The California Labor Agency, Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, and Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development recently launched the Community Economic Resilience Fund (CERF) program, a $600 million initiative supporting innovative plans and strategies to diversify local economies and develop sustainable industries.
$50 million of that funding is currently being considered to support economic development pilot projects that meet CERF objectives. The State team recently shared and solicited public input on the framework for these pilots. CALED provided key input in these areas:
- Ensure regional and geographic equity in funding allocation
- Clarify grant scoring emphasis
- Clarify variety of local plans and emphasis on “shovel-ready” projects
- Remove premature requirement for HRTC letter for enhanced point scoring
- Anticipate potential of economic recession
Click here to read full letter.
About CALED
The California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED) is California’s premier economic development association and one of the largest economic development associations in the nation. CALED’s 700+ members include economic development managers and staff in local government agencies at the county and city levels, local economic development corporations, nonprofit organizations with an economic development focus, local chambers of commerce, business councils and alliances, economic development consultants, educational institutions and key stakeholders. Since its creation in 1980, CALED has led the way in teaching economic developers, local elected officials and state representatives the value of economic development and how it is used to grow businesses, generate revenue to expand the local economy, and pay for the services that residents require. For more information, visit caled.org.