A new website – Experience Jefferson (www.experiencejeffersoniowa.com) – has been launched by Jefferson Matters: A Main Street & Chamber Community.
The Experience Jefferson website was developed through a Rural Return grant awarded by the Iowa Economic Development Authority in February. The Rural Return grant, part of Governor Kim Reynolds’ Empower Rural Iowa Initiative, seeks to support creative programming that attracts new residents to move and/or work in rural communities.
Jefferson Matters: A Main Street & Chamber Community applied for and received a $20,000 grant to hire a locally contracted marketing specialist and work with the company Chatterkick, a creative social media agency, to develop a visually appealing way to market what Jefferson has to offer.
Jefferson resident Abby McConnell accepted the contracted position and created a committee to help move the project forward. Members of the Rural Return Initiative committee are Peg Raney, Jamie Daubendiek, Beth Vander Wilt, Jacque Andrew, Allison Karber, Gabe Karber, and Laura Taggart.
“When the project kicked off we immediately started to brainstorm the best ways to showcase what Jefferson has to offer. We knew based on research done by Chatterkick in 2019 that Jefferson lacked a digitally appealing presence to engage non-residents to come to visit and move here,” McConnell said.
“We also knew from this study that people were eight times more likely to search for Jefferson through other search engines than Greene County. But all of us agreed that Greene County as a whole has so much to offer. So how do you take this information and create something that is inclusive but reaches the right target audience and also establishes a very engaging digital platform that makes people want to visit and move here?
“The answer,” McConnell said, “was creating Experience Jefferson.”
The Experience Jefferson website provides a platform to showcase what Jefferson and Greene County have to offer in one place. It is engaging to look through and provides a little taste of what it would be like to visit or become a Jefferson resident. “The goal of the site is to grab the attention of those interested in potentially moving to a rural community and excite them enough to put Jefferson on their list as an option,” McConnell said.
“There is a huge movement right now in the growth of rural communities after Covid due to people realizing that rural living can provide individuals and families more space, embraces entrepreneurial opportunities, and allows the ability to take advantage of a lower cost of living. The timing of this project is perfect to capitalize on the opportunity of growth in rural living,” McConnell continued.
The committee asks residents to help spread the word about the website. “As a committee of eight our reach only goes so far. We ask the community to help us share this website via social media platforms, start conversations with past residents who will be back for the Bell Tower Festival, and spread the word that Jefferson is a progressive community that should be a contender on anyone’s moving list. It won’t only help grow Jefferson, it will also help grow Greene County,” she said.
McConnell also mentioned that this website is not stagnant. She is excited to be able to continue to add businesses, programs, attractions, events, and so much more to the site as the community continues to grow.
The website is a large portion of the grant project’s focus but is not the only avenue to gain people’s interest. Social media platforms have also been created to help provide strategic marketing efforts, with a hashtag campaign of #experiencejefferson to help showcase how people experience Jefferson and pique outsiders’ interest.
The hashtag is easy to use, according to McConnell. “Maybe you are enjoying family time at the park, attending an event, capturing the beautiful landscape of Greene County, you name it. When you post your picture on social media and put #experiencejefferson you are helping to provide a collection of pictures on a digital platform that could potentially draw someone’s interest to move here.”
The committee also plans to draw attention to what it is doing with a fun activity during Bell Tower Festival that both residents and non-residents can enjoy. Watch for more information.
In addition to the Experience Jefferson project, the Rural Return grant has also brought opportunities through its sister project, the Jefferson Wants You incentive fund program, which was launched in mid-May.
“The Jefferson Wants You incentive fund is designed for two purposes,” Peg Raney, economic vitality chairperson said. “One is to attract new small businesses to Jefferson that have a positive impact on the community. The other is to attract remote workers to move to Greene County.”
The extended impact of this incentive program was made possible by partnering with Jefferson Telecom, Home State Bank, Heartland Bank, Peoples Bank, Alliant Energy and funding from Grow Greene County.
New small businesses located in Jefferson may apply for a maximum of $5,000 for specific one-time start-up costs to launch a new business or transition a current business. “Entrepreneurship is valued here, and Jefferson wants to welcome small businesses to our current mix. There are gaps in the community for retail and services, so this funding opportunity may encourage someone to return to the community with a business plan,” Raney said.
On-going and administrative expenses are not eligible.
New or relocating remote workers planning to reside in Greene County can apply for a year’s membership for a floating desk at Gravitate Coworking in downtown Jefferson. Current remote workers may also apply for this membership. Conditions include that workers would utilize this coworking space at least 3 days/week.
More information on the Jefferson Wants You incentive fund program is available at www.jeffersonmatters.org and click the resource tab.
