Background

In 2022, the State of California established the California Jobs First Fund (formerly Community Economic Resilience Fund  or CERF) to empower thirteen geographic regions of the State to develop equitable plans for inclusive economic development. The $600M CERF initiative seeded each region with $5M to complete a Planning Phase consisting of economic research, stakeholder mapping and considerations of workforce, healthy equity, and climate impacts. This 14-month Phase will culminate in the development of a request for additional funds to support 2-5 projects during the Implementation Phase.

The Northern San Joaquin Valley California Jobs First region, now named North Valley THRIVE, comprises San Joaquin, Merced, and Stanislaus Counties. More than 100 organizations from the public, private, philanthropic, and non-profit sectors have been collaborating on North Valley THRIVE. The Merced County Workforce Board was selected as the regional convener of North Valley THRIVE, and Merced Community College District as the Fiscal Agent.

Current Opportunities: