On June 6, the Palm Springs City Council approved two amendments and additional funding totaling $1,878,000 over the next five years to the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership (CVEP) and for their management of the Palm Springs iHub and Accelerator Campus. “The unanimous vote of our City Council to continue to support the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership and the Palm Springs iHub is a strong endorsement of our City’s continuing priority of encouraging and incubating small businesses in the Coachella Valley. Many of the small businesses being supported by CVEP and iHub are in the field of health care, sustainable energy, and digital media. These are areas of tremendous potential growth in our community and will have a perfect synergy with the soon to be built Palm Springs campus of the College of the Desert,” stated Palm Springs Mayor Robert Moon.
The City of Palm Springs demonstrated its continuing support of sustainable economic development for the iHub, founded in 2011 with the approval of $200,000 in funding annually for five years beginning in fiscal 2018-2019. This funding ensures the Palm Springs iHub’s future and its continuing course to diversify the Coachella Valley’s economy while adding living wage jobs and creating a dynamic skilled local workforce. “I am extremely pleased to support the financial commitment of the City of Palm Springs of the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership. CVEP has been responsible for supporting new and creative people building new businesses in our valley. CVEP is one of the keys to the future diversification and growth of our local economy,” said Palm Springs City Council Member Lisa Middleton.
Mayor Moon and Council Member Middleton serve as the representatives from the City of Palm Springs on CVEP’s Board of Directors and the Advisory Board for the Palm Springs iHub.
The City Council also approved general support for CVEP in the amount of $125,000 per year for five years. This support includes amounts for the annual CVEP Economic Summit and the Business Support Division that assists local businesses with expansion plans and small business educational seminars that range from financial literacy to surviving in a cyclical economy.
In addition, the City Council approved a $253,000 rent credit to the Palm Springs iHub for work completed at the iHub Accelerator Campus on Alejo Road by CVEP using outside funds. “This significant long term commitment from the City of Palm Springs is not only the largest financial commitment ever to CVEP, but it is the kind of commitment that will enable us to concentrate on our core mission of advancing the entrepreneurial ecosystem of the entire Coachella Valley,” said Joe Wallace, CVEP’s CEO and Chief Innovation Officer.
