Organizational Structure

Heartland Partnership
EDC
Heartland Foundation
Heartland Capital Network
TransPORT
Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce
PeoriaNEXT

THE HEARTLAND PARTNERSHIP
The Heartland Partnership is a family of companies working collectively to help Central Illinois grow and prosper.  The Partnership provides strategic leadership, coordinates resources, and brings to life initiatives that will develop, grow, and nurture our regional economy. 
We are a catalyst for regional visioning and strategic thinking and we offer a forum for identifying regional issues.  The family of companies, the Economic Development Council for Central Illinois, the Heartland Capital Network, the Heartland Foundation/CEO Roundtable, the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, Peoria NEXT, and TransPORT consider recommendations for action to move Central Illinois from good to excellent. 
We develop solutions that target and encourage quality innovation and increase economic opportunity through our regional collaborations.  We work hard to ensure a livable community, to expand the entrepreneurial climate and to broaden prosperity.  We are also charged with communicating progress and opportunity to all of our regional partners and both internal and external audiences.
The Heartland Partnership board of directors consists of fourteen members including the leaders of firms that are part of the various industry sectors, including education, healthcare, manufacturing, transportation, and finance, that are the major drivers of our local economy. The Board also includes the chairs of the EDC and Chamber as well as members of the executive committee from the CEO Roundtable (Heartland Foundation). The Board is rounded out by additional key civic leaders from private industry.

EDC
The Economic Development Council for Central Illinois (EDC) serves the businesses and communities of the greater Peoria area by strengthening local business structure and assisting companies in expanding or relocating to our region. The EDC was established in 1982. The organization is a 501(c) 6, non-profit, regional, public-private partnership. The EDC is supported by Peoria and Tazewell counties, multiple municipalities and area businesses.  It is certified as the federal Economic Development District for Peoria, Tazewell, Woodford, Mason and Logan counties. We are the region’s marketing and development team. We work to improve the region’s capacity for growth.

The Heartland Foundation
The Heartland Foundation is an Illinois not for profit corporation qualified as a tax exempt entity pursuant to section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and as such, donations to the Heartland Foundation in furtherance of its exempt purpose are deductable by the donor’s as charitable contributions.  The stated purpose of the Heartland Foundation is to foster community development. 
The Heartland Foundation is led by the CEO Roundtable, a regional business leadership organization comprised of the region’s top employers.  This organization is designed to lead the charge to advance major projects in the Peoria region.  The organization has a long list of accomplishments including include construction of the Peoria NEXT Innovation Center and success passage of the Build the Block museum referendum.  Through the CEO Roundtable, the Heartland Foundation actively engages in critical community issues. 
 

The Heartland Capital Network
The Heartland Capital Network
The Heartland Capital Network bridges the funding gap between promising business and community ventures and the capital necessary to generate growth in the Central Illinois Region.  There are several components of the Heartland Capital Network:
Tri County Venture Capital fund:  Established in 2003, the Tri County Venture Capital Fund was designed to meet the venture capital needs of the region.  The $2million fund consists of a consortium of public and private sources that invest collectively in various business ventures
Central Illinois Angels: A network of individual angel investors from throughout Central Illinois make up this organization.  This is a consortium of pre-screened individual angels bridging the gap between startup and traditional lending or venture capital.
Heartland Venture Capital Network:  Over 200 venture capital firms from throughout the Midwest and beyond have been identified by The Heartland Partnership as potential investors in local projects.  The Heartland Venture Capital Network is comprised of these firms and various other equity investment bodies.
Heartland Finance Network:  uniting local representatives of the finance and banking industry to serve as initial contacts for potential users of traditional lender based financing.
Heartland Finance Programs:  Equity financing and traditional lending are not always the optimum solution for every venture.  The Heartland Partnership also administers or facilitates a series of grants and loans including local, city, county, state, and federal financing options in addition to SBA and IFA funding opportunities.
Heartland Community Development Corporation:  The CDC invests in various projects including community development, startup businesses and expansion/relocation projects. The ultimate goal of CDC is to strengthen Central Illinois communities by supporting sustainable enterprises and serving as an investor in various projects throughout the region.

Heart of Illinois Regional Port District (TransPORT)
The Heart of Illinois Regional Port District, branded as TransPORT, is an independent agency of State of Illinois government.  Created by legislative act in 2003, TransPORT has the essential status of a municipality and is governed by a Board of nine Directors.  The Port’s jurisdiction includes Marshall, Woodford, Peoria, Tazewell, Mason and Fulton Counties and thereby encompasses 95 miles of the Illinois Waterway. 
TransPORT was conceived as a specialized economic development unit for transportation and logistics, which itself comprises one of the largest employment sectors in the area.  Its mission specifies that the Port District will facilitate regional growth through commercial development of transportation facilities, deployment of financing tools and engagement of public-private partnerships to expand our overall economy, attract incremental investment and create family wage jobs.

Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce
The Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce is a 1,100+ member company.  The Chamber membership is very heterogeneous -- both in size and types of companies.  It ranges from one person home based businesses to the area hospitals and Caterpillar with many employees.   72% of chamber member companies have 25 or fewer employees in the tri county area. Only 8% have 101 or more employees in the area.  The Chamber’s mission is to be the leading voice and resource for business in the region.

The Chamber board just adopted a strategic plans that focuses work in three areas: regional economic vibrancy; public policy advocacy; and membership services.

PeoriaNEXT
Through collaboration and creativity, Peoria NEXT will facilitate Discovery, Innovation and Commercialization of new technologies for economic development.  We aim to create a regional economy that is more diversified and a desired location for new technology-based businesses by 2015.

In 2001, a group of community leaders commissioned a Batelle Research Study that indicated over a billion dollars annually in the Peoria Region was being spent on applied research.  A small, life-science research collaboration was created focusing mostly on the Central Illinois biotechnology environment called the Peoria Regional Biocollaborative.  As this effort blossomed, so did the community’s desire for more collaboration in other areas.  There was a need to expand the focus to include research and innovation in areas beyond the biosciences.  To symbolize the newly broadened goal, the Peoria Regional Biocollaborative took on the new name of Peoria NEXT in August 2002. 

In August 2007, the Peoria NEXT Innovation Center officially opened.  This $14 million, publicly and privately funded state-of-the-art facility is the only one of its kind in Central Illinois.  Bradley University Technology Commercialization Center (BTCC) operates and manages the Innovation Center.  BTCC in collaboration with Peoria NEXT, provides resources for tenants including intellectual property consulting, mentoring, marketing, business plan development and networking.  In addition, the Innovation Center provides a physical locale with wet and dry labs, as well as meeting and office space where these businesses can set up shop.  It’s a technology incubator filled with resources to nurture and grow ideas that will benefit the entire region.  It is located at 801 Main Street in Peoria.