©2021 SaratogaPhotographer.com
By Christine Graf
For the past 12 months, the Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership (SCPP) has helped more than 1,000 local businesses navigate challenges related to COVID-19. President and CEO Shelby Schneider said the organization hit the ground running during the early days of the pandemic.
The agency is not membership based and offers assistance to Saratoga County businesses of all sizes.
“We did a survey right away to help understand how the business community was being impacted by the shutdown and what sort of resources they considered to be critical. We also helped quantify how many jobs were being impacted,” she said. “This was the kind of information we were able to push up to our federal and state representatives so that they knew what the issues were. We were able to give them hard data on what the economic impact of the shutdown looked like for our business community.”
The Prosperity Partnership played a vital role in educating local business owners on the resources that were available to them, she said. They held multiple webinars related to Phase 1 of the economic stimulus package which included Payroll Protection Plan (PPP) loans.
“It’s critically important to work with our community, county, state, and federal government to understand federal stimulus packages and make sure we are communicating those to the business community,” said Schneider. “Businesses do what they do well, and navigating a gauntlet of regulatory environment or funding sources is not necessarily something they are aware of.”
Some businesses had no existing relationship with lenders and others needed help completing their PPP applications. In total, 3,416 Saratoga County businesses received PPP loans, the most of any county in the Capital Region.
“We helped facilitate a lot of that. We provided those business to business connections to connect businesses with the resource that they need,” said Schneider.
Because the Prosperity Partnership is funded primarily through the county’s room occupancy tax, the organization itself was impacted by the pandemic. Dramatic drops in hotel occupancy rates led to a significant decrease in funding.
“There was a severe impact on bed tax, and we’ve adjusted our spending as a result,” she said. “We’ve made sure that we are laser focused on what the business community needs.”
In order to reduce operating costs, SCPP downsized its office space. In January, they relocated from the Stewart’s office complex to the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce Building on Clinton Street in Saratoga Springs.
“We adjusted spending,” said Schneider. “We pivoted and were out there on the front lines making sure our businesses had the ability to pivot as well. Many businesses are weathering this, but for many, this has been the worst year on record.”
Established in 2014, the Prosperity Partnership works in conjunction with the Saratoga Economic Development Corp. (SEDC).
“We are doing the work that is part of our role which includes business retention and expansion. We are actively working with communities on community economic development planning at the town, city, and village level,” said Schneider. “There’s plenty of work for everyone to go around, and we are all focused on growing business in Saratoga County.”
SCPP worked with Ballston Spa for more than a year to create a 72-page economic development plan that was presented in October. The plan focuses on enriching and promoting the assets, resources, and character of the village and was created with extensive input from business owners and more than 400 residents of the village.
“A community that has an economic development plan can leverage that plan to go after funds for infrastructure, water, sewer, telecommunications, planning grants, and things like that,” said Schneider. “Ballston Spa has already used that plan to go after grants for a linkage study and a Complete Streets grant.”
U.S. Department of Transportation Complete Street grants are used to ensure that roadways are safe and accessible for drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists, and public transportation riders.
SCPP is also working with all towns in Saratoga County on an economic development project. Each town received $7,100 from a $150,000 Saratoga County economic development fund.
“We worked with every single town throughout Saratoga County to help them identify projects that made sense for their community. Each town has a different complexion,” said Schneider. “For example, Clifton Park focused on environmental impact study for western part of the community.”
The Prosperity Partnership also worked with the Town of Malta to secure a $5,000 grant from the Global Foundries Foundation. The funds were used to launch a Save Our Locals campaign that gives shoppers an opportunity to win gift cards by spending $20.21 or more at local business in Malta.
“We want to help them get through the most challenging winter months as they are dealing with restricted occupancy and changing consumer behavior,” said Schneider. “We want to focus on small businesses, not just retaining but helping them to grow. We want to encourage people to shop local, support local. It’s the mom and pop shops that fill our downtowns and add to the character of our local communities. It’s critical to keep them here. We’re here to make sure the business community has the tools it needs for long-term survival and growth.”