Economic Gardening

Economic Gardening 2.0 Logo open_in_full

The City is engaged in several strategic, capacity building efforts to invest in the effectiveness and future sustainability of local companies. Second-stage growth companies are the backbone of Sacramento’s economy and the definition of economic growth and prosperity. These types of companies make a great investment, and are defined as having a proven product, proven market, proven management skills, and room to grow, typically ranging from 5-99 employees, and $1M - $50M in revenue. Research shows that investing in these productive companies is an effective way to grow the economy and create new jobs.

Focusing our efforts on these companies means strengthening the economy of the region and supporting the entrepreneurs who live among us. The Office of Innovation and Economic Development is launching the third cohort of Economic Gardening 2.0, an economic development pilot program designed to provide sophisticated, tailor-made technical assistance to local, second-stage companies poised for growth in the City of Sacramento. The City will be partnering with the National Center for Economic Gardening (NCEG), a national organization that supports entrepreneurship. For more information about the National Center for Economic Gardening, visit their website.

How is this unique to Sacramento?

This program is offered to a select group of companies during one-year cohorts. Companies receive 36 hours of services from the NCEG's team of specialists. The specialist team consists of seasoned researchers that leverage sophisticated corporate databases, GIS systems, SEO and Web marketing tools that provide the CEO with information, data and conclusions about key issues for each individual company.

Sacramento is redefining the traditional Economic Gardening approach by adding a 1:1 grant program to implement the recommendations companies receive following the 36 hours of research with the NCEG's specialists. Companies will be eligible to receive up to $50,000 in match grant funding.

Online applications for Cohort 3 are closed.

Program deliverables

This program utilizes state of the art corporate tools in - Commercial Database Searching, deep web, GIS, Search Engine Optimization, Listening post (consumer chatter, signals of change), Network mapping (websites, LinkedIn, Twitter), web marketing and other social media. The NCEG's team of specialists will help companies achieve their stated business goals by -

  • Identifying qualified leads by sorting contents of extensive databases
  • Mapping geographic areas using GIS software to facilitate targeted marketing efforts
  • Reviewing core strategies related to commodity and/or niche markets
  • Examining social media utilization to connect with customers
  • Placing the company website in front of more customers using search engine optimization
  • Analyzing employee temperament to build strong management teams

Does your company qualify?

To apply for this program. Your business must meet the following eligibility criteria:

  • Be a for-profit, privately held company headquartered and operating in the city of Sacramento
  • Have between $1 million and $50 million in annual revenue*
  • Employ at least 5 but no more than 99 employees (including the owner)
  • Demonstrate growth in employment and/or revenue for at least 2 of the past 5 years*
  • Must already derive or demonstrate short-term capacity to derive at least 50% of sales from markets outside of the city of Sacramento

*The impact of COVID-19, whether positive or adverse, will be taken into consideration

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