2023 CCEDA Policy & Funding Conference

The 2023 CCEDA Policy Conference centers our focus on the impact of state efforts and community economic development organization on the daily, lived experience of the low-income communities and communities of color. The theme, Funding a More Equitable California: Community Development in Low-Income Communities of Color, encourages us to consciously consider how elected representatives, financial institutions, and community economic development organizations can work together and leverage networks to advance a more equitable economic vision in which low-income communities of color thrive.

In the wake of economic crisis and growing inequality, community economic development organizations like CDCs, CDFIs, and CAAs have served as effective tools to address the needs of low-income communities. Moreover, those who have taken up these tools have come to greater reflect the communities they serve, as more BIPOC have started CDCs and advanced to positions of leadership.

Supporting and growing this network of organizations can scale the effective work they are doing to bring equity to the state’s economy. Our capacity to make a meaningful difference, as CEDs, requires strong working relationships with elected officials and financial institutions.

The 2023 CCEDA Policy Conference provides the space to vitalize these relationships, harness funding opportunities, and cohere an equitable vision for California.