DED Announces Sponsorship Opportunities through “The Good Life Is Calling” Campaign

The Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) is offering sponsorship opportunities to collaborate on The Good Life Is Calling campaign to attract talent to Nebraska.

Through partnership with DED, sponsors can raise their profile with professional prospects, while amplifying Nebraska’s top selling points: affordability; safe, family-friendly communities; and unmatched quality of life. Sponsorship packages allow partners to highlight their community and impact, while showing talent why Nebraska truly is The Good Life. Click here to see the full list of sponsorship tiers and benefits. Sponsorship enrollment is open now and will close on May 4, 2026. Interested organizations are invited to enroll by completing the form on this webpage.

The Good Life Is Calling campaign

In 2021, DED fully launched The Good Life Is Calling to promote the state’s quality of life and abundant career opportunities. During its initial phase, the campaign successfully heightened Nebraska’s visibility and generated favorable impressions of the state. In 2024, the Legislature approved Governor Pillen’s funding request to launch the next phase of the campaign. With this support, DED partnered with a talent marketing firm to refresh The Good Life Is Calling website, conduct community focus groups and talent perception research, develop brand messaging, and create an overarching talent recruitment plan.

Additionally, DED is forging people-attraction partnerships with key stakeholders to showcase all that Nebraska has to offer. Key activities include the Nebraska Talent Proposals Initiative (NTPI) and the Nebraska NEXT (Nebraska Employment eXploration & Transition) program. The NTPI provides matching funds to support creative proposals to strengthen retention of the state's graduates; attract out-of-state talent to Nebraska; and ensure newcomers to Nebraska feel welcomed, valued, and connected. Nebraska NEXT is a talent attraction event strategy to connect key demographics—such as collegiate talent, retiring military members, or Nebraska alumni living out-of-state—with career opportunities in the state.

Growing Nebraska’s population and workforce

The Good Life Is Calling campaign is supporting the growth of Nebraska’s population and workforce. Currently, the state’s labor force is at an all-time high of 1,099,318, based on preliminary data for December 2025 released this March by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nebraska also has the top workforce participation rate in the nation. Additionally, Nebraska’s population has reached a record high of 2,005,465. Nebraska ranked among the fastest-growing states in the Midwest in both 2024 and 2025.

The state is also making progress to stem “brain drain.” According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Nebraska’s net domestic migration significantly improved in 2025, nearly breaking even. That was Nebraska’s best performance on the metric since 2010.

For more information about the Good Life Is Calling campaign, go to thegoodlifeiscalling.com or contact ded.goodlife@nebraska.gov.