The Family Business Alliance, announced on Sept. 27, is an partnership of GVSU's Family Owned Business Institute and the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce. The alliance's mission is to pool the resources of the community to provide family business knowledge and programming for firms in West Michigan. The coalition is committed to working with family businesses to promote networking, facilitate open exchanges of ideas and enhance family businesses through applied workshops, consultations and scholarship.
"Family owned businesses have made massive contributions to West Michigan's vitality, and they provide a solid foundation for our future. This alliance will help both the Chamber and Grand Valley support those businesses," said Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce President Jeanne Englehart.
Tom Schwarz, director of the Family Owned Business Institute, noted that there are some concrete benefits for a community that supports family owned firms.
"Our research shows that family owned businesses are leaders in job creation and provide stable employment opportunities. They think strategically over generations, with a greater willingness to sacrifice short-term profitability to promote greater community investment and stability," Schwarz said.
The FBA will hold programs and activities through joint efforts of its GVSU and GRACC staff and volunteers aimed at building community knowledge and connections, leadership skills, system thinking skills, dialogue skills, understanding of diversity, and community trusteeship.
The alliance's board of directors includes Monarch Hydraulics, Inc. Chairman John Jackoboice, Bissell Home Care Products CEO Mark Bissell, RoMAN Manufacturing President Robert Roth, Vi-Chem President Len Slott and Behler-Young Secretary Bruce Young. Englehart and Schwarz are also on the board, along with Seidman College of Business Dean H. James Williams and GRACC Vice President Janet Wylie.
"Members of family owned businesses are more likely to hold positions of leadership in community, and those leaders engage in more philanthropic activities. The companies involved with the FBA prove that West Michigan benefits from its family businesses. It is a part of our community that we hope will endure," said John Jackoboice, who is chairman of the FBA board.
