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.
The Role of SJVRDC
Functionality
The 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.
The 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.
The Small Communities Network
The 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 Forward
SJVRDC 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
SJV Rural Development Center Partners
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,
San Joaquin Valley
Rural Development Center
American Humanics Certificate Program at Fresno State (AH)
California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED)
Ismael Díaz Herrera, Director
California Central Valley Economic Development Corporation (CCVEDC)
isherrera@csufresno.edu (E-mail)
California Coalition for Rural Housing (CCRH)
(559)278-0519 (Direct)
California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-BANK)
(559)294-6021 (Main)
California Water Institute (CWI)
Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR)
Office of Community and
Center for Economic Research and Education of Central California (CERECC)
Economic Development
California State University, Fresno
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)