Funding for water and wastewater projects can be confusing to navigate, and it is generally provided by a variety of agencies in each state. Some states have made an effort to consolidate funding entities and partner agencies to provide a singular point of contact for assistance to communities in their region. In this blog series, you will learn about some of the existing Water Advisory Committees in the country, what they are, who they bring together, how they operate, and what assistance they provide to their state. In this blog, we will give an overview of the California Financial Coordinating Committee (CFCC).
What is it?
The CFCC is a group of State and Federal funding agencies that work collaboratively to provide funding for communities in the state of California for their water, wastewater, stormwater, and other infrastructure projects. They do this by providing a unique opportunity called CFCC Funding Fairs. The Fairs bring together funding agencies to share resources and allow communities to identify what funding is available to them, and how funding resources can be combined to meet their needs.
Funding Fair
Funding Fairs are free of charge and intended to educate the public and potential funding applicants about the different member agencies and the financial and technical resources available to them. These funding sources include loans, grants, and bonds. The CFCC Funding Fairs are an opportunity to meet these funders directly. These Funding Fairs are currently presented virtually, to allow for remote attendance. Providing the Funding Fair virtually allows agencies to present on their available funding opportunities, while still allowing for individual conversations and questions from participants through breakout rooms. Funding Fair participants are provided with literature on funders, copies of slide presentations, and a handbook with information about the available funding programs from each agency. The Funding Fair also provides attendees with guidance from funders for meeting funding requirements and the opportunity for projects to have multiple funders. Funding fairs are held in both the spring and fall to ensure participants have more than one option to attend.
Who should attend?
The CFCC encourages representatives from public works, local governments, California Native American Tribes, and water industry professionals to attend their Funding Fairs. If you are a city manager, city planner, water, or wastewater manager, or other related professional, the CFCC Funding Fair may be just the place for you to help get the funding you need to complete your project.
California Financing Coordinating Committee Members
The CFCC is comprised of the following member agencies:
- State Water Resources Control Board
- Bureau of Reclamation
- California Department of Water Resources
- California Housing and Community Development
- United States Department of Agriculture
- California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank
Additionally, the following agencies have attended CFCC funding fairs to present on available funding opportunities:
- California Strategic Growth Council
- Rural Community Assistance Corporation
- California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services
How to Receive Assistance
Groups seeking funding information from the CFCC should submit a CFCC Common Funding Inquiry Form. Inquiry forms are distributed to all the participating CFCC agencies, which allows systems seeking funding to connect directly with funding agencies. Alternatively, systems may attend a CFCC Funding Fair. The next funding fair will be announced by March 2025 and interested parties can check the CFCC Fund Fair Website for updates. The CFCC also suggests that systems seeking funding visit the California Grants Portal, which provides a large database of funding available in California.
Point of Contact for CFCC
Gabriel Edwards
- Phone: (279) 231-0749
- Email: ibank@ibank.ca.gov or gabriel.Edwards@water.ca.gov
- Website: https://cfcc.ca.gov/
In Summary:
Attending the CFCC Funding Fair is a great way for communities to take advantage of the innovative framework they have built. The CFCC Funding Fair acts as a one-stop shop that helps systems address their financing needs in creative ways but also removes the hassle of reaching out to multiple funding sources that may or may not meet their needs. If you are a system in California and need to complete a project, we recommend that you attend a CFCC Funding Fair, and you may be surprised by all the different funding options available to you.