Regional and community organizations around the state are currently learning about and helping refine California’s innovative $600-million regional economic fund created by state legislation last year.
The State of California’s Community Economic Resilience Fund (CERF) aims to promote an equitable recovery by supporting the development of inclusive, sustainable economic plans that create high-quality, accessible jobs and more equitable economies through regional collaboratives.
Organizations like the Latino Community Foundation (LCF) have recently held virtual sessions to highlight the promise and hurdles of using this tool for regional economic development in order to take on big challenges, plus sharing the opportunity to maximize funding by synchronizing CERF with new and existing funding sources. CA FWD participated in the LCF events to share an overview of the CERF program and also how CA FWD can support regions in their response to and implementation of the program.
You can watch the most recent LCF webinar held for the Central Coast and Central Valley here and their statewide-focused webinar at the top of this post or here on YouTube.
Valley Vision, a partner in our California Stewardship Network (CSN), will hold the Sacramento Region CERF Lunch & Learn next week on Thursday, May 12. More information and registration can be found here.
The Uplift Central Coast coalition — a group that includes partners in CSN — will be holding their regional Virtual Roundtable on CERF event on Friday, May 20. Info and registration can be found here.
Additionally, the State of California released updated CERF Planning Phase draft guidelines for a second round of public input. These most recent guidelines include more information on the program’s design, program requirements, timeline, award and contracting process, as well as reporting and program evaluation.
The State has been holding regional workshops for input and information sharing and will present two remaining CERF workshops next week, one in Spanish and one in Cantonese. Registration and info from the State can be found here.
