Redwood Region Resilient Inclusive Sustainable Economy, or RISE, has officially been awarded $14 million in Catalyst pre-development funding.
As one of the 13 “California Jobs First” regions — and especially as a rural region comprising Tribal Lands and Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake and Mendocino counties — the Catalyst funding will help bridge the gap between planning and implementing regional economic development strategies and investments.
RISE said these funds will enable the Redwood Region to develop ready-to-go projects that can compete for funding opportunities from federal, state, and private sources.
The news came earlier this month when Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the $182 million Catalyst Funds awards to jumpstart the Regional Investment Initiative, or RII, and the creation of a California Jobs First Council and operational plan focused on streamlining the state’s economic and workforce development programs “to create more quality jobs, faster.”
The council and operational plan intend to guide the state’s investments in economic and workforce development to create more family-supporting jobs and prioritize industry sectors for future growth.
“For rural and under-capitalized regions like ours, getting projects ready for implementation is often held up by the expense and workload of the pre-development phase. After a year of figuring out our planning and governance structure for Redwood Region RISE, this next phase will be where the rubber hits the road and we start to move some funding to those projects that will have the best chance to receive implementation funds from the state, or that will be attractive to other funding agencies,” said Susan Seaman, program director for the Arcata Economic Development Corp., RISE’s fiscal agent.
The awarded $14 million Catalyst funds include up to $2 million for Collaborative’s operations, up to $1.5 million towards sector investment coordinators, up to $1.5 million towards grant administration and compliance, and — arguably most importantly — up to $9 million for project pre-development activities.
It is important to note that Redwood Region RISE still needs to contract with the state before these funds are available. The Employment Development Department expects these contracts to be executed around May, after which these funds will be available to reach communities in the Redwood Region.
A 10-year grassroots vision
California Jobs First’s Regional Investment Initiative is a $600 million state-wide program designed to promote a sustainable and equitable recovery from the economic distress of COVID-19.
Redwood Region RISE is one of the 13 Regional Collaboratives in the state working together to bring good, quality jobs to the region — tribal lands and Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake and Mendocino counties.
In its efforts, RISE said it is actively centering the experiences and empowering voices of the priority communities that don't always participate in or benefit from economic development planning processes.
The collaborative — a broad coalition of close to a thousand community members and organizations — is working together to surface local and regional needs and opportunities through dedicated tribal, local, and sector planning tables, an equity council and a community-endorsed voting member block.
RISE currently is midway through its planning phase, at the end of which, in September, they will present a 10-year strategic vision that identifies regional investments to make a positive impact on and create good job opportunities for communities, ensure sustainable economic growth (diversifying economies), and get us closer to California’s goals for a carbon-neutral future.
How can you get involved?
The public is invited to join the public collaborative Zoom meetings every last Thursday of the month between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. These gatherings are a great way to stay informed on Redwood Region RISE's progress, dive into key research findings for our region through its Data Walks, and share your knowledge and feedback with the group. To learn more and join these meetings, visit the RISE website.
If you have a project idea you think will make a difference for communities in our region, make sure to log it in the Project Inventory Form.
For more information, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The California Center for Rural Policy at Cal Poly Humboldt serves as Redwood Region RISE’s Regional Convener, North Coast Opportunities and True North Organizing Network are community engagement and outreach partners, and the Arcata Economic Development Corp. is the fiscal agent.
For more information, visit the Redwood RISE website.