The Role of SJVRDC e SJVRDC consortium consists of more than 30 partners committed to providing their respective expertise, services, and resources to the Valley’s rural communities. SJVRDC currently provides services in the following 12 areas: business services, clean energy, economic development, finance, grant writing, health and human services, housing, nonprofit capacity, planning, project design and construction, trade development, transportation, and water infrastructure. Functionality e SJVRDC director is responsible for connecting the needs of the Valley’s rural communities with the appropriate consortium partners. Proactive outreach is conducted to make sure each community knows that SJVRDC resources and services are available and accessible. When a service request is received, it is assessed by the director and forwarded to SJVRDC partners for input and assistance. e director works closely with rural communities to ensure the technical assistance they receive is timely, effective, and affordable. Connecting Everyone to Opportunity Perhaps no other area in the country has been as severely impacted by the economic downfall than the eight counties that make up the San Joaquin Valley. Today, many of the rural communities throughout the Valley are lacking the resources and personnel needed to carry out projects crucial to infrastructure, economy, and overall quality of life. To address this crisis, the Office of Community and Economic Development (OCED) at California State University, Fresno created the San Joaquin Valley Rural Development Center (SJVRDC) in 2010. The purpose of this initiative is to connect rural communities to a wide range of indispensable expertise, services, and resources to ensure their needs are met efficiently, effectively, and affordably.
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The Role of SJVRDCThe SJVRDC consortium consists of more than 30 partners committed to providing their respective expertise, services, and resources to the Valley’s rural communities. SJVRDC currently provides services in the following 12 areas: business services, clean energy, economic development, finance, grant writing, health and human services, housing, nonprofit capacity, planning, project design and construction, trade development, transportation, and water infrastructure.
FunctionalityThe SJVRDC director is responsible for connecting the needs of the Valley’s rural communities with the appropriate consortium partners. Proactive outreach is conducted to make sure each community knows that SJVRDC resources and services are available and accessible. When a service request is received, it is assessed by the director and forwarded to SJVRDC partners for input and assistance. The director works closely with rural communities to ensure the technical assistance they receive is timely, effective, and affordable.
Connecting Everyone to Opportunity
Perhaps no other area in the country has been as severely impacted by the economic downfall than the eight counties that make up the San Joaquin Valley. Today, many of the rural communities throughout the Valley are lacking the resources and personnel needed to carry out projects crucial to infrastructure, economy, and overall quality of life.
To address this crisis, the Office of Community and Economic Development (OCED) at California State University, Fresno created the San Joaquin Valley Rural Development Center (SJVRDC) in 2010. The purpose of this initiative is to connect rural communities to a wide range of indispensable expertise, services, and resources to ensure their needs are met efficiently, effectively, and affordably.
SJV Rural Development Center Partners
American Humanics Certificate Program at Fresno State (AH)California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED)California Central Valley Economic Development Corporation (CCVEDC)California Coalition for Rural Housing (CCRH)California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-BANK)California Water Institute (CWI)Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR)Center for Economic Research and Education of Central California (CERECC)Center for International Trade Development (CITD)Central Valley Business Incubator (CVBI)Central Valley Fund (CVF)College of Health and Human Services at Fresno State (CHHS)Community and Regional Planning Center, College of Social Sciences at Fresno State (CRPC)Community Water Center (CWC)Construction Management Program, Lyles College of Engineering at Fresno State (CMP)Department of Art and Design at Fresno State (DAD)Economic Development Corporation serving Fresno County (EDC-FC)Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation (FAHF)Fresno/Clovis Convention and Visitors Bureau (FCCVB)Fresno Community Development Financial Institution (FCDFI)Fresno Regional Foundation (FRF)Gazarian Real Estate Center, Craig School of Business at Fresno State (GREC)Habitat for Humanity (HFH)Jan and Bud Richter Center for Community Engagement and Service-Learning at Fresno State (RC)Modesto Junior College Center of Excellence (MJCCOE)Northern California Community Loan Fund (NCCLF)Office of Community and Economic Development at Fresno State (OCED)Office of Governmental Relations at UC Merced (UCM OGR)Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC)San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization (SJV CEO)San Joaquin Valley Regional Policy Council (SJV RPC)Self-Help Enterprises (SHE)Technology Commercialization Program, Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Fresno State (Lyles Center-TCP)University Business Center, Craig School of Business at Fresno State (UBC)University of California, Merced Small Business Development Center Regional Network (UCM SBDC)U.S. Commercial Service, U.S. Department of Commerce (USCS)U.S. Department of Agriculture-Rural Development (USDA)Valley Small Business Development Center (VSBDC)
The Small Communities NetworkThe Small Communities Network (SCN) is designed to bring together representatives from the rural communities throughout the San Joaquin Valley. SCN facilitates quarterly regional workshops, webinar trainings, and daily informational e-mails to its members. SCN serves as an optimal medium for distributing information about available SJVRDC services to the region’s rural communities.
Moving ForwardSJVRDC was created out of a desire from the Valley’s rural communities to have access to a one-stop resource center. As such, OCED determined that input provided by the affected
communities will shape the future course of SJVRDC. The overall goal is to empower communities to take ownership of initiatives taking place in their communities.
As demand grows for assistance and services, additional funding will equip SJVRDC with the capacity to supply the necessary solutions. SJVRDC must be able to facilitate services that are not only affordable for rural communities but also cost effective for consortium partners to provide. SJVRDC will use a marketing/outreach initiative, coupled with a multifunctional website destined to be a comprehensive resource for timely information, resources and inquiries, to reach all rural cities and unincorporated communities in the Valley,
