About NWEC

The Northwest Economic Council is currently focused on promoting collaboration and partnerships throughout Whatcom County.  A major accomplishment in this area is the formation of the Whatcom County Consortium for Economic Development, a group of local agencies, led by NWEC, committed to working together to promote economic opportunities for our community.  The Northwest Economic Council, Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce, WWU's Small Business Development Center and WWU's Center for Economic Vitality are the four partner organizations in the Consortium.

The first project taken on by the Consortium was the creation of a matrix of economic development services with the corresponding service provider in Whatcom County.  This is an important step in our efforts to clearly define roles and responsibilities of agencies involved in economic development.  Here is the latest version of the Matrix.

We continue our work as the designated Associate Development Organization for Whatcom County.  During the 2010-11 fiscal year, we successfully met or surpassed every goal set forth for our organization by the WA State Department of Commerce.  The staff at NWEC is continually striving to provide high-quality services and expertise which promote economic success and create new jobs in our region.  NWEC has celebrated numerous successes in recent months.

-Partnered with the WA State Department of Commerce, the NW Workforce Council, Impact Washington and Bellingham Technical College to create a pre-employment training program designed to streamline and accelerate the hiring of 400 new employees at Heath Tecna, a local aircraft interior and component manufacturer.

-Provided funding from our Revolving Loan Fund to the Lynden-based dairy farm, Twin Brook Creamery that enabled them to purchase new equipment and hire additional employees in order to increase their milk bottling capacity, grow their business and supply their products to additional stores.

-Successfully launched the Northwest Innovation Resource Center, created to connect innovative start-up businesses to resources that will help them grow and thrive in Whatcom County.  The goal of the IRC is to create 1,131 new jobs in its first five years.