The City of Sacramento has selected 10 companies to participate in its Economic Gardening 2.0 program and potentially receive up to $50,000 in matching funds for future growth.
The program pairs local companies with local and national experts who assist in analyzing data and creating strategies to sustainably grow the businesses. The selected businesses can also receive up to $50,000 that the business must match in equivalent funds to implement the recommendations they received during their consulting.
“These businesses already contribute to the city’s economy, but through the Economic Gardening 2.0 program, they will be able to grow their market share, reach and workforce,” said City of Sacramento Project Manager Lorrie Clark. “This program makes impactful investments and supports the growth of local small businesses.”
To be selected, companies must already be established and have five to 99 employees and $1 million to $50 million in revenues. The City received 40 applications for the program, and after a competitive vetting process, 10 businesses were selected to participate.
The City’s Office of Innovation and Economic Development, which manages the Economic Gardening program, also is working with the Sacramento State Career Center to enhance opportunities for local businesses. As part of the program, companies can work with the Career Center on talent development and have access to student fellows to advance their business growth strategies.
The 10 local companies work in areas including coffee, commercial trucking, AV production, publishing, advertising and public relations.
Find a full list of the 10 companies on the City’s website.
“As the last independent auto part store in Sacramento, we recognize our competitors are all huge corporations,” said Ray Lettini, owner FPS Auto Parts, a local company that was selected to participate in the program. “We haven’t had the same resources to compete with them. Now, the EG 2.0 program is going to provide our team with access to the tools we’ve needed to scale. We are very excited.”
“Programs and grants such as these can be instrumental and pivotal in taking companies from great to exceptional,” said Jamie Von Sossan, CEO of 3fold, another local company selected for the program. “After just having launched our five-year strategic plan this year, being gifted the brainpower of this consultant group to hone-in even further on our goals is truly the icing on the cake.”
Six local companies were chosen last year to participate in the first round of Economic Gardening 2.0.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the six participating businesses have reported steady or increased revenues and profits, and they have added 18 jobs, which are a combination of full-time, part-time and student fellows.
“Uptown Studios worked with the City of Sacramento on an Economic Gardening Grant, and we are thrilled with the outcomes,” said past participant Tina Reynolds, president of Uptown Studios. “Our main launch started just before COVID hit and we all had to punt hard. Their team was excellent at the many pivots that we have had to make over the past year and now we are in our expansion mode and right during COVID still, but we are strong and growing within our community.”
Funded by the City’s Innovation and Growth Fund, Economic Gardening 2.0 builds on the City’s recently adopted “ScaleUp” plan, an inclusive economic development action agenda. ScaleUp is intended to guide how the City utilizes its unique assets to generate sustained, quality economic growth and identifies promising initiatives to help build up local businesses and advance job opportunities.