Recommendations / Economic Development / Big Idea #1: Interconnectivity between Current Ecosystems: Change for the Classic City Fund

Big Idea #1: Interconnectivity between Current Ecosystems: Change for the Classic City Fund

Part of the "ATHENS REGIONAL COALITION" initiative

Economic DevelopmentAthens-Clark$250,000–$500,000

Overview

Launch The Change for the Classic City Fund, an automated point-of-sale micro-giving platform engineered to harness high-volume visitor and resident consumer activity to fund local social equity infrastructure. The system integrates an electronic round-up billing option into existing registers at participating local businesses, UGA Athletics concessions, entertainment venues, and rental housing management platforms. Sourced micro-contributions are pooled into a designated Field-of-Interest Fund managed by the Athens Area Community Foundation to distribute annual grants directly into workforce childcare, mental healthcare, and affordable housing stabilization.

Action plan

Short-term
(Short Term Goals/Action Items Year 1 - Foundation & Launch): Assemble an 8–11 person steering committee comprising regional chamber executives, municipal leaders, and foundation board members; hire a dedicated Program Fellow ($50,000/year); secure initial foundational anchor funding commitments ($70,000 total over 3 years) from the Chamber, Classic Center, and corporate partners to back the staff position; map out backend technology integrations across vendor software networks.
Medium-term
(Medium Term Goals/Action Items 6-24 Months - Pilot Integration): Establish the official 501(c)(3) Field-of-Interest Fund infrastructure within the Athens Area Community Foundation to receive automated clearing house (ACH) transactions; launch the POS "Pledge" round-up donation software plugin across pilot merchant terminals; deploy physical and digital window decals, counter signage, and table tents; deploy a unified marketing campaign to train storefront teams.
Long-term
(Long Term Goals/Action Items 2-3 Years & Beyond - Scale & Allocation): Review rolling data analytics dashboards to assess participant metrics and verify total transaction volume; clear the targeted milestone of raising and deploying a minimum of $100,000 annually by Year 3; expand software setup loops to incorporate utility payments, parking concessions, and large-scale regional commercial developers; distribute annual competitive grants based on data from the Athens Wellbeing Project.

Expected impact

Projected Business PartnershipsEconomic

Percentage threshold of independent downtown storefronts, local retailers, and hospitality businesses participating in the round-up framework.

Timeframe: Medium-term
Projected Awareness GrowthCommunity

Total volume of unique digital interactions, newsletter link clicks, and public informational toolkit downloads tracking community giving interest.

Timeframe: Short-term
Projected Participation RateCommunity

Total volume of customer transactions executing micro-donations across participating merchant POS registers annually.

Timeframe: Long-term
Projected FundingEconomic

Minimum annual micro-donation capital accumulated through transactional point-of-sale round-ups by Year 3.

Timeframe: Medium-term

Key stakeholders

Athens Area Community Foundation (AACF)Athens Area Chamber of CommerceUGA Athletic AssociationLocal Merchants & Hospitality VendorsLandmark Properties & Student Housing EntitiesAthens-Clarke County Unified Government (ACCGov)

Estimated budget

$400,000 Total Capitalization & Operating Blueprint over a 5-Year Scaling Horizon. • Year 1 Setup Ledger ($65,000 total): $50,000 allocated for Fellow salary/benefits overhead, and $15,000 for initial backend web setup, branding assets, and business outreach materials. • Year 2 Operational Flow ($215,000 total): Sustains $50,000 staffing line, $15,000 for scaled marketing, $5,200 for physical merchant point-of-sale signage kits, $3,860 for AACF fund management administration fees, and releases $140,940 in direct community grant awards. • Year 3 Operating Velocity ($270,000 total): Sustains $50,000 staffing line, shifts $50,000 into multi-channel marketing, allocates $5,400 for vendor tools, $5,020 for administration fees, and releases $159,580 in community grants. • Year 5 Maturity Target ($400,000 total): Operates on zero staffing overhead (fully absorbed by program efficiencies), dedicates $50,000 to regional media, $5,600 to signage kits, $8,540 for administrative management fees, and maximizes direct local grant distribution at $335,860.