Champaign Economic Partnership

What Champaign Economic Partnership does

Champaign Economic Partnership (CEP) is a non-profit economic development agency serving Champaign County, Ohio, founded in 2015 and headquartered at 211 N. Main St., Office 7, Urbana, Ohio. The organization operates as a private/public partnership entity affiliated with the Champaign County Community Improvement Corporation (CIC), with 70% of its board members drawn from private industry. CEP's stated mission is to stimulate economic growth throughout Champaign County by strengthening the county's competitive position and facilitating investments that build capacity with existing businesses, create jobs, generate economic opportunity, and improve quality of life. The agency is led by CEP Director Richard Ebert and serves businesses seeking to locate or expand in Champaign County, including firms in manufacturing, agri-business, healthcare, and logistics sectors.

CEP's core service offerings include business development assistance, site selection, an available properties directory, financial incentives navigation, and workforce training program coordination (including Ohio TechCred, Ohio Incumbent Worker Training, On-the-Job Training, Work Opportunity Tax Credit, and JobsOhio Workforce Grant). The agency connects businesses to commercial real estate, workforce, training, zoning, transportation, infrastructure, and local and state incentives. It also operates the Champaign Works Job Board and produces regional wage and benefit surveys and engineering surveys. Underlying technology is minimal: CEP operates a marketing website (cepohio.com) with business resource content and a Facebook presence, but offers no proprietary software platform, no AI/ML capabilities, no APIs, and no mobile applications.

CEP does not charge fees for its core services. Instead, the agency is funded through investor partnerships with local businesses, government entities, and the Community Improvement Corporation. Investor partners include CHWP Cares, Memorial Ohio Medical Center, Park National Bank, Pioneer Electric Cooperative, Sutphen Corporation, and others. The organization is required to file annual financial reports with the Ohio Auditor of State under ORC 1724.05. CEP's go-to-market combines direct enterprise engagement with self-service online resources for smaller businesses and entrepreneurs, supplemented by community events, public meetings, and regional partnerships with entities such as the Dayton Development Coalition, Ohio Means Jobs, Ohio Hi-Point Career Center, West Central Ohio Port Authority, and the Logan-Union-Champaign Counties Regional Planning Commission.

Name

Champaign Economic Partnership

Legal name

Champaign Economic Partnership

Website

https://cepohio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Champaign Economic Partnership is a non-profit economic development agency for Champaign County, Ohio, connecting businesses to commercial real estate, workforce, training, incentives, and infrastructure. It operates as a private/public partnership funded by investor contributions and serves manufacturers, agri-businesses, healthcare, and logistics firms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Urbana

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CEP is an economic development agency that connects businesses to available commercial real estate, workforce, training, zoning, transportation, infrastructure, and local and state incentives in Champaign County, Ohio. It provides site selection, financial incentives navigation, training incentives coordination, and workforce resources through the Champaign Works Job Board. Services are provided free of charge to businesses seeking to locate, expand, or start in Champaign County.

Product overview

The Champaign Economic Partnership (CEP) is an economic development agency for Champaign County, Ohio, that functions as a single unified service rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. Rather than a technology product company, CEP provides economic development services including business development assistance, site selection, access to available properties, financial and training incentives, and workforce development programs through Champaign Works. The agency focuses on key industries including Agri-Business, Manufacturing, and Health Care Services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Business Development Assistance Comprehensive business development support connecting businesses to available commercial real estate, workforce, training, zoning, transportation, infrastructure, and local and state incentives in Champaign County, Ohio.
• Site Selection Services Assistance for businesses seeking available properties and locations for expansion or new establishment in Champaign County, Ohio.
• Financial Incentives Program Connection services to local and state financial incentives, tax abatement programs, and economic development funding for businesses locating or expanding in Champaign County.
• Training Incentives Program Coordination of workforce training programs including Ohio TechCred, Ohio Incumbent Worker Training, On-the-Job Training, Work Opportunity Tax Credit, and JobsOhio Workforce Grant for Champaign County businesses.
• Champaign Works Job Board Regional job board connecting employers with job seekers in Champaign County, operated as part of the OhioMeansJobs network.

Quantifiable outcome

• WEIDMANN added $2.7 million in capital investment and 20 new FTEs through CEP assistance
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and regional.

• Champaign County Community Improvement CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent organization and close affiliate; CEP operates as the economic development arm of the CIC, which is a private/public partnership entity facilitating community improvement and economic growth in Champaign County, Ohio.
• Champaign County Local GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEP works with local government to speed projects through the system, facilitating zoning, permits, and infrastructure for businesses.
• Dayton Development CoalitionregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegional economic development partner; Dayton Development Coalition works to advance economic growth in the greater Dayton region including Champaign County.
• Ohio Means JobsregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerState workforce development partnership connecting employers with job seekers; CEP participates in regional wage and benefit surveys with Ohio Means Jobs of Champaign, Clark, Logan, Madison and Union counties.
• Expand Greater SpringfieldregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional economic development partner in neighboring Clark County; collaborated on 2017 Regional Wage & Benefit Survey covering five-county area.
• Logan County Chamber of CommerceregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional economic development partner; collaborated on regional workforce surveys and economic development initiatives.
• Madison County Future Inc.regionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional economic development partner; collaborated on regional workforce surveys covering Champaign, Clark, Logan, Madison and Union counties.
• Union County Marysville Economic DevelopmentregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional economic development partner; collaborated on regional workforce surveys and economic initiatives.
• Gradwohl Consulting LLCregionalImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConsulting partner for regional wage and benefit survey data collection and analysis.
• Greater Ohio Policy CenterregionalImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerNon-profit policy organization that conducted the Comprehensive Housing Market Analysis for Champaign County released in 2020.
• HondaregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerHonda's Marysville operations and Ohio presence led to the Mobile Manufacturing Training Lab (MMTL) dedication at Honda Heritage Center in 2018, supporting workforce development for manufacturing careers.
• Ohio Hi-Point Career CenterregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerCareer and technical education provider; partnered with Honda on Mobile Manufacturing Training Lab and Fab Lab initiatives for workforce training.
• West Central Ohio Port Authority (WESTCO)regionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerPort authority preserving railroad assets and providing rail freight services at competitive rates; supports logistics and manufacturing businesses in Champaign County.
• Logan-Union-Champaign Counties Regional Planning CommissionregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional planning body providing maps, zoning coordination, and planning resources for businesses.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• JobsOhio: Ohio's private, nonprofit state-level economic development corporation. CEP channels Workforce Grants and training incentives through JobsOhio programs and connects local projects to JobsOhio capital; JobsOhio is the larger, statewide entity that ultimately competes for and closes many of the same corporate projects.
• Greater Cleveland Partnership: Cleveland/Northeast Ohio's largest private-sector economic development organization. Same private/public governance archetype as CEP, but operating at metro scale; competes for state-level attention and corporate expansions CEP also pursues.
• OneColumbus (Columbus 2020): Economic development organization for the 11-county Columbus Region, which includes Champaign County. Larger, better-resourced EDO competing for the same corporate site-selection searches but with deeper incentive funds and broader talent pool.

Regional players

• REDI Cincinnati (Regional Economic Development Initiative): Cincinnati region's 16-county economic development partnership. Comparable private-sector-led EDO serving southwest Ohio with overlapping manufacturing, logistics, and agri-business verticals that compete for the same Midwest corporate expansions.
• Regional Growth Partnership (Northwest Ohio): Toledo/northwest Ohio regional EDO. Comparable county-cluster EDO model with manufacturing focus and similar investor-funded structure; competes with CEP for projects that could be sited in either region.

Direct peers

• Dayton Development Coalition: Regional economic development organization covering the Dayton region including Champaign County. CEP explicitly partners with the Coalition on workforce surveys and regional marketing, and both compete for the same corporate site-selection projects in west-central Ohio.
• Logan County Chamber of Commerce: Neighboring-county EDO and named CEP collaborator on the regional wage/benefit survey and economic development initiatives. Directly comparable small-county economic development organization targeting the same central Ohio corporate prospects.
• Union County Marysville Economic Development: Named CEP partner on regional workforce surveys and economic initiatives. Directly comparable small-county EDO in central Ohio, anchored by Honda's Marysville operations, competing for the same manufacturing-led corporate site-selection activity.
• Greater Springfield / Expand Greater Springfield: Regional economic development partner in neighboring Clark County; co-collaborator with CEP on the 2017 Regional Wage & Benefit Survey. Directly comparable county-level EDO competing for the same pool of west-central Ohio corporate projects.
• Madison County Future Inc. Named CEP partner on the five-county regional wage/benefit survey and economic initiatives. Directly comparable central-Ohio county EDO competing for the same industrial and agricultural investment pipeline.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CEPOhio
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/champaign-economic-partnership

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Champaign Economic Partnership