Jefferson Economic Development Institute

JEDI was founded in 1996 with a mission to increase the economic well-being of people and communities through business development and local wealth creation. The activity was chosen expressly to address issues of rural poverty and economic decline. JEDI provides small business development services to people and communities in far northern California including Siskiyou, Shasta, Trinity and Humboldt counties. In 20 years, JEDI has worked with over 6,000 people growing businesses, assisted in the creation of over 700 businesses and 750 additional jobs and assisted roughly 62 clients to receive financing worth over $1,800,000 million. In addition, JEDI has brought $6.5 million into this region to support small and micro business development.  JEDI has been a successful facilitator of strong leadership to build the entrepreneurial sector of this rural economy and to foster the capacity of the entrepreneurs and the businesses as they grow. JEDI was named the IRS VITA Partner of the Year in 2009 and was featured in a publication of the Aspen Institutes FIELD Program for its strong business development services and track record in a rural economy. JEDI was designated an SBA Women's Business Center in October 2014 for the region including Siskiyou, Shasta, Trinity and Humboldt counties.