the PROCESS
Kickstart Ajo is an outcome of a multi-year community development process facilitated by Freeport McMoRan Corporation in Ajo, Arizona. During this process, a cross-sector group of organizations and individuals performed a comprehensive needs assessment resulting in a single community priority: To Increase the Number of Businesses Developed, Attracted and Retained. To this end, a group of existing and emerging leaders was convened in the summer of 2016--the Leadership for Sustainable Communities Cohort. Through an Asset Based Community Development process facilitated by the ASU Lodestar Center, the Cohort developed a set of interventions designed to kickstart business activity in Ajo. With generous support from the Freeport McMoRan Foundation and engagement from the Ajo District Chamber of Commerce, 3-Nations Market, Ajo Artisans Online, and the International Sonoran Desert Alliance, the kickstarting process is already underway.