Frenso, California is a young American city, both demographically and historically, and uniquely positioned to drive transformational change. With a mix of emerging talent, dedicated community members and concentrated resources, Fresno can be a powerful engine for advancing equity and opportunity. 

As California’s fifth largest city and the largest in its Central Valley, Fresno’s regional identity remains deeply tied to agriculture. Much like Kresge’s hometown of Detroit, it boasts a number of desirable qualities including highly interconnected, passionate community development organizations and deep civic pride. It is similarly a multi-racial, multi-ethnic community with a rich and vibrant cultural fabric.  

Despite its promise, Fresno has faced systemic challenges like those in Detroit: economic inequality, racial marginalization, and chronic underinvestment. According to a 2018 Urban Institute report, Fresno ranked near the bottom among 274 U.S. cities for economic and racial inclusion. In 2019, it placed last among 59 large cities in California. 

In response, a community-led coalition, Fresno DRIVE (Developing the Region’s Inclusive and Vibrant Economy) was launched as an initiative of the Central Valley Community Foundation. Fresno DRIVE employs holistic, long-term strategies to build an inclusive local economy. The Kresge Foundation is a partner in DRIVE’s advancement and the long-term community development work in Fresno.  

Over the past five years, the DRIVE coalition has made steady progress toward inclusion through collaboration among local leaders, community organizations, and residents. During its recent 5th anniversary celebration, the community foundation announced Fresno improved 33 spots in the national ranking for economic inclusion — measuring whether people with lower incomes can participate in and benefit from the local economy.  

The city also climbed 62 spots in the national ranking for racial inclusion, or the ability for people of color to share in the benefits of economic growth, compared with white residents.  

“When we launched Fresno DRIVE, we set our sights on a big vision — an economy that created opportunity for everyone,” said Ashley Swearengin, CEO and president of the Central Valley Community Foundation. “Three hundred Fresnans came together, pledging to reverse poverty and, in the process, created a multi-billion-dollar, community-led investment plan.” 

In early October, residents, local partners and local leaders gathered in Valdez Hall at the Fresno Convention Center for a full day of reflection on achievements and challenges, while charting next steps for sustained progress. The celebration included panel discussions, data presentations, and performances from Fresno Poet Laureate Aideed Medina and the Buchanan High School Chinese Club. The event underscored the coalition’s mission to reimagine and create an economy that works for everyone.  

Fresno DRIVE organizes its work around three interconnected initiatives — People, Place, and Prosperity: 

• People: Building an economy that supports health, education and well-being so individuals can reach their full potential. 
• Place: Investing in neighborhoods through affordable housing, downtown development, opportunity corridors and civic infrastructure to ensure safety and opportunity for all. 
• Prosperity: Creating high-quality, dignified jobs across sectors — from construction and caregiving to tech and small business — so every resident can achieve stability and generational wealth. 

In 2022, DRIVE launched Neighborhood Hubs as part of its “Place” initiative to help residents advocate for positive change in their own communities. Each year, the Neighborhood Hubs engage more than 3,000 adults and youth through programs, meetings and workshops to allow neighbors to connect, build power and shape the decisions that affect their lives. DRIVE belives civic infrastructure is not just about building buildings, it is about building relationships, trust and collective capacity. 

“Creating neighborhood hubs is essential to fostering community connection and civic engagement — the foundation of a prosperous economy that works for everyone,” said Richard Burrell, Founder of Live Again Fresno. “Each contribution plays a vital role in empowering our most vulnerable neighbors to shape a vibrant and inclusive future.” 

During his afternoon keynote, Kresge President & CEO Rip Rapson reflected on Fresno’s early challenges and praised the Central Valley Community Foundation for becoming the “glue” that united local stakeholders. He outlined four conditions for inclusive community development: reverse engineering solutions, elevating distributive leadership, moving capital to the ground, and taking risks that match the gravity of the problem.

Rapson sees all these conditions present and active in Fresno. He encouraged organizations with a stake in Fresno’s continued inclusive development to ensure those conditions remain. Rapson also underscored the need for accountability structures and honoring shared history and identity at the local level. 

“As the economy continues to squeeze too many people here in Fresno and across the country, it’s encouraging to see this progress and to recognize the role community-led coalitions like Fresno DRIVE can play in pushing for systemic change,” Swearengin said. 

Embracing data-driven planning, deep community engagement and cross-sector collaboration are effective strategies in a collection of actions being taken across Fresno to drive equitable community development.