About ACCELERATE!

In the fall of 2007, the Greenville Chamber’s Advantage Greenville program commissioned Clemson University to create an Economic Scorecard to analyze how the Greenville area is doing relative to competing communities across the U.S. (Click HERE to view the 2011 Economic Scorecard.)
A premier business community is highly productive and innovative – creating products and services that bring wealth into the region from other areas of the country and beyond. This wealth translates into a high level of per capita personal income (PCPI), relative to the U.S.

According to the results of the Scorecard, for twenty years Greenville outperformed the U.S. in income growth and saw the quality of life of our citizens rise steadily. However, for nine consecutive years, income growth in Greenville has lagged the rest of the country and we find ourselves back to 1986 performance levels (see chart to the right). This unprecedented decline has resulted in a loss of over $1.3 billion in spendable income in Greenville County every year. That is a staggering amount of lost income; one which if regained would impact every business and household in the area.

Numerous studies of our economy have taken place in recent years and all point toward the same conclusion – to compete in today’s global marketplace, Greenville must retool and expand its efforts for growing our local economy. New results-driven development strategies proven successful in other peer communities must be developed to improve our competitiveness and regain our economic momentum.

To that end, the Greenville Chamber, under the advisement of business leadership, has crafted a five-year program, ACCELERATE!, to build economic momentum in our community.

ACCELERATE! reinforces the Chamber’s vision "to build one of the premiere business communities in the world" and aligns with the organization’s four missions:

Collaboration - ACCELERATE! partners with regional economic stakeholders.

Community Prosperity - ACCELERATE! spurs entrepreneurial success, quality job growth and improved educational attainment.

Voice Of Business - ACCELERATE! ensures that critical business issues are communicated with state and local elected officials.

Quality Of Life - ACCELERATE! provides resources for addressing unexpected, mission-critical issues that impact the area’s standard of living.

GREENVILLE OUTPERFORMED

Greenville sits at an economic crossroads. Personal income growth in Greenville County has slowed dramatically in recent years. As a result, Greenville economically trails communities such as Charleston and Columbia and the U.S. as a whole.

Returning Greenville County per capita income back to the U.S. average results in an additional $1.65 BILLION in spendable income in Greenville County EVERY YEAR. Closing this income gap generates a significantly higher standard of living, increased tax revenues and greater resources for community priorities. Greenville has a proud history of reinventing itself economically. To compete today, development efforts must be retooled.

A RESULTS-DRIVEN PLAN

The Greenville Chamber has designed a program of work to ACCELERATE! economic growth in our community. This program will:

  • Produce significant, tangible return-on-investment
  • Leverage growth strategies proven successful in other communities
  • Augment the traditional business recruiting efforts of our development allies


ACCELERATE! emphasizes three high-leverage areas:

  • Business Conditions
  • World-Class Talent
  • High-Impact Startup

Fresh dedicated capital is required. Going on offense requires not only a new strategy but also additional financial resources. A five-year budget of $4,000,000 will enable implementation of ACCELERATE! and achieve the desired return on investment.  

For more information on ACCELERATE! or to find out how you can invest, please contact John Moore, Executive Vice President at the Greenville Chamber at jmoore@greenvillechamber.org or 864-239-3719.