Economic Development News |
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From Ross Welch, Executive Director |
I always like to remind people that we serve a large region in Northern California at AEDC that includes Humboldt, Del Norte, Trinity, Lake, Mendocino and Siskiyou Counties. To be honest, we haven't always had the capacity to serve them all as well as we like. It's a large geographic reach. One of the few benefits of the pandemic, however has been the ability to work more seamlessly across county lines. By offering PPP Loans, we found ourselves connecting with businesses throughout the whole region. We also recently received $1M from the EDA to serve Del Norte County, specifically.
It is important to us that we serve our entire region. Even with the new videoconferencing capability we now have available, nothing beats getting to meet face to face. When the North Coast SBDC said they were moving to an office in Crescent City, we were thrilled for the opportunity to partner with them to keep a desk in their office. This will give us the opportunity to schedule visits with our Del Norte clients and future clients at least once a month with personal face-to-face meetings. We will also continue to be available via phone and ZOOM at any time. Our new Loan Officer Hannah Joy (above) has already made a couple visits, and she's excited to get there more often.
Our regional work goes beyond lending, too. We are continuing to work on the Redwood Coast Regional Summit and we are even working on a new regional leadership program to develop collaborations that can help build the prosperity across county lines. We have been visiting and meeting with leaders from Mendocino, Lake and Del Norte Counties in these efforts. Our lending reach has also grown with the new outreach with loans coming from Del Norte, Mendocino and Lake Counties in the last few months. We will talk more about these projects in future newsletters.
While we started in Arcata, we certainly span much further geographically. While we are sometimes called a small business lending center, you can read in the stories below that we offer far more than loans. While our name can be confusing, our mission is not and we are excited to continue to offer opportunities for economic and equitable growth in the whole region.
-- Ross
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ARPA Funds For An Economy Where All Families Can Succeed |
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Humboldt County’s local childcare system was devastated during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in order to help stabilize the system and ensure families have access to childcare going forward, the Board of Supervisors today unanimously approved a $4.8 million contract with AEDC, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), that provides grants, loans and subsidies to local childcare providers and families.
The program, developed by the Humboldt County Childcare Taskforce, will provide funds for childcare retention bonuses, hiring bonuses, forgivable loans to transition centers/homes from preschool to infant and toddler care, educational loan forgiveness for those who receive early childhood education degrees, childcare subsidies for working parents, business support, and the establishment of a Child Care Sustainability
Commission to study the local industry and develop a plan to maintain these programs.
Childcare has been identified by the federal government as an industry that has been disproportionally affected by COVID-19. This is evidenced by the crisis facing Humboldt County’s childcare industry: 80% of Humboldt County’s working families looking for childcare are unable to find a licensed care provider, and those who provide childcare services have struggled to make ends meet. Since March 2020, Humboldt
County has seen a roughly 30% closure rate of available childcare service providers, with at least 6% closing permanently.
Families report that childcare fees are such a heavy burden that they often have to choose between childcare and paying for housing, food, or other necessities. To that end, the program will provide system of subsidies of childcare fee for local families, including middle-income families who do not qualify for existing supports.
The childcare crisis is not only felt in the most populated areas of Humboldt County, and because childcare options are fewer in outlying areas, the affects of closures can be even more catastrophic in more rural areas. Many childcare services in outlying areas of the county are informal, and this is a tremendous opportunity to support these care providers and stabilize their services through small business incubation. Small business
technical assistance and incubation support will provide them with a solid foundation for becoming small business owners, while providing critical services to remote communities.
The Childcare Grant and Loan Program will be administered by the Arcata Economic Development Corporation, which is a designated Community Development Financial Institution, committed to delivering responsible, affordable lending to helping low-income, low-wealth and other disadvantaged people and
communities join the economic mainstream.
More information on this program will be provided as it becomes available. We will provide more information, including an informational website, when it becomes available. Until then, you can call Susan at AEDC (707) 798-6132 ext. 212 with questions.
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Meet Our New PIIP Director—Ursula Bischoff |
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AEDC would like to warmly welcome Ursula Bischoff, our new Public Investing and Innovation Partnership Director!
Ursula is excited to be joining the team at AEDC. “My goal is to catalyze partnerships that attract and direct investments in communities equitably to create a thriving, sustainable future for this region.” We got together with Dr. Bischoff to learn more about her and here’s what she had to say!
What attracted you to this position?
It was such a good fit! It's aligned with my personal and professional values, and an opportunity to weave together the different strands of experience I’ve had and apply that knowledge on a regional level to help create positive change. I want to contribute to the community I live in through my professional work, and I’m thrilled I’ll be able to do that. I’m excited to support partnerships that help center community voices and increase the capacity of local residents and businesses to access and use capital investments in ways that help address historical effects of oppression, discrimination and forms of “other-ing.”
Are there specific segments of our population here in Humboldt County that you're especially passionate about serving?
There are so many different ways to understand diversity, and I'm eager to continue learning about the history and experience of people in the region AEDC serves. While it’s important, I believe we have to go beyond simply acknowledging the harm that systemic racism and discrimination has caused, and continues to cause. We have to do more. This is one of the reasons I wanted to settle in Humboldt—I see a community that embraces and shares this perspective. I see a collective commitment to valuing those conversations and to working towards equity.
What are you most looking forward to achieving as the Public Investing and Innovation Partnership Director?
Leveraging public funding and private investments through multi-sector partnerships accomplish two goals: enhance the capacity of communities to access, manage and own investments that open opportunities for people to live, work and learn in healthy homes and neighborhoods, and significantly improve the quality of life for everyone in the region to move us all together into a sustainable future.
What do you love about living in Humboldt?
I’ve lived in cities most of my life and, while I do love cities, I’m thrilled to live in a place with such abundant natural beauty. I love hiking, and being able to walk right out into a forest or onto the beach or into the marsh. I love going to farmer's markets and supporting local growers. I already knew friends here when I arrived just over a year ago, and have met so many warm, wonderful and generous people, and love the welcoming spirit of this community.
We are thrilled to have Ursula join our team, and for the impact she will have across our region.
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Humboldt County is in the beginning stages of creating a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for 2023-2027. The CEDS is our county’s framework to grow a diverse and thriving economy, outline a plan for regional resilience, and improve the quality of life for everyone who lives in Humboldt. Alongside economic studies and research, they are engaging the public in a variety of ways to get their input and insights on the key issues and opportunities our county is facing.
The finalized CEDS document offers an in-depth analysis of the strengths of our region, identifies gaps in our equity, infrastructure, and the economy that need to be addressed, and outlines a regional action plan, measures of economic resilience and performance indicators to track our progress.
Economic Development is something that impacts every one of us. It goes beyond growing industries and small businesses—economic prosperity requires a holistic approach, with strategies to stabilize and support the workforce, increase our housing stock in sustainable ways, provide equitable access to healthcare and broadband, and foster our local arts culture, just to name a few.
In order to create the best plan possible, we need your input! Head to HumboldtRising.com and fill out their short survey on the economic development factors that matter most to you.
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Arcata Economic Development Corporation
Fax: (707) 798-6130
Tel: (707) 798-6132
707 K Street, Eureka, CA 95501
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