Game-changing, collaborative, community projects

YOUTHrive, in partnership with Muscogee County School District, is excited to connect local businesses with top talent from the 2024 graduating class of MCSD's Catapult Academy. This program offers businesses access to a pool of qualified and eager young talent, while recent graduates get a head start on their careers through hands-on experience.

MakeMyMove is an innovative online marketplace connecting move-ready talent with welcoming communities. The first community in Georgia, we are excited to provide an incentive package to attract remote workers to Columbus.

The new Artist Matching Program will foster more connections between available spaces and local artists.. This program allows artists to submit their information and showcase their work to local businesses and property owners in the region.

Our talent attraction campaign seamlessly blends insightful research, compelling storytelling, and captivating visuals. The focus is on leveraging stunning photos and engaging videos that capture life in Columbus, promising a vibrant, meaningful life for those considering a move.

Painted by Carlie Hedges, The Great Futures Mural serves as daily inspiration for the incredible students who walk through the doors, encouraging them to chase their dreams, and be who they want to be.

Columbus 2025 engaged Jackson Spalding to help tell our story to attract talent to grow our population and build a sustainable workforce - ultimately making Columbus more competitive by 2025. We've completed the Foundational Research and Discovery phase, which involved a comprehensive brand audit, competitor analysis, third-party research, and the JSX process. These efforts have equipped Columbus 2025 with a clear and compelling story to tell.

The Food Mill Mural, Food is love, Food is Medicine, painted by Trudy Tran, this vibrant art meets a vital mission. The Food Mill exists to eliminate barriers and solve issues that lead to food insecurity in the Columbus community, and this powerful mural tells their story.

Columbus 2025 is proud to support the RushSouth Music Festival & Outdoor Games as the Main Stage Sponsor. Experience two stages and more than ten music acts over two days. Expect to see 300 competitors from over 30 countries AROUND THE WORLD compete for a World Championship title in Freestyle Kayaking. Watch and take part in triathlons, 5Ks, and more.

Hosted at Columbus Technical College, employers learned strategies and tactics for increasing employee retention and productivity. Lead by Ruth Weirich, recent president of aha! Process, and author of Workplace Stability.

This new education series was led by local experts and community leaders to provide current information on services and benefits that can help address common obstacles to employment. All sessions are hosted at Columbus Technical College.

Painted Spaces seeks to commission community-inspired murals in areas that have limited access to public art. By offering public art opportunities to local artists and bringing meaningful art to streetscapes, plazas, buildings, and schools, Painted Spaces aims to build community pride that connects us to each other and our neighborhoods.

In partnership with Dragonfly Trial Network and Columbus State University, a new mural paying tribute to two historic Columbus neighborhoods and their residents was unveiled December 7, 2022. The “Hope, Healing and Community’ mural by Thomas “Detour” Evans is painted on a concrete wall along Talbotton Rd., across from the John B. Amos Cancer Center.

In partnership with Dragonfly Trail Network, the A.J. McClung YMCA mural was unveiled on June 29, 2022. The images depict A.J. McClung, who was elected councilor in 1970, and served as the first African American mayor in 1973. Two Columbus natives: Ma Rainey, also known as “Mother of Blues,” and Alma Thomas, the first African American woman to have a solo art exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, in the 1970’s. The fourth image is left to celebrate the children of the community.

Created as a project of Columbus 2025’s Enterprising Culture action Area, StartUP Columbus serves as an entrepreneurial support organization and startup incubator. Located in the heart of Uptown Columbus at 1190 Front Avenue, StartUP Columbus is bringing accessibility to human, financial, and professional resources to entrepreneurs. StartUP Columbus is focused on cultivating a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem to support entrepreneurs and successful startups. Their vision is for business ownership to be a possibility for all residents in the Chattahoochee Valley Region.

The Basics Chattahoochee Valley campaign was launched by Columbus 2025 in partnership with volunteers within the Chattahoochee Valley region, in association with the Boston Basics organization, a public-private partnership that grew out of work by the Achievement Gap Initiative (AGI) at Harvard University. AGI is a university-wide effort based at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Harvard Kennedy School, supporting governmental, civic, and private sector mechanisms to close skill gaps between racial, ethnic, and income groups, and to raise achievement levels for all children.

Created as a project of the Columbus 2025 Initiative Vibrant and Connected Places Committee, this tool brings together a variety of data to help measure improvements to vibrancy and connectedness in the community of Columbus, GA. The information is organized into a four-part framework. After the initial release of the dashboard, in November 2019, the tool was shared with local stakeholders and made available publicly on the web. Going forward, Columbus 2025 will integrate additional data and analysis.

Columbus 2025 partnered with Avalanche Consulting to develop a talent strategy. The partnership began with a workforce assessment to identify labor sources and skill gaps. A coalition of local leaders then created a Talent Roadmap to address these challenges. The roadmap outlines strategies for attracting, retaining, and developing a skilled workforce, ensuring the region's future economic growth.

The Greater Columbus Georgia Success Ready program is the region’s Cradle-to-Career (C2C) Initiative. The Success Ready model was developed by local educators, business leaders and civic-minded stakeholders to address the needs of our region’s current and future employers. It identifies four areas of focus to ensure a pipeline of workers ready for the projected job creation for the next decade and beyond.

Greater Columbus is a place where ideas flourish, businesses thrive, and innovation moves us forward. It is also a place where families settle down, children grow, and community is developed. With plenty of small-town charm and an ample supply of big-city opportunity, Greater Columbus has become an attractive place to live and build a business. Whether it’s an emerging startup or a Fortune 500 company, Greater Columbus has the support network in place to identify resources, locate real estate, and tap into a qualified workforce. Whether you’re visiting or relocating, step into the spirit of Greater Columbus and discover how you can become part of something Amazing!