FRESNO COUNTY – As Fresno Pacific University’s Center for Community Transformation enters another year of outreach, it will be doing so with a healthy amount of additional resources.
On Jan. 5, Fresno Pacific announced that the CCT has received a total of more than $1.3 million of grant funding. The grants were awarded from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Lilly Endowment Inc., and utilizing these funds, CCT’s entrepreneurship team has already begun expanding its offered resources, while creating entire new ones.
“I’m very thankful to have a very talented team who have big hearts to listen, and they’re able to move quickly,” said Carlos Huerta, executive director of CCT.
“Really, our goal is to hear, to listen and to come back with resources that could serve the communities as well,” he added.
The organization was awarded $358,157 from the USDA on Sept. 30, 2025, but due to processing delays as a result of the government shutdown, the funds were not officially awarded until early December. This award builds on the previous year’s $190,000 grant, and will be used to support businesses across 11 cities in Fresno and Tulare counties.
The USDA funds have also supported the launch of CCT’s new Rural Ignite Business Accelerator program, which will offer five unique tracks aimed at strengthening local businesses and giving budding entrepreneurs the tools to get started.
The remaining $1 million of funding is through Lilly Endowment Inc., and will span five years. This year’s award is an extension of Lilly Endowment’s 2020 grant and is being used to grow CCT’s LaunchPad program, which offers seven-week courses focused on clarifying entrepreneurs’ messaging and business models.
The award will also be used to support the creation of a new, all-Spanish certificate in biblical studies, which will complement CCT’s current Spanish certificates in community transformation and children’s ministry.
According to CCT’s website, certificates can be completed in around nine months, and typically costs a total of $500. However, thanks to the Lilly Endowment grants, the organization offers scholarships to Central Valley students.
While this next year shows a lot of promise with regards to local business development, CCT has wasted no time in expanding its services. In early December, the organization hosted its first roundtable in Dinuba, and has plans to hold more in Cutler-Orosi and Kerman.
Being from the small community of Caruthers himself, Huerta has taken pride in seeing the impact CCT has had on the Valley’s rural communities. One of the most gratifying developments he’s seen is an increase in trust and communication between residents and local leaders, whether it’s city officials or chamber of commerce staff.
“When we see government officials, chamber officials and community members who care about their communities come into spaces together, they start to build proximity with one another,” Huerta said. “I’ve seen a lot of beautiful misconceptions about one another, and barriers, be taken down.”
As more roundtable discussions and workshops get scheduled, local entrepreneurs can stay up to date on upcoming events through social media posts from local chambers of commerce, or on CCT’s “News and Events” page.
