California

Program # of Grants EDA Funds
Economic Adjustment Assistance 5 $3,678,750
Public Works 6 $12,316,954
Planning 8 $506,550
Technical Assistance 5 $741,841
Total 24 $17,244,095

During Fiscal Year 2013, EDA invested $17,244,095 in 24 projects in the State of California.   These projects are expected to create or retain 1,791 jobs and leverage $127,980,000 in private investment, according to grantee estimates. EDA’s investments help California communities achieve bottom-up, locally-defined economic development goals and strategies.

EDA offers a complementary, balanced portfolio of grant programs designed to help rural and urban communities grow their private sectors and create jobs.

Investment Spotlight:  Expanded Workforce Training in California’s Central Valley

A skilled workforce is an essential element in long-term economic growth, and the Central Valley Opportunity Center in Merced County, California addresses the issue by providing educational opportunities to farm workers and low-income populations.

Agriculture and agricultural processing industries are the bedrock of the Central Valley economy and moving this sector forward to improve efficiencies and reduce waste requires a workforce with advanced skills and abilities.

The Opportunity Center identified a shortage of skilled workers trained in various types of welding and other metal manufacturing work and applied to EDA for a grant to expand its Vocational and Business Training Center to include additional classes in arc and gas-oxy acetylene welding, as well as various types of arc cutting.

EDA awarded $1.9 million to renovate and expand the Center to add three metal classrooms with key training equipment. It is anticipated that this project will put hundreds of unemployed Californians into gainful, year-round employment.

Report fiscal year

  • 2013