Center for Economic Options (CEO): An Enterprising, Independent Non Profit Business

 

Based in Charleston, West Virginia, the Center for Economic Options (CEO) is a 25-year old independent nonprofit organization that serves as a catalyst for entrepreneurs across the state to develop socially, economically and environmentally sustainable enterprises that foster individual and community wealth. CEO works with entrepreneurs and innovators who share a commitment to creating an economy that preserves community character and vitality, promotes economic justice, and protects ecological health and diversity.

CEO is a respected innovator and catalyst in social enterprise development. In 2008, with awareness of the growing green economy and issues related to our environment in mind, CEO engaged in feasibility and market research to explore trends and possibilities for green business development. Based on our findings and analysis, CEO is now developing a new enterprise model - the Green Business Accelerator (GBA) - which will offer a wide array of information, connections, and resources on sustainability as it connects businesses to a growing marketplace.

 

The GBA is latest in a long line of enterprise models pioneered by CEO. These models have primarily served rural small scale manufacturers, specialty farmers, and artisans by providing a foundation for networking, market access and related technical assistance, and other business development resources. In 2000 CEO established a social purpose retail enterprise model - Showcase West Virginia - to serve as both the market outlet for locally-made products, and as a marketing incubator where owners of small firms have a multitude of opportunities to learn about product marketing, test customer response, adapt products and hone their entrepreneurial skills. CEO positioned the retail store in downtown Charleston, West Virginia, the state's capitol city. Nearly 450 rural entrepreneurs increased and diversified their markets as a result of the enterprise's sales and activities. Many of the participating business owners were fledgling entrepreneurs with limited experience with wholesale and retail sales. To help them with success beyond market access, CEO provided assistance with packaging, pricing, branding and responding to market demand and trends.

 

CEO closed the retail model in September 2007 and became increasingly aware of the additional benefits arising from operation of the model: numerous locally owned businesses began to adapt portions of the model and broadened product offerings with the products of Showcase West Virginia participants. Essentially, CEO developed a replicable sustainable enterprise model that continues to benefit a variety of locally owned small businesses - a remarkable and desirable outcome for an independent non profit organization.

 

In addition to the Showcase West Virginia social purpose enterprise model, CEO has developed:

  • Appalachian By Design (ABD) – a former program initiated in 1992 which CEO legally separated as an independent non profit in 1995. ABD provided training and markets for product lines produced by a regional network of home-based commercial knitters. ABD eventually reformed as Baby by Design.
  • The Small Farm Business Project – which identified and linked 300 rual small-scale farm business owners across the state to access training, resources, technical assistance, joint marketing options and other networking opportunities. One outcome was the formation of the Appalachian Flower Network which connected nearly 50 businesses producing value-added flower products to resources, peers, and the marketplace.

 

CEO’s awards for outstanding work include:

  • U.S. Small Business Administrations’ 2005 Home-based Business Champion
  • 2001 Presidential Award for Excellence in Micro Enterprise Development

The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Microenterprise Development were made at the White House in Washington, DC on January 16, 2001. CEO was selected for the award based on its successful strategies of creating sectoral networks that help small-scale entrepreneurs in rural areas connect with markets, suppliers and information to help them run successful businesses. Senator Hillary Clinton and Secretary of the Treasury Lawrence Summers made remarks and presented the awards.

  • The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Vision 2000 Award for Excellence in Rural Development
  • 1998 U.S. Small Business Administrations' Regional Women's Business Advocate of the Year
  • Harry Chapin Self-Reliance Award 1997
  • 1994 Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation’s “In the Company of Extraordinary People Award”
  • 1994 National Association of Development Organizations Innovation Award

 

Additionally, CEO has hosted events that feature and gain support for small business owners including:

  • Made Right Here Summit on Small Scale Manufacturing, in partnership with Senator Jay Rockefeller and the Discover the Real West Virginia Foundation
  • Marketing to the Max which helped prepare 20 businesses to market their products in a variety of venues, including large trade shows
  • Money in the Mountains Internation Conference on land-based sustainable business options
  • Two West Virginia Small Business Expos, in partnership with the WV Small Business Development Center
  • The People’s Marketplace - a marketing event that connected 90 businesses with a diverse upscale market base.
  • The Appalachian Flower Network Showcase a major marketing event that connected farm-based businesses with over 400 high-end purchasers of both dried and fresh florals.

 

CEO has a long history of productive collaborations that meet its mission and create opportunities for sustainable business development. A sample includes:

  • Central Appalachia Network (CAN) - CEO is a founding member of a collaboration of seven non profit organizations in the region which have connected since 1993 to share and build on sustainable development strategies. CEO’s major role within CAN is to explore opportunities for a variety of green business development through the Green Business Accelerator.
  • A Vision Shared's (the state's economic development blueprint entity) Sustainable Development Group which has developed a white paper on sustainable development and is initiating policy and public awareness actions to promote and institutionalize development that is socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable in West Virginia.
  • A Visions Shared's Access to Markets subcommittee – CEO chaired this initiative which promoted a "Made Right Here" campaign to promote locally owned and operated businesses, which is currently under consideration by the WV Department of Commerce and/or West Virginia State University.
  • WV Industry of Culture initiative – CEO is one of six lead organizations that initiated action to focus on local assets (locally-made products, cultural attractions, place-based attributes etc) as an economic development strategy. The initiative has now broadened into "Create West Virginia" which is gaining momentum as a statewide development strategy through A Vision Shared.

 

CEO’s Publications, Research, and Video

  • A Report of the Central Appalachian Network Convening November 7th and 8th, 2007 (in collaboration with CAN)
  • Building Sustainable Economies in a Shrinking World (in collaboration with CAN)
  • Strategies for Sustainable Entrepreneurship (in collaboration with CAN)
  • The Importance of Small Manufacturing Firms - A Policy Review (in partnership with Marshall University)
  • The Emergence of Social Enterprise in the Non Profit Sector
  • Policy Innovations for Sustainable Entrepreneurship (in collaboration with CAN)
  • Growing Microbusinesses – the West Virginia Experience (in partnership with Marshall University)
  • West Virginia Microenterprise – Not Business As Usual – a ground-breaking video which was aired on West Virginia Public Television
  • Facilitating Microbusiness Networks - Opportunities for Rural Business Owners
  • Wealth in Woodlands: Sustainable Microbusiness Options for the Forest Landowner
  • Appalachian Flower Network Sustainability Research
  • "So You Want To......" a series of "how to" publications for small farm enterprises

 

 

Contact:

Pam Curry

Executive Director

(304) 345-1298 voice

pcurry@economicoptions.org

Updated: June 2009