Marc Enger honored for work with Habitat for Neighborhood Business
Marc Enger and Gladys Smith, PhD, Program Director, St. Louis University
Published October 21, 2022
Tikkun olam means to “repair the world” in Hebrew and has come to connote social action and the pursuit of social justice. It is also connected with the idea of human responsibility for fixing what is wrong with the world. In the case of Marc Enger, a local marketing executive, one of those “wrongs” is the economic disparity found in under-served neighborhoods.
“Tikkun olam is the heart of Judaism to me. While oftentimes tikkun olam is referred to as our responsibility, to me, I view it as our opportunity,” said Enger, 55, who belongs to Congregation Temple Israel.
The opportunity Enger found was to work with Habitat for Neighborhood Business (HNB), which partners with St. Louis University and volunteer business experts to help restore economic vitality to under-served neighborhoods. It does this through mentoring, networking and education for existing and aspiring minority entrepreneurs.
Marc Enger
After 25 years of working at some of the country’s leading ad agencies and developing marketing strategies for Fortune 500 companies like AT&T, UPS, and The Hartford, Enger recognized there was a void in the marketing services industry in providing marketing strategies for small and medium-sized businesses.
In 2016, he created Propel Marketing Services where he is the Fractional Chief Marketing Officer. Propel provide services to businesses that don’t have the budget to warrant having a full-time executive-level marketer within their leadership team.
“As a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer, I split my time across a number of companies so that they get sound strategic marketing from a seasoned marketer while I’m able to “right-size” my engagements with them based on the amount of my time they need to help them achieve their growth and marketing objectives,” said Enger.
Finding each other
In 2019, HNB’s board chairman, Doug Brown, a friend and mentor to Enger, suggested the organization reach out to him. It did.
“I’ve been volunteering with Habitat for Neighborhood Business for the past three years. I first started as a mentor to one of the entrepreneurs in the program,” said Enger.
“Marc helped mentor a young entrepreneur, as well as volunteered to basically become our director of marketing and helped us apply for a grant from the Pettus Foundation,” said Linda M. Jones, executive director at HBN.
With the grant from Pettus, Enger created a marketing plan for HBN to get the word out about the program, help recruit new mentors and attract young, aspiring entrepreneurs.
“Our marketing efforts have included digital marketing, social media, video production, and gaining news coverage of the organization’s efforts, their partnership with St. Louis University, and testimonial videos of the entrepreneurs’ success stories,” said Enger. “I’m quite proud that we’ve received media coverage from almost every local media outlet spanning television, radio, and newspaper.”
Enger honored by HBN
In honor of his three-years of volunteer service, HBN honored Enger at a recent event at the St. Louis University Chaifetz School of Business.
“Marc is a very giving person and we appreciate what he did not only for HBN but for his one-on-one work as a mentor to young entrepreneurs and guiding our paid staff in our marketing efforts. He has really stepped up,” said Jones.
“I’m so proud to support their courageous entrepreneurs as a mentor and help raise the profile of the organization doing their marketing pro bono,” said Enger after receiving the recognition. “It’s a privilege to contribute to the mission of the organization in supporting the success of minority entrepreneurs in the city of St. Louis.
“At some point or another, everyone can use a little help. Sometimes more than a little. Many of the HNB entrepreneurs come from under-served communities in the city and their success isn’t only about their personal career or financial success, it can contribute to the revitalization of the neighborhoods they work and live in.”
If you would like to learn more about Habitat for Neighborhood Business, visit them online.
