What Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance does

Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance (SSGA) is a regional economic development organization that serves as the designated public-private growth entity for Springfield and Sangamon County, Illinois. Founded in 2018 and operating under the consumer-facing brand "Thrive In SPI" via thriveinspi.org, SSGA provides site selection assistance, business attraction and retention services, workforce and talent data, transportation and infrastructure information, and incentives administration to companies evaluating relocation or expansion into the region. The organization markets the region through five targeted industry verticals — Health & Life Sciences, Technology, Manufacturing & Heavy Industry, Agribusiness, and Professional Services — and pursues an enterprise field sales motion directed at corporate decision-makers and site selectors.

SSGA's services are provided free of charge to prospective businesses, and the organization does not operate a traditional product or technology stack. Its underlying offering is the geographic and economic positioning of Springfield itself, leveraging assets such as five Class I railroads and an international port within 30 miles, a workforce in which 34.9% of the population holds a bachelor's degree or higher, four higher education institutions, cost of living 13% below the national average, and access to 90 million people within a one-day drive. The organization does not develop proprietary technology and is not a software company.

The organization is funded through a membership-based public-private partnership model, with a coalition of more than 30 institutional investors and government partners underwriting its operations. Flagship investors are the City of Springfield and Sangamon County; core investors include PNC Bank, CEFCU, Carrollton Bank, Heartland Bank & Trust, INB, Memorial Health System, HSHS St. John's Hospital, Horace Mann, Comcast, AES US Renewables, BUNN, and other regional employers. SSGA has 11–50 employees, is headquartered at 531 East Washington Street in downtown Springfield, and has earned external recognition including a #1 ranking from Business Insider (June 2020) and a #2 ranking from MoneyGeek.com (January 2020) for the region's quality of life and economic conditions.

Name

Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance

Legal name

Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance

Website

https://ThriveInSPI.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance is a public-private economic development organization that provides site selection, business attraction, workforce, and incentives services to companies considering relocation or expansion into Springfield and Sangamon County, Illinois, funded by a coalition of more than 30 institutional investors and government partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Economic Development Services

NAICS

Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Economic Development & Business Licensing (Local) (BPAIACAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

State/Provincial Housing, Urban/Regional Planning & Community Development (BPAIABAM)

Keywords

• Economic development services
• Site selection assistance
• Business attraction services
• Workforce development data
• Regional investment promotion

Headquarters

HQ city

Springfield

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Investor Contributions: SSGA operates as a membership-based economic development organization funded by contributions from local businesses, government entities, and community stakeholders. The organization lists numerous investor companies including banks, healthcare systems, construction firms, utilities, and local government bodies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance is a nonprofit economic development organization that provides site selection assistance, incentives information, workforce and talent data, and regional marketing services to businesses considering relocation or expansion in Springfield and Sangamon County, Illinois. It operates as a public-private partnership funded by contributions from local businesses, banks, healthcare systems, utilities, and government entities, offering these services free of charge as part of its regional promotion mission.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Site Selection and Available Properties Assistance

Quantifiable outcome

• 3.5% pre-pandemic unemployment rate equivalent to national average
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Indy Chamber: Indianapolis-area economic development and chamber organization, comparable in combining business attraction, workforce, and policy advocacy under a public-private partnership structure.
• Greater Des Moines Partnership: Mid-sized Midwest regional economic development organization, similar public-private investor model, competing for the same corporate relocations and expansions that SSGA targets in the central U.S.
• REDI Cincinnati: Cincinnati region's private economic development organization, comparable investor consortium model and multi-vertical targeting strategy for the Midwest.
• Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC): Regional EDO for the Kansas City metro, similar investor-funded model targeting corporate relocations and expansions across multiple industry verticals in the central U.S.
• Louisville Forward: Louisville Metro Government's economic development arm, providing site selection, incentives, and workforce services to businesses — a direct municipal-affiliated EDO comparable to SSGA's local-government-backed model.
• Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce: Omaha-area EDO with similar investor-funded model, focused on attracting and retaining businesses in a mid-sized Midwest metro with comparable cost-of-living advantages.
• Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce: Regional EDO/chamber for a mid-sized metro with comparable cost-of-living and infrastructure-led recruitment strategy, competing for similar manufacturing and back-office deals.
• Tampa Bay Economic Development Council: Regional EDO with a comparable investor-funded, multi-vertical recruitment model focused on a mid-sized U.S. metro, useful as a non-geographic peer for benchmarking EDO operating practices.

Broad incumbents

• Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC): Larger, more established regional EDO with a broader geographic mandate and deeper resources, serving as a higher-scale benchmark for what a mature public-private economic development organization looks like.

Regional players

• St. Louis Regional Business Council: Adjacent regional business council serving the St. Louis metro, a key neighboring geography from which SSGA must differentiate to win corporate recruitment deals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ThriveInSPI
• Facebookfacebook.com/ThriveInSPI
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thriveinspi
• Instagraminstagram.com/thriveinspi

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance