California Association for Local Economic Development

What California Association for Local Economic Development does

California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED) is a 501(c)(6) non-profit professional association founded in 1980 and headquartered at 2150 River Plaza Drive, Suite 275 in Sacramento. It is California's largest economic-development trade body, with more than 1,100 members drawn from city, county, state, and federal economic-development practitioners, local economic-development corporations, chambers of commerce, business alliances, and consultants. The association's portfolio is built around four product pillars: (i) professional training and certification, including the Keys Course (Introduction to Economic Development), the Advanced Institute, and the Accredited California Economic Developer (ACE) program; (ii) flagship events such as the Annual Conference and the Finance & Real Estate Summit; (iii) legislative advocacy through the Legislative Action Committee and Legislative Watch; and (iv) an extensive content library including the Recovery and Resiliency Playbook, the FDI Tech Guide, the Tax Increment Financing Primer, and Model Practices.

Revenue is generated through three mechanics: recurring annual membership dues, fee-based training and event registrations (e.g., $85 per Webinar Wednesday for non-members), and government grants — most notably a $5 million award from the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) in 2026 to stand up the California Permit Streamlining Academy (CaPSA). Operations are organized under three linked entities: CALED itself, the California Academy for Economic Development (its training, education, and research arm funded in part by a U.S. EDA grant), and the California Enterprise Development Authority (CEDA), a Joint Powers Authority created in 2006 that issues private-activity and tax-exempt bonds (Industrial Development Bonds, PACE, public-infrastructure financing) and has participated in deals such as the $517M Mead Valley Wellness Village project and a $37M tax-exempt loan to the Holocaust Museum Los Angeles. CALED is governed by an elected Board of Directors chaired (as of 2024) by Jennifer McLain Hiramoto, with President & CEO Gurbax Sahota also serving as CEDA Chair; the organization serves exclusively the California market and is not venture-backed or private-equity owned.

Name

California Association for Local Economic Development

Legal name

California Association for Local Economic Development

Website

https://caled.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CALED is California's premier 501(c)(6) non-profit economic development association, serving 1,100+ government, chamber, and consultant members with training, certification, advocacy, and access to tax-exempt financing tools statewide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Economic Development Professional Association Services

NAICS

Administration of Urban Planning and Community and Rural Development (925120), Administration of Economic Programs (9261)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Economic Development & Business Licensing (Local) (BPAIACAN)

Keywords

• Economic development training
• Professional certification programs
• Legislative advocacy services
• Economic development networking
• Tax-exempt financing tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Sacramento

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. Membership Dues: CALED generates revenue through annual membership dues from economic development professionals, local governments, economic development corporations, chambers of commerce, and other stakeholders. The membership fee structure supports access to resources, training, and the organization's network.
2. Training Programs and Events: Revenue generated from training certificate programs including the Introduction to Economic Development (Keys Course), Advanced Institute for Economic Development, ACE Program, Finance & Real Estate Summits, and Annual Conferences. Non-member webinar pricing is $85 per session.
3. Grants and Government Funding: CALED receives grant funding from government sources including a $5 million grant from GO-Biz for permit streamlining efforts and EDA funding for The California Academy for Economic Development.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CALED is California's premier non-profit economic development association, offering professional training programs, certification (ACE Program), annual conferences, legislative advocacy, and educational resources to economic development practitioners. Through its affiliated Joint Powers Authority (CEDA), it also facilitates tax-exempt financing tools including Industrial Development Bonds, PACE financing, and public infrastructure financing for manufacturers, non-profits, and local governments across California.

Product overview

The California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED) is California’s premier economic development association offering a comprehensive portfolio of training programs, professional certifications, conferences, and advocacy services. The organization operates through its core membership programs including the ACE (Accredited California Economic Developer) Program, the California Permit Streamlining Academy (CaPSA), certificate programs, and major annual events. Through its affiliated entity, the California Enterprise Development Authority (CEDA), CALED provides access to tax-exempt financing tools including Industrial Development Bonds (IDB), PACE financing, and public infrastructure financing. Together, these offerings serve economic development professionals, local governments, manufacturers, and non-profit organizations across California.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• California Academy for Economic Development: Training, education, and research division focused on economic development professional development
• California Permit Streamlining Academy (CaPSA)
• Accredited California Economic Developer (ACE) Program

Products and services

• ACE (Accredited California Economic Developer) Program Professional certification program for economic developers providing California-specific accreditation and ongoing education to advance careers in economic development.
• California Permit Streamlining Academy (CaPSA) Training and resource academy providing summaries of active legislation impacting local government permitting and support for permit streamlining across California.
• CALED Annual Conference Annual gathering of economic development professionals featuring the Awards of Excellence Program, training sessions, and networking opportunities for members.
• Finance & Real Estate Summit Annual summit focused on finance and real estate aspects of economic development, attracting industry professionals for presentations, deal-making, and finance-focused content.
• Rural Economic Development Exchange Exchange program connecting rural economic development professionals across California to share strategies, resources, and best practices.
• Introduction to Economic Development Certificate Program (Keys Course) Entry-level certificate program providing foundational knowledge in economic development principles and practices for new practitioners.
• Advanced Institute for Economic Development Advanced training program for experienced economic development professionals seeking to enhance their expertise beyond the entry-level Keys Course.
• Economic Development Recovery and Resiliency Playbook Comprehensive playbook providing tools, best practices, and resources for California communities to create resilient economies.
• California Enterprise Development Authority (CEDA) Financing Services Joint Powers Authority created to address gaps in economic development financing, facilitating issuance of private activity bonds for economic and community development. Offers tax-exempt financing for manufacturing, non-profits, and public infrastructure.
• Industrial Development Bonds (IDB) Low-cost financing tool for manufacturers and eligible non-profits to finance land purchases, facility expansion, equipment acquisition, and solar/energy conservation retrofits.
• Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Financing Financing program allowing property owners to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements through property tax assessments.
• Public Infrastructure Financing Financing solutions for public infrastructure projects supporting economic and community development through tax-exempt bond issuance.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.

• California Enterprise Development Authority (CEDA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEDA is a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) created in 2006 by CALED to address gaps in economic development financing. CALED's CEO Gurbax Sahota serves as CEDA Chair. CEDA facilitates the issuance of private activity bonds for economic and community development statewide. The organizations share staff and the same Sacramento headquarters address.
• Kutak RockminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLaw firm partner in CEDA financing transactions, providing legal services for bond issuances including Holocaust Museum LA expansion. Sam Balisy and Jessica Shaham worked on the transaction team.
• P3 Riverside Holdings, LLCmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of developer consortium partnering with CEDA and Riverside County for the $517 million Mead Valley Wellness Village behavioral health campus project. Also includes PMB Mead Valley LLC and Snyder Langston.
• Senator Caballero (CA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSenator Caballero authored SB 747, legislation supported by CALED to make critical changes to the Surplus Land Act that support members' ability to provide quality economic development services. CALED CEO and board leaders testified in support.
• California Academy for Economic DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn initiative of CALED devoted to economic development training, education, and research. The Academy receives EDA grant funding and provides technical assistance services for small businesses and economic development practitioners.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• International Economic Development Council (IEDC): IEDC is the largest international membership association for economic developers, offering certification, training, and advocacy. It is the most direct national peer to CALED, but operates globally rather than focusing on a single state.
• National League of Cities (NLC): NLC represents municipal governments and provides economic development resources and training to city officials, overlapping with CALED's local government economic development practitioner membership base.
• U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation: The Foundation operates economic development and workforce initiatives that overlap with CALED's local chamber and business council members, though at a much larger national scale.
• National Association of Counties (NACo): NACo represents county governments and includes economic development programming and advocacy, paralleling CALED's county-level economic development membership.

Direct peers

• National Association of Development Organizations (NADO): NADO serves regional development organizations and provides training, research, and advocacy on economic and community development, overlapping directly with CALED's rural economic development exchange and policy work.
• State Science & Technology Institute (SSTI): SSTI is a national nonprofit serving state-level economic development and technology-based economic development practitioners, providing comparable training, resources, and advocacy in an adjacent sub-vertical.
• National Association of State Development Agencies (NASDA): NASDA represents state-level economic development agencies and serves a parallel role to CALED at the national state-agency tier, with comparable training, advocacy, and networking functions.
• Council for Economic Development (CED) / Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA): CDFA is a national association dedicated to development finance agencies and tools, closely comparable to CALED's CEDA financing arm and Project Development & Finance Division in mission and member services.

Regional players

• Greater Houston Partnership: A regional chamber-style economic development organization for the Houston region that combines advocacy, research, and member services in a similar structure to CALED, but serving a single metro economy rather than a state.
• Bay Area Council Economic Institute: A California-based regional economic policy and research institute that convenes business, government, and civic leaders on economic issues, comparable to CALED in California focus but oriented toward research and policy rather than practitioner certification.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CALED_EconDev
• Facebookfacebook.com/California-Association-for-Local-Economic-Development-215412295471431
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/california-association-for-local-economic-development

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries2 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 Association for Local Economic Development