How can ITGA help
you
?
During an "ITGA Connects" Zoom meeting last week on local, state and federal relations, colleagues in California and New York - both heavily impacted by COVID-19 - touched on the importance of asking town-gown stakeholders a simple question: "How can we help
you
?"
This sincere and focused outreach, i.e. not a mass mailing but personalized sends, texts, Zooms and calls, represent the best of ITGA in terms of connectivity and collegiality.
In short, reeling campuses - the lead (and often only) economic driver in hundreds of U.S. college towns - aren't saying, "Can we cut you a check?", but asking how they can help community operations with skills (mostly remotely) and higher-ed connections.
Struggling communities - who know campus finances are in historic flux, too - aren't reaching out with hard asks or words of discouragement, but rather encouragement, i.e., "You have helped make our town what it is over many decades. We are all in this together."
In the coming weeks, and months, your ITGA will be sharing regular updates on tough town-gown realities and inputs from membership on surviving in a crisis, and plans to succeed in the future.
But today, a simple and sincere question for members: How can we help
you
, in the here and now?
Please reach out to me at
beth@itga.org
and I'll respond. Thank you for any consideration in this regard.