Prospect Kit Guide
What is a prospect kit?
A prospect kit is a tool to help you communicate key information about your community to organizations that can contribute to your economy, entities that may be relocating or expanding in your area or small businesses opening their doors on your streets. After you’ve identified a prospect, it is beneficial to provide them with concise and relevant information including statistics, quality of life information, employment figures, Comptroller reports, and housing data. A prospect kit can be divided into two parts: a primary folder with a customized label on the front to display your city crest can be used to package your kit. A second folder can contain maps, customized information, real estate, etc.
What should be included in my prospect kit?
The following checklist can be used to help you gather and package the information you need:- A personalized letter - A note from the mayor or other government official on your community’s letterhead that briefly outlines key information and positive information
- Aerial Photograph or Map of City and County - Available from the Texas Association of Appraisal Districts
- Street Map
- State of Texas Map - With arrowed/starred location
- Quality of Life page - A Quality of Life page should include a brief history of your community or county, as well as the following pieces of information:
- Education Page - Information gathered from the Texas Education Agency, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Texas Workforce Commission, U.S. Department of Education and your local ISD can provide an excellent opportunity to discuss institutions of higher learning in your area, school population, TAKS scores and comparisons to state averages, and job training and vocational tech programs. Also view the County Fact Sheet report in the Texas EDGE Data Center for a compilation of information.
- Utilities Information - This section will list local companies and others with addresses, capacity, and other information relevant to your prospect.
- Healthcare - The Healthcare section will list local healthcare facilities, including capacity and areas of specialty. Information for this section can be found at the Texas Hospital Association and Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals.
- Transportation - Items related to transportation should include airports, highways, drive-time maps, ports of entry, and other relevant information. For more information, visit the Texas Department of Transportation and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
- Employment - Workforce information can include a list of industrial jobs, a list of largest employers, wage surveys and work force availability within 10 to 50 miles. For more information, visit the Texas Workforce Commission, and the Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Comptroller Reports - Use the Texas EDGE Data Center to create reports for your area for tax base details as well as overviews of industries, occupations and demographics in a selected region. Or, request custom analysis from the EDGE data team such as a REMI regional economic model report to analyze the effect of business locations and other economic changes in your area.
- Housing - Texas A&M University's Real Estate Center, Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development can provide you information to include about local real estate, housing starts, home sales, building reports and average home prices.
- Incentives - Local incentives available to local governments include Chapter 380 sales tax agreements, tax abatements, tax increment financing, enterprise zone, fee waivers, Main Street incentive grants and more. View more information from the Comptroller about Texas Tax Programs/Incentives and fund information from the Governor’s Economic Development Bank.
- Success Stories from your region
- Miscellaneous Items - Other
possible items
that can be included in your prospect kit:
- Local crime rate information
- Specific information when responding to a particular company
- Graphs and pictures
- Water quality (Texas Water Development Board)
- Military information relevant to the organization your community is soliciting - view unit location and other information from the Texas Military Forces web site.
View additional resources for information to include in your kit.