REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: LANCE LIPPINCOTT, Director Economic Development Department BY: KELLY TREVINO, Assistant Director Economic Development Department SUBJECT ..Title Actions pertaining to the Local Immigrant Integration and Inclusion Grant (LIIIG) Program: 1. Authorize the City Manager to accept the $380,650 in grant funding for the Local Immigrant Integration and Inclusion Grant Program from the State of California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development. 2. Authorize the City Manager to execute all related documents for the acceptance, and administration of the Local Immigrant Integration and Inclusion Grant Program. 3. Authorize the City Manager to execute a service agreement between the City of Fresno and the Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative regarding the Local Immigrant Integration and Inclusion Grant Program. 4. ***RESOLUTION - Adopt 26th Amendment to the Annual Appropriation Resolution (AAR) No. 2023-185 appropriating $194,900 in fiscal year 2024 for the Local Immigrant Integration and Inclusion Grant Program from the State of California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (Requires Five Affirmative Votes) (Subject to Mayor's Veto) ..Body RECOMMENDATIONS Staff recommends Council authorize the City Manager to accept the Local Immigrant Integration and Inclusion Grant (LIIIG) in the amount of $380,650 and execute all related documents, authorize the City Manager to execute the service agreement between the City of Fresno and Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative (CVIIC) and adopt the 26th Amendment to AAR No. 2023-185 to appropriate $194,900 funding to the FY 2024 budget. Funds have been awarded for the Local Immigrant Integration and Inclusion Grant Program from the State of California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On July 28, 2023, the City of Fresno Economic Development Department, in partnership with CVIIC, applied for an LIIIG from the State of California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development International Affairs and Trade Unit (IATU). On October 12, 2023, the City received the official grant agreement from IATU. The amount being awarded is $380,650 over two years and serves to accentuate the entrepreneur pipeline and strengthen digital literacy within the immigrant population. The program budget calls for $194,850 to be spent in year one and the remainder ($185,800) to be spent in year two of the grant program. BACKGROUND The Budget Act of 2022 (Senate Bill 178, Skinner) and Government Code section 12100.140 et. seq. established the Local Government Immigrant Integration Initiative Program within the Governor's Office of Business and Economics. $8.2 million in one-time funding was approved for the LIIIG program, with awards being made to several jurisdictions including the City and County of Fresno. Activities under this program include, but are not limited to the following: economic development; social services navigation; intergovernmental technical assistance; and civic engagement. Under these guidelines, and with limited time to submit an application, the Economic Development Department and CVIIC partnered to submit a responsive narrative and budget for consideration by the State. Funding under that application will provide workshops on entrepreneurship designed to facilitate connections with industry professionals, assist with access to capital and financing resources, enable coordination with local entrepreneurship networks and resources, provide assistance with local permitting and provide digital literacy training. It will also support two full-time native Spanish-speaking staff at CVIIC with significant connections to the local business support community. These staff members will be the ones to lead the effort in providing the above outlined services and programs. Established in 2014, CVIIC has developed considerable experience working with mixed status immigrants in the eight San Joaquin Valley counties and established a vast network of nonprofit, public sector and private sector partner organizations in the region. In 2020, CVIIC established the Immigrant Entrepreneurs Program that has already provided self-employment and entrepreneurship training opportunities to a total of nearly 300 low-income Latinos at no-cost. Through this work, CVIIC has established an excellent reputation of goodwill with immigrant populations in the local community. The improved communication with the business community provided by the LIIIG will ultimately help spur additional economic prosperity to further assist in making Fresno a place where every resident and business can thrive. ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS This item is not a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act. LOCAL PREFERENCE Local preference was not implemented because this item does not include an award of a service or construction contract. FISCAL IMPACT There is no net City cost associated with the recommended action. Attachments: Grant Award Letter Service agreement with Central Valley Immigrant Integration Collaborative 26th Annual Appropriation Resolution No. 2023-185