In response to Fond du Lac County’s aging population and ongoing worker shortages, Envision Greater Fond du Lac has enlisted national relocation platform MakeMyMove to help bring 32 new households to the county, using a state-funded marketing and recruitment campaign that emphasizes community fit.

An update on the initiative, which launched May 14, was presented by MakeMyMove representatives at a community roundtable held Thursday, July 9 at Envision Greater Fond du Lac’s office.

The campaign is backed by a $346,000 WEDC grant, a $100,000 local match and $80,000 in employer contributions — a roughly half-million-dollar effort in total. Rather than leading with open job positions, the program markets the county itself — its schools, housing options, outdoor recreation and community life — to workers considering a move.

Within about six weeks of launch, the program has drawn interest from 3,713 people across all 50 states, with roughly 1,700 submitting full applications. Of those, 543 represent dual-income households and 12 include military veterans. Applicants skew slightly older and more family-oriented than MakeMyMove’s typical mover: the average household size applying to Fond du Lac is 2.5 people, compared with a 2.3 average sitewide, and 43% of applicants say they’re relocating with children.

“We want people to move and stay and invest in the community and put roots down into the community. And a lot of these applicants want the same thing, so they’re looking for a place to call home and a lot of them are seeing that in Fond du County,” said Katherine Wolgemuth, director of client success at MakeMyMove, which has relocated roughly 4,000 households across its partner communities since 2021.

Six households have already accepted local job offers or otherwise committed to the move, including hires at Alliance Laundry Systems, at a local health care provider and a new pastor for an area church.

Envision Greater Fond du Lac President & CEO Sadie Howell said the current 32-household goal is just a starting point.

“We are pumped and very, very excited about this program and what it can mean to the community,” she said. “Our hope is that this is so successful that we’re coming back to either our municipal partners or our employers to say with another $250,000 or $300,000 we could move another 30 or 40 [households]. That’s the goal.”

This article was originally posted on Insight on Business

Date posted: July 13, 2026