We Prosper Together Awards an Additional $4 Million to Advance 11 High-Impact Projects in the Capital Region
This completes the distribution of $9 million worth of funding aimed at advancing sustainable industry growth and economic resilience across the eight counties
MEDIA CONTACT – Ronit Sholkoff (valleyvision@wearerally.com)
SACRAMENTO, CA — August 5, 2025 —We Prosper Together is investing $4 million in 11 transformative initiatives across the eight-county Capital Region to advance economic resilience and prosperity. This round of funding completes We Prosper Together’s latest effort to fund local and regional projects that create, attract, and increase access to quality jobs. Projects selected in this round cover a diverse range of critical focus areas — including biotechnology, small business support, community health, and accessible workforce pathways. These projects are poised to address key community needs, expand economic opportunities, and drive impact for residents across the region.
“These community-led projects will help unlock the potential of the Capital Region’s most promising industries, while investing in our workers and economy in the process. We’re excited to see how these projects, combined with the ones we selected during our first round of funding, will help residents build a more secure, prosperous, and sustainable future for themselves and their families,” said Evan Schmidt, CEO of Valley Vision.
The funding represents the second and final round of investments in the Catalyst Phase, a critical step in enacting the strategies outlined in We Prosper Together’s Regional Plan: Strategies for a Thriving and Inclusive Economy. The Catalyst Phase funding is designed to get projects ready for full implementation and position them to compete effectively for future federal, state, or private funding. In total, the Catalyst Phase awarded $9 million to a total of 22 high-impact projects throughout the Capital Region’s eight counties.
The selected projects of this round tackle critical regional challenges through activities like creating remote work opportunities for full-time caregivers, hiring Spanish-speaking small business advisors, laying the groundwork for a thriving local biotechnology workforce, and developing a sustainable program to train justice-impacted individuals for careers in fire service.
“As someone who works with disinvested communities, especially mothers with children and caregivers, it was really affirming for me to be in a space where that population was being prioritized. In addition to that, being a part of this project broadened my perspective as to what economic development is, and reaffirmed for me that the work we’re doing at my organization is helping families across our region prosper and thrive.” said Jeneba Lahai, Executive Director of Yolo County’s Children Alliance (YCCA).
The full list of funding recipients is as follows:
- AgHIRE Expansion Planning Initiative, Center for Land-Based Learning
- Bio-Mass Recycle to Energy 7 County, Nevada-Sierra Connecting Point Public Authority
- Colusa USDA and CDFA Certified Meat Processing Facility, City of Colusa
- Community Health and Working Lands Workforce Pilot, Yolo County Children’s Alliance
- Justice-Involved Fire Service Planning Project, Future Fire Academy
- NextGen BioFab: AI-Powered Training for Tomorrow’s Biotech Innovators, University of California, Davis
- Project IGNITE (Investigating Growth Needs in Inclusive Technical Education), Green Technical Education and Employment (Green Tech)
- Rooted to Rise: Working Lands Economic Master Plan, El Dorado Economic Generator & Germination Fund (Our EGG) of the El Dorado Community Foundation
- Tahoe Business Catalyst Pilot, Tahoe Prosperity Center
- Working Lands Workforce Development Pipeline, Yuba College
- WorkReady: Remote Careers for Moms and Caregivers in Business Services, Playzeum Yuba Sutter
To learn more about the projects listed, visit our website: weprospertogether.org/catalyst-projects.
The work of We Prosper Together is supported by the statewide initiative California Jobs First and builds on the newly released California Jobs First Economic Blueprint.
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About We Prosper Together
Representing eight counties in the Capital Region, over 150 organizations, and hundreds of community leaders and residents, We Prosper Together is driving a community-led approach to building a stronger regional economy. We Prosper Together is working to elevate diverse voices, encourage investments, amplify local solutions, and create living-wage jobs for families in Colusa, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo, and Yuba counties. Visit weprospertogether.org to learn more and get involved.
