Partnership Gives $2.5m in Seed Grants

By Jeff St. John, The Fresno Bee, Calif.

Mar. 30–The California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley announced Thursday that it has selected 15 groups to receive a total of $2.5 million in state "seed grants" to help projects seeking to improve the economy, environment and quality of life in the region.

The 15 grant winners were chosen from an initial pool of 106 applicants seeking funding from the partnership, a group of government, nonprofit and business leaders formed by Gov. Schwarzenegger in 2005.

The grants of up to $250,000 per applicant are meant to pay for projects aimed at tackling the Valley’s educational, environmental, social and economic problems.

"We are pleased with the innovation and level of collaboration that these seed grants represent, and we are confident they will jump-start major work in the region," Sunne Wright McPeak, partnership board member, said in a prepared statement.

The partnership awarded grants to the following projects:

The "San Joaquin Valley eHealth Network" project proposed by the University of California at Merced’s School of Natural Sciences was awarded $225,000.

The "Air Quality Education in Environmental Justice Areas" project proposed by The Maddy Institute was awarded $225,000.

The "Central California Marketing and Cluster Development" project proposed by the California Central Valley Economic Development Corp. was awarded $225,000.

The "Building Angel Investment and Entrepreneurship" project proposed by Chico-based Golden Capital Network and Davis-based Pacific Community Ventures was awarded $225,000.

The "San Joaquin Valley Tourism" project of the Central Valley Tourism Association was awarded a $75,000 challenge grant.

The "Growing Clean Energy Capacity in the San Joaquin Valley" project, proposed by a consortium of groups including the Kings River Conservation District, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District and the Valley Clean Air Now group, was awarded $125,000.

The methamphetamine recovery project of the Central California Social Welfare Evaluation, Research and Training Center was awarded $125,000.

The "San Joaquin Valley Health Enterprise Zone" project of the Central Valley Health Policy Institute was awarded $125,000.

A proposal to develop a college counseling access center from the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium was awarded $200,000.

The "English Learner Leadership & Mentoring Academy," a project of the Fresno County Office of Education, was awarded $250,000.

The Farmland Conservation Model Program, a project of the Council of Fresno County Governments and Great Valley Center, was awarded $200,000.

The "Integrating Land and Water Solutions in Tulare Lake Basin" project, proposed by Tulare Basin Wildlife Partners, was awarded $125,000.

The "Metro Rural Loop Corridor Preservation Feasibility Study," proposed by the city of Fresno’s Planning and Development Department, was awarded $125,000.

The "San Joaquin Valley Regional Water Plans Integration and Recycled Water Usage" project, proposed by the California State University, Fresno Foundation, was awarded $150,000.

The "Sowing Seeds for Community Health" project of Fresno-based Self-Help Enterprises was awarded $100,000.

Partnership members pointed out that many projects submitted to the group didn’t make the final cut — not for lack of worth, but for lack of funding.

"We had $7.5 million worth of projects to choose from," said Ashley Swearengin, director of the Office of Community and Economic Development at Fresno State, the office serving as a coordinator for the partnership. "We’re going to be looking to foundation, state and additional resources to get those projects funded."

The reporter can be reached at jeffstjohn@fresnobee.com or (559)441-6637.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Fresno Bee, Calif.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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