RISE as a 501(c)(6) organization. In late 2024, our 15-person board of directors came together for our first meeting, where we finalized our 501(c)(6) application by officially establishing our board of directors and officers. At this meeting, we also discussed the progress made during 2024 and our business plan for the coming year. One of the board’s first actions was establishing Childcare as our seventh official working group. We are happy to share that after this meeting, we were able to file our application for status as a 501(c)(6) organization.

While 2024 was exciting, it was also challenging. Starting a new organization is never easy, but with the support of SEDA, we knew we had a partner we could rely on to help us obtain the goals we set out to achieve. The willingness of our regional partners to come together to work on improving the labor market pipeline in our region has been very heartening. Ultimately, creating opportunities for people is the goal of any economic developer, and in 2024, our region took significant steps toward ensuring that the people who live in this region are set up to take full advantage of the plentiful opportunities available.

The

RISE Staff

RISE Staff