Breadcrumb
A Brief History of Redwood Region RISE
Our Collaborative's Timeline
Redwood Region RISE launched in February 2023, as part of the statewide California Jobs First initiative – California’s Just Transition framework which looks to create thriving wage jobs in sustainable and growing sectors. Spanning Tribal Lands, Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, and Mendocino Counties, RRRISE brought together a regional coalition committed to building a resilient, inclusive, and sustainable economy.
More About RRRISE
Learn about our regional governance model, our Tribal Table, the history behind our Collaborative, and more.
Economic Development Pilot: January 2023 – April 2023
The then called Community Economic Resilience Fund (CERF) Pilot (2022–2023) preceded the California Jobs First's full launch, awarding $39 million across eight projects statewide–including $3.2 for Mendocino’s Noyo Harbor Revitalization Project–to test and demonstrate the kinds of regionally-rooted, high-road economic development projects the program would later fund at scale.
Planning Phase: February 2023 – September 2024
Redwood Region RISE, alongside 12 other regions across California, received $5 million from the State of California to create a community-led Collaborative to guide an inclusive, regional planning process. The first year of RRRISE focused on listening and learning. Through ~500 listening sessions, in-person strategy sessions, surveys, community events, and public meetings around the region, RRRISE engaged 175+ organizations and over a thousand residents, encouraging input from disinvested communities to shape the region's economic future. This extensive outreach informed the development of our Regional Roadmap — a comprehensive 2-part plan combining detailed economic analysis with ambitious 10-year strategies.
Our Regional Roadmap has since been approved as a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) by the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
Implementation Phase: October 2024 – September 2026
By September 2024, RRRISE completed its Planning Phase and began implementing its sector strategies for: Arts, Culture, and Tourism; Health and Caregiving; Renewable and Resilient Energy; Working Lands and Blue Economy; with a focus on Workforce Development. In April 2025, Redwood Region RISE distributed $9 million in California Jobs First Catalyst Pre-development Funds to seed transformative projects with regional impact. In late December 2025, the Collaborative selected six projects to receive a combined $2.5 million from a new private philanthropic partner–an investment that signals growing external confidence in the region’s ability to work together and deliver results.
California Jobs First Tribal and Implementation Funding
Tangentially, California Jobs First administered a Tribal Investment RFP — $15 million in competitive grants to support economic development, job creation, and climate resilience in Tribal communities, open to California Native American Tribes, Tribal consortia, and Tribal-led nonprofits. Individual awards were capped at $1M ($2M for coalitions). Both rounds have since been awarded, with the State — not Redwood Region RISE — overseeing the selection process.
Alongside this, California Jobs First directly administers $135 million in Implementation Funding for ready-to-go projects aligned with regional Jobs First Strategies. Round 1 closed with $80 million awarded to support eleven projects across California, and Round 2 opened October 2025 with the remaining $55 million anticipated to be awarded by Summer 2026.
A Note on RRRISE Sustainability
As we move through our final months of State-funded implementation, we remain committed to creating an economy where everyone can thrive — and to ensuring that the strategies, partnerships, and resources built through RRRISE remain accessible to the Redwood Region long after September 2026.
