Since its inception as a startup in 1989, the Goering Center for Family and Private Business has made a remarkable economic impact of $13.5 billion in the Greater Cincinnati region.
Recognizing that family and private businesses often lack the resources available to larger public companies, John Goering, an accounting professor at the University of Cincinnati, along with his wife, Gloria, provided the initial funding to establish the Goering Center. 35 years ago, John and Professor Sid Barton launched the center with support from what is now the Carl H. Lindner College of Business. Today, this nonprofit organization proudly serves over 400 member companies, supporting 64,000 jobs across 19 counties.
While the Goering Center warmly invites businesses of all sizes and sectors to join its Core, Associate, and Corporate Partner memberships, its “sweet spot” for Core membership typically lies with enterprises that have between 10 and 100 employees and generate revenues between $1 million and $50 million.
“We support, nurture, and educate both family and private businesses. We focus on helping owners and leaders work on their business not just in their business. We are heavily driven by volunteer engagement, with 150 to 200 volunteers every year,” says Carol Butler, president. “I often say—those who know us love us, but not enough people know who we are—so we remain on a mission of expanding our reach into the community. We are built for more and strive to deliver on the promise to positively impact businesses in our region.”
Butler became the president of the Goering Center in 2017—at that time, she had already been a volunteer for five years. One could say that her career has come full circle: growing up in her family’s orchard business, Butler’s Orchard, experiencing over 30 years in the corporate world, and then landing right into helping family and private businesses.
Institutes and Services
The Goering Center offers a range of specialized services through its institutes.
The Next Generation Institute™ is a 12-session program designed to help families successfully transition business ownership from one generation to the next. Families such as LaRosa’s Pizzeria and Graeter’s Ice Cream are graduates of this program and have praised its effectiveness in facilitating generational transitions.
The Business Boards Institute provides a seven-step model that guides businesses in establishing advisory boards to achieve their goals and drive change.
The Leadership Development Institute features expert facilitators who support business leaders in reaching their highest potential while encouraging the exchange of ideas among participants in the program.
“Every program we design is based on our core principles of knowledge, connection, and community, and our institutes are excellent examples of those principles in action,” says Carol Butler, president of the Goering Center.
