Breadcrumb
Our Impact & Stories
More than 95% of the Redwood Region is classified as "disinvested" — meaning communities here have faced persistent gaps in capital, infrastructure, and economic opportunity for a long time.
Redwood Region RISE is the Redwood Region's Collaborative under California Jobs First — California's first-of-its-kind initiative to create more good-paying jobs by putting regions in the driver's seat. Guided by the State Economic Blueprint, the initiative funds communities to develop their own economic strategies, identify their own priorities, and build the partnerships needed to act on them. RRRISE is how the Redwood Region does that work.
The results below show what that coordination has made possible so far — and where there's more work to do.
RRRISE Impact By the Numbers
Over the past six months, RRRISE has made measurable early progress on workforce training, job creation, and infrastructure as its California Jobs First-funded Catalyst projects move into implementation — and newly launched philanthropic-funded projects are already gaining momentum — with more comprehensive data expected in the second half of 2026.
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$11.5 Million Deployed
- $9 million in California Jobs First Catalyst Funds
RRRISE deployed $9 million in state funding across fourteen Catalyst projects — over 70% to communities facing the greatest barriers to economic opportunity, 20% ($1.8 million) to Tribal-led initiatives - $2.5 Million in Private Philanthropic Funding
RRRISE secured $2.5 million from a private philanthropic funder, regranted to six projects focused on just transition and economic mobility for communities facing barriers to workforce participation — a signal of confidence in the region's ability to coordinate and deliver
Recent Redwood Region Economic Highlights
The UC ANR Hopland Research and Extension Center's virtual fencing pilot was included in a $28.6 million California Jobs First Implementation Award supporting the CA AgTech Alliance, smart farm development, sustainable irrigation, and statewide workforce training — aligned with RRRISE's investments in sustainable food and fiber systems. The award shows how regional projects, when connected to a statewide strategy, can become part of a larger funding case.
AgTech is one of five subsectors California has prioritized for concentrated statewide investment. The Redwood Region has working farms, a UC ANR cooperative extension network, and ongoing projects in this space.
RRRISE secured $2.5 million from a private philanthropic funder, regranted to six pre-development projects focused on communities facing barriers to workforce participation. Between 2014 and 2021, only 3% of total US philanthropic grantmaking went to rural-based organizations — making this a meaningful signal that coordinated regional strategies can shift that pattern.
Funded through a 2022 California Jobs First Pilot Program award, the new Ice House expands cold storage for the commercial fishing fleet, supporting fishing operators across the North Coast. It also positions the region to connect with broader blue economy investment as that sector grows statewide — including offshore wind development along the California coast, which involves shared workforce and infrastructure needs across multiple regions.
The region welcomed members of the California Jobs First Council and the Strategic Growth Council, showcasing local partnerships and progress. State agency representatives commended the region’s collaborative approach and gained deeper insight into how to better collaborate with Tribal and rural communities.
Members of the Redwood Region RISE Collaborative gathered to strengthen coordination across sector strategies, receive training on grantwriting, healthy collaboration, and policy advocacy; and build relationships through valuable in-person connection.
Launched in June 2025, projects across Culture and Placemaking, Food Fiber and Farm, Grow Your Own Health Workforce, Sustainable Forestry, and Tribal Energy Sovereignty have begun producing training slots, paid internships, jobs, and infrastructure. Progress varies by project, and pre-development work takes time.
What Regional Coordination Makes Possible
Individual organizations in rural regions often face the same structural challenge: too small to apply for certain funding alone, without the staff capacity to track what's available, and without visibility into what neighboring communities are already doing. RRRISE helps address that — not by solving every problem, but by reducing friction, sharing resources, and building shared infrastructure.
That includes connecting with other California Jobs First regions where it makes sense. Healthcare and childcare workforce shortages are a challenge across every rural region in the state — and shared strategies can carry more weight with state agencies than individual applications. The same is true for outdoor recreation and tourism, and for blue economy and AgTech sectors where the Redwood Region's assets connect to statewide supply chains.
For organizations and funders interested in this work, the region has a community-endorsed 10-year Regional Roadmap, an established coalition, and a pipeline of projects across working lands, blue economy, clean energy, healthcare, creative economy and tourism & outdoor recreation — built through three years of community engagement and ready to grow.
Humans of the Redwoods
We celebrate the voices, images, and moments that showcase our innovative and resilient region. Humans of the Redwoods tells the story of our economy through the voices of the community members who call this region home.
Photos & Videos
Explore photos from across the Redwood Region's landscapes and communities — and from RRRISE gatherings and events.
Stay Tuned: Impact Stories
Coming soon — stories of impact from RRRISE-funded projects, Sector Investment Coordinators, and the communities driving change across the Redwood Region.
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