Transform Rockford is a community driven, grassroots movement with the goal of rallying and guiding our residents to see the Rockford Region in a new light. Transform Rockford is taking our community members’ ideas and dreams of dramatically improving the social and economic well-being of our region and plugging it into a tangible Community Transformation Plan where residents can get inspired, engaged and be proud of where they live. And ultimately, Transform Rockford is facilitating and implementing the plan to help our region become a “Top 25 community by 2025!”

In 2013, Rockford was labeled a “Most Miserable City in the U.S.” by Forbes. Our citizens decided they would not stand for that label and that’s when the conversation got started. On November 14, 2013, Transform Rockford held its first community meeting at the Coronado Theater. With more than 1,300 people in attendance, the “brutal facts” of the Rockford area were laid out and community members joined in a call to action for improving the living and working conditions in our region. Learn more about our journey.

YOU! The entire Rockford Region is invited to engage in the transformation process. From our residents and students to local government, nonprofits, small businesses, faith-based groups, education systems, healthcare systems, manufacturing companies and others across the Rockford Region, everyone is invited to get involved and make our region a community that other communities aspire to be.

• Steering committee – The steering committee owns the transformation methodology, supporting the movement, removing roadblocks for success and engaging the broader community
• Strategic support team – The strategic support team enables project success and community ownership of the transformation plan
• Project teams – Project teams champion and implement best practice solutions with residents and stakeholders to achieve our community’s vision of becoming a “top 25 community by 2025”
• Transform Rockford Staff – The staff team supports the coordination and alignment of all Transform Rockford teams

Yes! Transform Rockford is comprised of four staff members and 13 Steering Committee members who work in various businesses and organizations throughout the region. In addition, we have eight community leaders who sit on our Strategic Support team.

An impact statement (they can also be referred to as spokes) is an area in which the community wants to focus on to see positive change. The community identified 14 impact statements during the early days of Transform Rockford. Those 14 impact statements include:

• Arts & Recreation
• Communications
• Economy & Jobs
• Education
• Families & Neighborhoods
• Funding & Alignment
• Healthy Lifestyles
• Leadership & Youth
• Living the Brand
• Physical Infrastructure
• Planning
• Quality
• Safety
• Unity, Pride, Culture

Transform Rockford is a 501c(3) organization that is privately funded through small donations from friends and residents, to major community sponsors, and from businesses who care about the future of our community.

• Like our social media pages – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
• Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to learn about projects, initiatives, events, positive Rockford news and more
• Volunteer! Grab a friend and sign-up for one of our upcoming volunteer opportunities
• Donate and help keep the movement going
• Contact us! While we can’t text message, we can email and we can chat with you on the phone. If you have questions or want to learn more, give us a ring!