The LVEDC 2018 Annual Meeting at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem. (photo by Marco Calderon)

For the third consecutive year, the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) has experienced another record-breaking year in private investment.

The organization in 2018 received $568,115 in investment and sponsorships from private sector companies and organizations in the Lehigh Valley, according to Jaime Whalen, Vice President of Administration and Investor Relations and Chief of Staff at LVEDC.

That’s nearly $15,000 more in private investment than LVEDC received in 2017, which itself was a record year. That makes 2018 the single largest investment year in the organization’s 24-year history.

“Without the investment of the private sector, we could never have the success we’ve experienced in economic growth in recent years,” said LVEDC President and CEO Don Cunningham.

“It is imperative that we remain competitive in marketing, recruitment, and strategic initiatives to support business growth and job expansion,” Cunningham said. “We compete every day with markets much larger than our own to tell the story of the Lehigh Valley. Investment makes that possible.”

LVEDC received $511,700 in private investment for 2018, as well as $56,415 in sponsorship from events the organization hosted throughout the year, for a combined total of $568,115, Whalen said.

Private investment in 2018 was up by $6,750 compared to the previous year, she said, and sponsorships levels were up $7,870 compared to 2017.

“We are fortunate to have so many companies in the Lehigh Valley that understand the importance of investing in economic growth,” Whalen said. “We are deeply grateful to our private sector partners for their investment in the economic development of the Lehigh Valley.”

Those figures do not include a combined $155,000 in public investment from Lehigh and Northampton counties, who are the two single largest investors to LVEDC, Whalen said.

The organization will be publicly voicing its appreciation for its investors, according to Matthew Tuerk, LVEDC Vice President of Economic Development and Marketing.

As in previous years, the organization plans to take out full-page advertisements in The Morning Call and Lehigh Valley Business listing all investors by industry, as well as billboards along Route 22 acknowledging investors who have contributed $5,000 or more, Tuerk said.

LVEDC added 18 new investors in 2018, Whalen said, who invested a combined $44,500 in the organization.

The mission of the LVEDC is to market the economic assets of the Lehigh Valley and to create partnerships to lead the recruitment, growth and retention of employers.

Visit here to see a full list of LVEDC’s investors, organized by industry.