Columbia Opportunity Resource reports membership growth, seeks help scaling Capture Columbia and hiring a staffer

Lee Goble, outgoing board chair of Columbia Opportunity Resource (CORE), told the City of Columbia committee that CORE has refocused on membership and talent-retention initiatives and is on track to double membership over a multi-year timeline. CORE runs Capture Columbia (student pipeline) and Crash Course Columbia (newcomer orientation) and said the programs aim to convince students and recent graduates to remain and work in Columbia.

Goble said CORE is volunteer-run and is preparing due diligence to hire a full-time staff member to ensure continuity and to scale programs. He described a recent shift of Capture Columbia from a summer schedule to spring, which increased participation from Benedict and Allen University students, and recommended running both spring and summer sessions to capture a broader student cohort.

CORE identified technical/data-tracking problems with program sign-ups and said it will hire a consultant to fix inconsistent data capture. Goble also said CORE is in talks with the Boyd Innovation Center about adopting a local volunteer sign-up platform developed by a BIC-affiliated entrepreneur to replace an out-of-state service.

"If businesses are the 9 to 5, we're the 5 to 9," Goble said, underscoring CORE's role in quality-of-life and retention efforts. CORE requested more collaboration with city partners and other nonprofits to scale talent-retention initiatives; the transcript includes discussion but shows no formal vote.

CORE said next-year goals include 60+ new members, expanded program participation and completing a staff-hiring plan.