Delta Compass
Delta Compass
Delta Compass is a new economic development and inclusion intermediary serving the Arkansas and Mississippi Delta. A first of its kind for the region, Delta Compass is setting a new strategic direction for the region. By aligning a network of local, regional, and national organizations, we work together to ensure the Mississippi River Delta collaborates towards economic and community prosperity by creating an inclusive economy, strong communities, and resilient people. Our mission is to ensure that the Mississippi River Delta is a viable 21st century economy by promoting the region as a best practice for work, play, and innovation. We do this by setting five strategic goals:
Goal 1: Attract and retain industry around key Delta sectoral strategies: Agribusiness; Healthcare; Transportation, Distribution, & Logistics; Advanced Manufacturing; Aviation & Aerospace; Hotel, Retail, & Accommodation through Tourism; and Modern Technology.
Goal 2: Grow a skilled pool of job seekers that can readily fill industry needs and that can climb an incumbent worker ladder into the middle class.
Goal 3: Support the small business development ecosystem through capital access, direct technical assistance, marketing, and network connection.
Goal 4: Support and scale regional cultural tourism that promotes a higher quality of place in the Delta.
Goal 5: Foster learning opportunities and the growth of leadership capacity throughout the Mississippi River Delta.
Our Geography
Delta Compass believes regionalism is essential to a thriving Delta. Small communities dotted along the alluvial plane are interdependent on one another and require a coordinated strategy to grow and prosper. Delta Compass will prioritize the following counties to create the proof points to the wider Delta on innovative strategy and collaboration; Washington, Coahoma, Sunflower, Bolivar, Issaquena, Sharkey, Humphreys, Leflore, Phillips, Chicot and Desha.
Delta Compass Service Population:
Total Population: 190,868
Total Counties Served: 11
Demographics: 67.3% African American; 29.8% White; 1.56 Other
Program Verticals
Delta Compass will work across four verticals of programming that will improve the economic conditions for working families, Delta industry, and economic development organizations. Our four verticals include: Industry Development, Workforce Development, Small Business & Entrepreneurship, and Placemaking (Cohesive Economic Development).
Industrial Development
Delta Compass operates in parallel with the premier economic and community development partnership in the Delta. Through the Washington County Economic Alliance, we service over 250 industries which employ residents throughout a 90-mile radius of the region’s industry hub – Greenville. Companies of all sizes – from Mississippi Mom and Pop shops that line Delta Main Streets to international corporations that are household names, these businesses depend on our team of skilled economic and community developers to offer business development assistance, incentives technical assistance, and access to talent from regional workforce training programs, universities, and HBCUs.
Workforce Development
Delta Compass operates at the systems level to rethink workforce structure which offers a mutual benefit to industry and labor. We support the public-private partnerships needed to meet the skilled labor demands of industry to provide quality jobs while also providing the direct skill training needed for labor to advance in gateway and incumbent worker career paths that lead to family sustaining wages and benefits. Programming includes industrial coalition building, industry clustering, technical assistance training, secondary/post-secondary supports, apprenticeship design & implementation, data collection & scaling supports, employability coaching, employer connections, and integrated service models.
Small Business & Entrepreneurship
Delta Compass backs small business & entrepreneurship by a community of dedicated professionals at the academic and industrial level to attach to talent networks, research, innovation, and capital. Our programming includes capital readiness training, access to capital, localized procurement training (vendor systems), small business networking opportunities, research & development, community marketing, and global market access.
Placemaking (Cohesive Economic Development)
Delta Compass believes that community development comes from the ground up and is inclusive of community voice. We are a resource for Delta creatives to innovate, make, and share our cultural fabric with the globe. By doing so, we also increase the value and quality of our communities for the approximate 200,000 people who call the Delta home and the millions of individuals who visit our communities each year. Our specific program enhances arts & culture, provides cohesion to economic development, provides leadership training, revitalizes Delta central business districts, provides parks and recreation development, and offers travel and tourism supports.
How We Work
Delta Compass works exclusively through community led collaboratives throughout the Delta that intersect with our place-based approach and program verticals. Solutions are driven from the ground up and are based on local resources and talent. Sometimes they are ready made, and sometimes they need our coaching to build community trust. Delta Compass provides dedicated capacity building support paired with funding and technical assistance.
