Building a more connected sponsor network with the CCTW Development Committee
Marcia Morgan had been dancing around the Colorado Companies to Watch community for years before she officially joined the program’s leadership ranks in 2017 as Vice Chair of the Development Committee.
That was because her previous and present employers over the last 10 years have both been (or are now) CCTW sponsors.
“I had been familiar with CCTW since 2009 or so, and I was immediately drawn to the central mission,” said Morgan, who is the Client Services and Business Development Director for CBIZ MHM in Denver. “Being a Colorado native and having lived in other states, I am passionate about the incredible environment that Colorado has to offer for talented, growing companies.”
It was fitting that Morgan begin volunteering for CCTW as a sponsor ambassador – one of the most important parts of a CCTW Winner’s resource toolbox. Ambassadors walk each new CCTW winner through the program and ensure that they have the connections and information needed to make the most of their award year.
Working one-on-one with some of Colorado’s most driven and inspirational entrepreneurs is what got her hooked.
“As an ambassador, I was drawn to the people who this program honors and supports,” Morgan said. “I love to hear the individual stories and diverse backgrounds that these entrepreneurs have. I especially admire the fortitude and passion that drives them to have the level of success that they have achieved.”
But over time, she realized that she could help those 2nd Stage entrepreneurs on a deeper level.
“Ultimately, our goal is to have an even broader group of sponsors which in turn creates a resource group for our Winners and strengthens the program overall,” Morgan said. “In working with the sponsors and with Maggie Maxwell, Chair of the CCTW Development Committee, we saw an opportunity to further develop the communication for incoming sponsors, as well as among the sponsor peer group to better support our new winners and alumni.”
She was named Vice Chair of the CCTW Development Committee last year, and immediately dove in head first. She has embraced the new educational and networking component for the CCTW community developed by Maxwell and the board — The Sponsor Seminar Program.
“We were looking at the sponsorship program as a whole and trying to determine how we could create a stronger bond between sponsors and among the entire CCTW community,” she said. “Though it’s still being developed, the seminar program was essentially created to give our sponsors the ability to host events and lead discussions on topics that are relevant to the journey of 2nd Stage companies.”
There have only been a handful of seminars offered so far, but Morgan said that she and Maxwell are planning to hold the program about once a quarter, and always free of charge for the CCTW community.
“With the alumni group growing—we’ll have 500 after our 10th Anniversary celebration this year— and the addition of new alumni program benefits like these seminars, the future of CCTW is very bright,” Morgan said. “This is a time to celebrate the longevity of the CCTW program and it’s prestigious alumni, but also to look to the future and plan for the next decade of how we can enhance the winner’s experience and grow the program for all future Colorado Companies to Watch.”
When she isn’t working at CBIZ MHM or with CCTW, Morgan is a mother of two, loves to sail, bike, ski, and is an avid adventurer and traveler.
Thank you for all that you do to make Colorado Companies to Watch a successful and sustaining program, Marcia!