MORPC Member Benefits

MORPC makes it a priority to meet with every member government to stay abreast of their unique issues. We encourage open dialogue to ensure we are responsive to each community’s challenges, priorities, and opportunities.

Our executive director and membership services officer travel to each member’s community to make it as convenient as possible for the member to participate. While the appointment is set with the active commission member representatives, the members have flexibility to invite additional local staff or elected officials to join in the meeting and share their ideas or concerns.

At the meeting, MORPC staff members are given the opportunity to see the progress taking place in each community and adjust the topics of the agenda accordingly. After the meeting, MORPC prepares a summary of the discussion to share with its leadership and pursues follow-up items.

MORPC finds these meetings to be critical in ensuring that members’ priorities  are incorporated into the services provided. These visits provide a forum to exchange ideas and strengthen relationships.

Information-sharing among local governments is crucial to the success of any planning or development initiative. In addition to the informal contact made by local planners and developers at meetings and events, there are a number of formally organized groups that meet on a regular basis to discuss issues and developments affecting a particular area.

Among these are the quarterly regional collaboration meetings, where MORPC convenes local governments to work collaboratively on short- and long-range community planning. Members can choose to attend multiple meetings.

Local governments and public service professionals in transportation, infrastructure, land use, economic development, and sustainability gather to provide updates on planning matters. The meetings are typically held at different host sites.

GrantFinder Service

MORPC provides a one-of-a-kind opportunity for each member government to be able to access a GrantFinder service, which tracks over 10,000 grants. GrantFinder is a real-time, online, searchable database of 60 billion dollars’ worth of sources from federal, state, foundations, and corporate grants available to local governments and their community partners.

The service allows a representative to search the site with filters, dates, and links to application information, as well as a system to receive updates and weekly alerts on specific categories of grants.

Grant Forum

MORPC holds an annual grant forum for members to meet with providers and obtain strategies and advice on how to secure grants and loans for their communities. This opportunity takes place in the summer and is designed with our members in mind by allowing each participant to choose from a diverse and inspiring array of options to fit specific needs.

Past topics have included: community development; private funding sources; rural development and broadband; and infrastructure, including water, sewer, bridges, trails and roads.

MORPC provides each member with a general membership in the Council of Development Finance Agencies. CDFA is a financial service agency that provides expertise in public and private finance options. It was founded to strengthen state and local development finance agencies, and to stimulate job creation and economic growth through the use of tax-exempt and other public-private partnership finance programs.

CDFA provides many different ways to assist the development finance industry including, but not limited to, education, advocacy, research, resources, and networking. Each MORPC member government is able to designate a representative to receive updates and alerts on their programs.

MORPC monitors issues and advocates on behalf of its members to the legislative and executive branches of government at both the state and federal levels of government. Members receive regular updates on these advocacy efforts in both written and verbal formats.

MORPC is also a member of associations and coalitions comprised of like-minded organizations. These include the Columbus Region Coalition, the Ohio Association of Regional Councils, and the National Association of Regional Councils, among others.

Our policy positions are guided by the agency’s Regional Policy Roundtable committee. For more information, visit our Government Affairs page.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) play an important role in the work of local governments. MORPC’s data & mapping staff specializes in the sharing and consumption of spatial data using commercial and open-source GIS.

These services to members include providing data based on demographics of the governing body’s area, zoning maps, and other specific tasks using MORPC’s GIS software.

Our member governments are able to request eight hours worth of data and mapping services by contacting dataandmaps@morpc.org.

MORPC’s annual salary survey consists of data from our member governments on various positions and descriptions. Wage and salary surveys provide a valuable tool for use in determining how organizations’ compensation structure relates to those in a given area.

Current and past surveys are available here.

MORPC provides its members with the opportunity to secure talented college students for summer internships. Our members gain a fresh perspective from advanced students to complete tasks and projects while simultaneously providing the students with valuable work experience. MORPC member governments are eligible to participate as hosts. Hosts pay MORPC a $650 program fee per intern which covers training, mentors and special forums to supplement the intern’s experience.

For more information and to request an intern, go to www.morpc.org/internship

MORPC has established a partnership with HBCU Connect, LLC to promote our members’ specialty/niche or hard-to-fill leadership and executive job postings to graduates of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

To share your open positions to be promoted through HBCU Connect, please fill out the submission form here.

MORPC has formed education partnerships to encourage public sector service professionals to obtain additional degrees and build competences.

Denison Edge Partnership

MORPC has partnered with Denison Edge for 25% off MBA-quality, upskilling programs.

Denison Edge is an extension of Denison University’s career center, located in downtown Columbus, offering a series of career-relevant programs and a collaborative learning environment for lifelong learners to advance with highly competitive skill sets. Denison Edge bridges the gap between higher education and industry so students, employers and employees can deepen career skills, cultivate experiences, and build connections.

Click here for a preview of the 2023 Executive Series and here for an overview of the 2023 New Manager Series.

To browse available programs and for more information on Denison Edge, please visit edge.denison.edu.

Franklin University Partnership

MORPC-member government employees can receive 20% tuition discounts on undergraduate and master degrees, 10% discount on doctoral online programs, and free books for many degrees.

More information on the partnership is available in this  one-page fact sheet or by going to franklin.edu/MORPC. Those interested can contact Brian Petereit, Partnership Account Manager, at 614.947.6840 or Brian.Petereit@franklin.edu.

The Ohio State University – John Glenn College of Public Affairs Benefit

MORPC has partnered with the Glenn College at OSU to offer a 20% discount on the Management Advancement for the Public Service (MAPS) courses.

These courses provide professional training in leadership, personal development, diversity and inclusion, program management, and more. These short, intensive classes are offered online or on campus. They are specifically designed for public and nonprofit employees at all career levels.

To register for a course or for more information, visit the Glenn College website here. You will be asked to enter membership code 605023 to receive the MORPC partner price of $225 per course – a 20% savings. A full schedule is listed in this flyer.

Ohio University Partnership

MORPC and the Ohio University Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service have partnered to encourage more public-sector professionals to pursue a graduate degree, while also providing students with practical experience in local government.

Employees who work for a MORPC-member government are eligible to receive a $1,000 incentive scholarship for their second academic term when pursuing Executive Master of Public Administration (MPA) and online MPA programs, as well as the online Master of Sustainability, Security, and Resilience (MSSR) Program.

More information on the partnership is available at onlinemasters.ohio.edu/MORPC. Those interested can contact Joe Wakeman, Manager of Enrollment and Student Success, at 740.593.2133 or wakemanj@ohio.edu.

Ohio University also offers its Governing Essentials for Local Elected Officials training series, from which elected officials in MORPC-member communities can benefit. This introductory program for public servants begins Friday, February 23rd, 2023, and will feature two full-day, in-person workshops, three half-day virtual workshops, and a field trip in Central Ohio. Registration for the Feburary 2023 cycle opens in January. Contact GVAcademy@ohio.edu with questions. Class size is limited.

Association of Pedestrian & Bicycle Professionals (APBP) – 2023 Webinar Series

The 2023 APBP webinar series has been announced and is now available! Check out the list below, or visit the new APBP Education Center to see the details of each monthly webinar. MORPC will be hosting group viewings of these webinars throughout 2023. If you are unable to join us for the group viewings, you can find webinar pricing information for individuals or company group access here.

All APBP webinars begin at 3 p.m. ET on the third Wednesday of each month, unless there is a conflict with a major holiday/observance. Monthly webinars are eligible for 1.0 hour of AICP Certification Maintenance credit.

2023 Webinar list

January 18, 2023 | From Complete Streets to Complete Networks: A Data-Driven, Performance-Based, Multimodal Planning Tool
February 15, 2023 | Strengthening Community Connections Through Bike Infrastructure, Transit Integration, and Local Tourism
March 15, 2023| Data Storytelling for Multimodal Pathways
April 19, 2023 | Give Your Bus a BOOST!
May 17, 2023 | Active Mobility for Older Adult Communities through Planning and Implementation
June 21, 2023 | More Than a Cycle Lane: How Investment in Better Walking and Cycling Networks Improves Accessibility for People with Disabilities
July 19, 2023 | Evolution of Bikeways – How Cities Have Progressed with the Ever-Changing Design Guidance and Research
August 16, 2023 | Systemic Safety – From Analysis to Implementation
September 20, 2023 | Community-led Temporary Demonstrations & Partnerships
October 18, 2023 | TBA
November 15, 2023 | How to Keep a Statewide Plan Off the Shelf; Pedestrian Planning in Minnesota
December 20, 2023 | Lighter, Faster, Drier: Beyond Quick-Build Towards Resilient Treatments for High-Quality Active Transportation Infrastructure

Contact Jordan Petrov at jpetrov@morpc.org if you are interested in attending the MORPC group viewings of the 2023 APBP webinars.

YWCA Discounted Trainings

MORPC is a proud partner of the YWCA Columbus. As a member benefit, MORPC members can engage in discounted trainings facilitated by the YWCA. Members can receive 10% off the total cost of their first service contract, for the calendar year. For more information, please contact Ralonda Hampton, MORPC’s Diversity, Inclusion, and Engagement Officer at rhampton@morpc.org.

As a result of the significant growth in rural communities, MORPC has established a rural services plan to address the unique needs of these members.

MORPC can serve rural communities by encouraging collaborative planning efforts to help develop inclusive, local strategy-building processes to build on community strengths and address challenges. By bringing subject matter experts into discussions and forums, MORPC provides valuable information and resources for rural communities to make informative decisions.

View MORPC’s Rural Service Strategy

MORPC provides each member with a detailed report on the value of their individual membership on a calendar-year basis. These reports are prepared in the fall and distributed in time for consideration during our members’ budgeting process.

The report highlights the estimated value of the services provided through the calendar year. A return on investment shows the value provided to the member organization for every dollar invested in MORPC.

MORPC is committed to providing on-going value to each member while also maintaining prudent fiduciary responsibilities to keep dues affordable and sustainable.

View Our 2022 Accomplishments