The campaign landing page
The Greater Monadnock Collaborative has launched a $340,000 regional marketing initiative designed to strengthen the local economy by attracting both workers and visitors to the region.
At the center of the effort is a manufacturing workforce campaign, “Build a Rich Life,” a roughly $240,000 initiative aimed at addressing hundreds of open positions across the Monadnock Region. The campaign, developed with Sentinel Digital Solutions, began just before Christmas 2025 and promotes the region as a place where young workers can build both careers and quality of life.
“[Workforce] is a real pain point,” says Julie Schoelzel, president and CEO of the Greater Monadnock Collaborative. “Companies struggle to scale and meet customer demand because they don’t have the workforce they need.”
The campaign focuses heavily on younger workers, connecting them with local employers while highlighting education and training pathways such as Keene State College’s Sustainable Product Design and Innovation program. The interdisciplinary major combines engineering, industrial design, and manufacturing with project-based courses.
Schoelzel points to significant demographic challenges facing the region, including a 20% decline in K–12 enrollment and projections that 35% of the region’s workforce will retire within the next eight years. “We don’t have enough young people to backfill those jobs,” she says.
As of early April, the campaign generated more than 750,000 impressions, drove more than 10,000 visitors to the manufacturing page and resulted in more than 120 applicants, with additional employers joining and candidates applying directly through company career pages. Digital outreach, including video content, has been central to the effort.
Schoelzel says the campaign also emphasizes opportunities for workers to earn degrees while employed.
“We want to show young people they can build a meaningful life here,” she says.
Regional employers say the effort is already helping reframe perceptions. “Identifying and hiring the best talent to support and grow local companies is vitally important,” says Mark Boomgarden, president and CEO of Moore Nanotechnology Systems in Swanzey, which produces ultra-precision machining systems. “The Build a Rich Life campaign helps people see the real career opportunities available.”
The workforce initiative is funded through a Catalyst Grant from the Northern Border Regional Commission. Complementing that effort is a $100,000 NH Department of Business and Economic Affairs joint promotional program grant aimed at driving visitors to Keene and Peterborough throughout the spring, summer and fall.
Both initiatives fall under Magnify Monadnock, the Collaborative’s long-term strategy to market the Monadnock Region as a place where people can work and visit, Schoelzel says. “These campaigns are intentionally aligned,” Schoelzel says. “Tourism strengthens our downtowns and small businesses, while workforce marketing helps employers grow. Together, they support a stronger, more resilient regional economy.”
For more information about the initiatives, visit greatermonadnock.com.
