Young Professionals - Community, Connection & Coordination

August 29, 2018 Written by

What is YPSLC and what do you want to accomplish?
Young Professionals Salt Lake City is focused on making sure young professionals in our area have a great Utah experience. Our goal is to connect young professionals with each other and the community through coordinating unique events and activities.

YPSLC is a non-profit organization 100% run by a board of young professionals who either moved here for work or have called Utah home for a number of years. We basically live in a postcard: crime rates are relatively low, the cost of living is amazing, if you hate your job you can quickly find a new job, and world class entertainment and activities are right outside our front door.

We have found that if young professionals build friendships and a solid network here, feel connected to local leaders, know where to go and what to do, and engage in projects that impact the community then they are more likely to love living here too. YPSLC has four programs that helps young professionals do just that.

Young Professionals are able to make new friends and build their network through our Connect! Programming. All Connect! events feature a mingle game that ensures event attendees meet at least 3-5 new people.
Our Elevate! Programming is focused on events that help young professionals gain new knowledge, skills, or advance in their career. Past events have included wine tastings, soft skills workshops, and chats with C-Suite leaders.
So many young professionals are unaware of the amazing things to do in Salt Lake City or don’t have anyone to do it with. Through our Experience! Programming, young professionals are able to explore things to do while connecting with people to know in an intimate setting. Experience! events are typically capped at about 25 people. Past events have included a dinner with elected officials and brewery tours.

Last but not least is our Give! Programming. Give! is all about giving back to our community. We fundraise for local nonprofits and volunteer in the community. We have done everything from hand out burritos in Pioneer Parks to laying sod in South Salt Lake to holding a karaoke event that allowed us to raise money for Shelter Kids.

Ultimately, we want to make sure every young professional wants to live here and never leave.

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How have these organizations been successful in other cities?
Similar organizations have been very successful in other cities, even if they had less to work with. Young professional organizations have led the charge in attracting young professional to cities we were not originally interested in living in. Great examples are Milwaukee’s Newaukee, Oklahoma’s TYPROS, and Ohio’s CYPCLUB.

TYPROS does things like funds programs that engage young professionals in economic development and "placemaking" initiatives, which reimagine public spaces to improve residents' health, happiness and well-being. Newaukee was able to assist in changing the perception of Milwaukee from a manufacturing town to a city with a vibrant arts & culture scene.

These cities are now seeing an influx of global businesses wanting to have a presence in the state and the willingness of young professionals wanting to continue to reside in the state or relocate to the area to fill jobs.

What should young professionals care about joining your organization?
Young professionals should care about joining YPSLC because we are a one-stop shop for all a young professional’s needs. Bare minimum, YPSLC can assist a young professional in expanding their network. The area becomes so small and goals become so much easier to achieve when you have a strong network.

Hundreds of young professionals are currently using YPSLC to build solid connections with others who will gone on to become future business and community leaders in our state.

Where do you see YPSLC in five years?
In five years’ time we will have empowered other young professionals to use our model and create similar organizations across Utah. Point of the Mountain Area is booming and the young professionals who reside there due to the tech industry have needs that need to be addressed.

How do you see Downtown fitting into your long-term objectives?
The Downtown Alliance has been a valued early partner in helping us achieve our goals while making sure downtown is a place young professionals want to be. For example: When a child finds a great playground, they beg their parents to take them there. When a young professional finds a great playground, they take themselves there. We ultimately want young professionals to “take” themselves to our playground regardless of if they are already living in Utah or residing outside of the state.