Fueling Our Future (FOF) brought an abundance of growth and progress to the Fargo, Moorhead, West Fargo community since the initial kickoff in 2019, and it’s now poised to continue its path of excellence as it enters its next stage of development: FOF 2.0. This community-wide initiative helps businesses and public sector leaders advance ideas that impact us all, and it has big plans for the rest of 2022 and the next several years.
The Background
FOF powers several initiatives that prioritize the people and prosperity of our community that have had long-term positive effects.
- Ignite FMWF: a comprehensive, streamlined, and systematic approach to addressing regional workforce and talent needs
- Emerging Digital Academy: North Dakota’s first immersive coding bootcamp for students to develop skills in teamwork, communication, and professionalism
- Campus FM: partnership between higher education institutions, businesses, and community leaders who are committed to making our community the best place for young people to live, work, and serve
- Workforce Exposure Initiative: expands opportunities for both K-12 and post-secondary students to area businesses through internships, job shadows, mentorships, classroom presentations, and more
- Building Inclusive and Equitable Workplaces: training series to help business leaders and employers move down the path of becoming more diverse, equitable, and inclusive
- Document Ready Site Program: two sites covering more than 300 acres that are document (or shovel ready) with much of the pre-work, identification and location of utilities, and technical reporting on the properties is complete
“With the initiative in place, we can gain a collective momentum and address regional needs with added enthusiasm and effectiveness. The impact we’re able to have together far outweighs the individual impact we would have if we all remained in our separate silos” says Peter Stenehjem, president of First International Bank & Trust.
The Future
FOF is now working on its 2.0 version and using in-depth research to gain a better understanding of our community challenges and solutions. The biggest tasks at hand are how to attract workers and develop their skills. There’s also concern about the cost of living raises and affordable daycare.
“FOF has seen tremendous momentum and with great organizations working together in our community to maintain and accelerate that momentum, FOF 2.0 will continue to be a significant resource for these efforts,” states Judd Graham, market president of Dacotah Bank.
As an investor-led group, successful planning and fundraising have brought more than 30 top regional business and community leaders together. They have and will continue to focus on large-scale solutions that will help shape the community and economic landscape of the greater Fargo, Moorhead, West Fargo region.
