New program for executive community leaders will be dedicated to continuous leadership development for Greenville’s common good
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Hays Bacon | 864-271-0718 | haysb@hughes-agency.com
Release Date: December 5, 2023
(Greenville, SC) The Greenville Chamber has launched a major endowment campaign to support IMPACT Fellows, the Chamber’s newest leadership development program. The one-of-a-kind experience will bring advanced leaders together to work with peer leaders to develop dynamic and innovative solutions to our community’s most pressing challenges.
Building on its more than 134 years of advocating for economic growth, community prosperity and business success, the Chamber has created this new program as a capstone leadership development experience for Greenville’s changemakers – business and nonprofit executives, Leadership Greenville alumni, and other community leaders.
Currently in its 50th year of Leadership Greenville, the Chamber’s flagship leadership development program, the Chamber is focused on sustaining the collective impact of its more than 2,000 Leadership Greenville graduates.
Dr. Cheryl Garrison, Executive Director of Greenville Chamber Foundation and Director of Talent and Leadership at the Greenville Chamber, describes the program as a natural next step for Leadership Greenville graduates and other executive community leaders.
“We’re so excited to unleash the potential of our community’s seasoned leaders through IMPACT Fellows,” said Dr. Garrison. “The legacy of leadership development is only a legacy if it endures to benefit all generations. IMPACT Fellows will ensure many generations in Greenville County have the opportunity to participate in an exemplary leadership development program in which they collaborate to address our region’s most critical issues.”
The IMPACT Fellows endowment will serve as a long-term financial foundation to support IMPACT’s operations, acting to cultivate leaders and broaden the program’s initiatives. The fund seeks visionary donors who appreciate the value of Leadership Greenville through the Greenville Chamber and continued leadership opportunities through IMPACT.
Greenville Chamber CEO Carlos Phillips emphasizes the importance of establishing the endowment now to ensure the long-term sustainability and impact of the program.
“Our investors are so critical to what we do not only at the Chamber, but what our program participants are able to do throughout the community,” Phillips said. “I’m asking our community of visionary leaders to boldly support us as we step into a new era of leadership development for Greenville’s current and future generations.”
The Chamber plans to open applications for IMPACT Fellows’s inaugural class in 2025.
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ABOUT THE GREENVILLE CHAMBER
The Greenville Chamber, now in its 135th year of operation, is the largest business organization in Upstate South Carolina with more than 1900 Investors supporting the vision of a globally competitive Upstate economy where businesses succeed and people prosper. For information, visit greenvillechamber.org.
ABOUT IMPACT FELLOWS
IMPACT Fellows is the Greenville Chamber’s advanced leadership development program designed to build upon participants’ collective strengths to drive community impact. With a vision to begin enrollment in 2025, the Chamber is seeking funding for the IMPACT Greenville endowment, which will support the program, its operations, faculty, and Chamber investors. To learn more about IMPACT Greenville or to donate, please contact Cheryl Garrison at cgarrison@greenvillechamber.org.
