REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: GEORGEANNE A. WHITE, City Manager
Office of Mayor and City Manager
BY: KELLY TREVINO, Assistant Director
Economic Development Department
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to the Local Immigrant Integration and Inclusion Grant (LIIIG) Program:
1. Authorize the City Manager to accept an additional $45,000 in grant funds, for a total amount of $425,650, and an extension from the International Affairs and Trade Unit within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (IATU) and execute related grant documents.
2. Approve the First Amendment to the Service Agreement between Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative (CVIIC) to increase the total fee amount by $45,000, for a total amount not to exceed $421,650, and extend the term to January 31, 2026, with performance period through December 31, 2025.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends Council authorize the City Manager to accept an additional $45,000 in funding and an extension of time for the LIIIG and execute all related documents and approve the first amendment to the service agreement between the City of Fresno and CVIIC.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On July 28, 2023, the City of Fresno Economic Development Department, in partnership with CVIIC, applied for an LIIIG from IATU. On October 12, 2023, the City received the official grant agreement from IATU. The amount awarded was $380,650 over two years and serves to accentuate the entrepreneur pipeline and strengthen digital literacy within the immigrant population. The term of the agreement is scheduled to end on November 30, 2025. On November 16, 2023, Council authorized the acceptance of this funding and all related actions for the grant.
On April 24, 2025, IATU notified the City and CVIIC of the availability of an additional $45,000, bringing the total grant amount to $425,650, and an extension of the agreement term through January 31, 2026.
BACKGROUND
The Budget Act of 2022 (Senate Bill 178, Skinner) and Government Code section 12100.140 et. seq. established the Local Government Immigrant Integration Initiative Program within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. $8.2 million in one-time funding was approved for the LIIIG program, with awards being made to several jurisdictions including the City of Fresno. Activities under this program include, but are not limited to, the following: economic development; social services navigation; intergovernmental technical assistance; and civic engagement.
Under these guidelines the Economic Development Department and Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative (CVIIC) partnered to submit a responsive narrative and budget for consideration by the State. Funding is designed to provide workshops on entrepreneurship designed to facilitate connections with industry professionals, assist with access to capital and financing resources, enable coordination with local entrepreneurship networks and resources, provide assistance with local permitting and provide digital literacy training. It also supports two full-time native Spanish-speaking staff at CVIIC with significant connections to the local business support community. These staff members are the ones leading the effort in providing the above outlined services and programs. To date, five cohorts of entrepreneurs have gone through the entrepreneur program with a total of 93 participants successfully completing the training. There have also been 22 digital literacy cohorts with an additional 136 participants successfully completing that training. This has resulted in eight new business start-ups and 14 business expansions supported. In August 2024, the First Annual Immigrant Entrepreneurship Expo was held at the Exhibit Hall helping to connect over 325 attendees with various entrepreneurship and other services. With the help of this new funding, the plan is to increase the services offered through the end of 2025, hiring subject matter consultants and offering additional classes in e-commerce and digital tools to upcoming cohorts. There are also plans to offer a “Semana de Inmigrantes Emprendedores” (Immigrant Entrepreneurs Week) that would offer in-person and virtual training and networking opportunities with peers and representatives from local small business development ecosystem partners.
Established in 2014, CVIIC has developed considerable experience working with mixed status immigrants in the eight San Joaquin Valley counties and established a vast network of nonprofit, public sector and private sector partner organizations in the region. In 2020, CVIIC established the Immigrant Entrepreneurs Program that has already provided self-employment and entrepreneurship training opportunities to a total of nearly 300 low-income Latinos at no-cost. Through this work, CVIIC has established an excellent reputation of goodwill with immigrant populations in the local community. The improved communication with the business community provided by the LIIIG will ultimately help spur additional economic prosperity to further assist in making Fresno a place where every resident and business can thrive.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
This item is not a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Section 15378.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not implemented because this item is an amendment to an existing grant agreement.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no net City cost associated with the recommended action.
Attachments:
Updated Grant Agreement #LIIIG-2023-02-A1
First Amendment to Service Agreement with CVIIC
Original Grant Agreement #LIIIG 2023-2
Original Service Agreement with CVIIC