California Central

What California Central does

California Central Valley Economic Development Corporation (CCVEDC), operating under the DBA "California Central," is a private non-profit regional economic development corporation formed in the late 1980s and headquartered in Bakersfield, California. The organization functions as a regional marketing entity covering eight Central Valley counties — Kern, Tulare, Kings, Fresno, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus — spanning 25,000 square miles and 62 cities. CCVEDC's primary customers are businesses evaluating site selection, relocation, or expansion in the region; its named end-customer logos span logistics/e-commerce (Amazon, AMB Property Corporation, VF Outdoors), agribusiness (Ardagh Group), manufacturing (McLellan Equipment, Xcor Composites), healthcare (Pacific Medical), and energy (Oak Creek Energy). Services are provided free and confidentially to these businesses.

The organization's core product surface consists of Site Selection Services, Real Estate Services (highlighting available sites and buildings through a broker network), Incentives and Financing Programs (Industrial Development Bonds, SBA 504 loans, Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund, CalCAP, New Market Tax Credit, Export-Import Bank), Regional Data Services (proprietary data on wages, labor pool, population), Site Tours, Workforce and Education Services, Transportation Services, and Business Consulting. Distributed go-to-market is sales-led: a single phone number (1-888-998-2345) and email channel routes inquiries through Executive Director Jennifer Faughn into a network of county-level EDCs and commercial real estate partners. There is no technology product, API, SDK, or integration surface.

CCVEDC's revenue model relies on public/private partnerships and sponsorships rather than fees from businesses. Core strategic partners include Pacific Gas and Electric (energy infrastructure, board representation), and a network of county-level EDCs providing governance and inbound lead flow. Sponsors include commercial real estate firms (Colliers, CBRE, Lee & Associates), BNSF Railway (logistics recruitment), The Wonderful Company, and Pearson Companies. Notable 2024-era project wins include Amazon's fifth Fresno distribution facility (248,786 sq ft at Westgate Industrial Center) and the proposed Ameresco/CyrusOne over $1 billion data center, solar farm, and battery storage project at NAS Lemoore. The organization operates with a lean structure of 1-10 employees.

Name

California Central

Legal name

California Central Valley Economic Development Corporation (CCVEDC)

Website

https://centralcalifornia.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CCVEDC is a private non-profit regional economic development corporation providing free, confidential site selection, regional data, and business facilitation services across eight California Central Valley counties (Kern, Tulare, Kings, Fresno, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bakersfield

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Sponsorship and Membership: CCVEDC operates on a lean budget and relies on public/private partnerships and sponsorships to fund their regional marketing activities. They offer sponsorship opportunities for organizations seeking to position themselves as stakeholders in the Valley's growth story.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

California Central Valley Economic Development Corporation (CCVEDC) provides free and confidential site selection and business development services to companies considering expansion or relocation in California's Central Valley. Its core offering is a coordinated, one-contact regional marketing platform that connects businesses with available sites and buildings, state and local incentive programs, workforce pipelines, and decision makers across eight counties.

Product overview

California Central Valley EDC (CCVEDC) is a regional economic development organization that operates as a unified service platform rather than a discrete software product. The organization provides a coordinated suite of site selection and business development services spanning six to eight Central Valley counties. Its core offerings include Site Selection Services (connecting businesses with available real estate), Real Estate Services (highlighting sites and buildings through a broker network), Incentives and Financing Programs (access to state/local incentives and loan programs), Regional Data Services (economic and workforce statistics), Site Tours (coordinated multi-county visits), Workforce and Education Services (connecting with training programs), and Transportation Services (infrastructure connectivity). The organization is structured as a public/private partnership and does not offer a technology product with technical integrations or API capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Site Selection Services Free and confidential site selection assistance connecting businesses with available sites and buildings across six to eight Central Valley counties (Kern, Tulare, Kings, Fresno, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus). Targeted at enterprise companies evaluating expansion or relocation to California's Central Valley.
• Real Estate Services Highlights available sites and buildings in the Central Valley region through a network of economic developers and brokers, emphasizing low real estate costs as a primary lure for businesses considering relocation to Central California.
• Incentives and Financing Programs Provides businesses with access to State and Local Incentive Programs, including Industrial Development Bonds, SBA 504 Loans, Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund, California Capital Access Program, New Market Tax Credit, and other business financing mechanisms. Targeted at businesses seeking financial assistance for expansion or relocation.
• Regional Data Services Provides statistical data resources covering affordable wage rates, labor pool size, population growth, and other economic indicators for business planning and site selection decisions. Targeted at companies conducting location analysis for expansion or relocation.
• Site Tours Provides coordinated site tours across eight counties through a single point of contact, including meetings with brokers and local/regional government agencies. Targeted at enterprise companies evaluating physical locations in the Central Valley.
• Workforce and Education Services Connects businesses with workforce entities, tech trade programs, and educational facilities to address skilled labor availability requirements for employers expanding or relocating to the Central Valley.
• Transportation Services Highlights transportation infrastructure advantages including proximity to highways, rail, ports, and airports for logistics and distribution operations. Targeted at logistics, distribution, and e-commerce companies evaluating the Central Valley.
• Business Consulting Services Connects businesses with key decision makers in economic development, financial, government, regulatory and real estate sectors to facilitate site location and expansion planning. Targeted at enterprises conducting site location or expansion projects in Central California.
• CCVEDC Sponsorship Program Sponsorship program that allows organizations to position themselves as stakeholders in the Central Valley's growth story while amplifying CCVEDC's regional marketing message. Includes sponsorship flyer for 2026. Targeted at utilities, real estate firms, railroads, agribusiness companies, and other stakeholders in regional economic development.

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPG&E is a key strategic partner in regional economic development, providing energy infrastructure data, ED rates, and supporting site selection for energy-intensive industries. PG&E representatives serve on the CCVEDC board and sponsor regional initiatives.
• Kern County EDCcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCounty-level economic development corporation serving as board member of CCVEDC. Led by Richard Chapman, President/CEO. Kern County is one of the eight counties covered by CCVEDC.
• EDC Serving Fresno CountycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCounty-level economic development corporation represented on CCVEDC board by Will Oliver, President/CEO. Fresno County is the largest county in the region.
• Merced CountycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCounty government economic development agency represented on CCVEDC board by Mark Mimms, Director of Community & Economic Development, and Tamra Spade, Deputy Director.
• Madera County EDCcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCounty-level economic development corporation represented on CCVEDC board by Kristina Gallagher, Executive Director.
• Kings County EDCcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCounty-level economic development corporation represented on CCVEDC board by Julieta Martinez, Economic and Workforce Development Director, and Fabio Ianni, Economic Development Manager.
• Grow Tulare CountycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCounty-level economic development organization represented on CCVEDC board by Michael Washam, RMA, Associate Director.
• ColliersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCommercial real estate firm and sponsor of CCVEDC regional marketing efforts.
• BNSF RailwayminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorClass I railroad and sponsor of CCVEDC regional marketing efforts, supporting logistics and distribution industry recruitment.
• CBREminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCommercial real estate services firm and sponsor of CCVEDC regional marketing efforts.
• Lee & AssociatesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCommercial real estate brokerage and sponsor of CCVEDC regional marketing efforts.
• The Wonderful CompanyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor agricultural company (known for Pom Wonderful, pistachios) and sponsor of CCVEDC. The Resnicks donated $10 million to Fresno State student union.
• Pearson CompaniesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMulti-brand company and sponsor of CCVEDC regional marketing efforts.
• AmerescocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnergy infrastructure company developing $1 billion data center, solar farm and battery storage project at NAS Lemoore in partnership with KKR-owned CyrusOne.
• CyrusOnecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKKR-owned data center company partnering with Ameresco to deliver AI-optimized data center infrastructure at NAS Lemoore.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kern County Economic Development Corporation: County-level EDC represented on CCVEDC's board (Melinda Brown, VP of Kern EDC, serves as CCVEDC Chair). Operates similar site selection, incentives, and regional marketing services for Kern County and is a peer operating at the county level beneath CCVEDC's regional umbrella.
• Bay Area Council Economic Institute: Bay Area-focused economic research and development organization that produces regional data and advocates for business attraction/retention. Comparable as a regional economic intelligence and policy outfit, though oriented to a different (high-cost) geography.
• Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation: Regional EDC marketing the Denver metro to inbound employers with similar playbook: regional data, site selection, coordinated incentives. Competes with CCVEDC for the same large-employer relocations from California's high-cost metros.
• Arizona Commerce Authority: Public-private state economic development agency that aggressively recruits California relocations using tax incentives and site readiness – a direct competitor for the same prospect pool CCVEDC targets, particularly logistics and manufacturing tenants leaving coastal California.
• Greater Phoenix Economic Council: Regional EDC for metro Phoenix that markets Sun Corridor logistics/manufacturing advantages to California-based firms. Competes head-to-head with CCVEDC for relocations from the Bay Area and Southern California.
• Inland Empire Economic Partnership: Regional economic development partnership for Riverside and San Bernardino counties that markets logistics/distribution advantages to inbound companies. Highly comparable to CCVEDC's pitch around affordable inland logistics hubs.
• Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC): Nonprofit regional economic development organization covering Los Angeles County that markets the region to expanding/relocating businesses, similar in mission and service model to CCVEDC. LAEDC operates at larger scale with an Institute for Economic Research arm, directly comparable as a regional marketing/recruitment EDC.
• San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation: Regional EDC promoting San Diego County to expanding businesses with similar site selection, incentives and data services. Non-profit structure with public-private funding parallels CCVEDC's model closely.
• Greater Sacramento Economic Council: Regional economic development organization marketing the six-county Sacramento region to inbound business, directly comparable to CCVEDC's model of coordinated multi-county site selection, regional data, and incentive facilitation. Adjacent geography but same playbook.

Broad incumbents

• GO-Biz (California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development): State-level economic development office that administers California incentives and recruits businesses statewide. Functions as a higher-tier complement/competitor to CCVEDC's regional efforts rather than a direct substitute, but overlaps on site selection and incentive coordination.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/california-central-valley-edc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about California Central