Fresno Compact was a coalition formed by businesses and the Fresno Chamber of Commerce, whose members were concerned about the difficulty of finding young workers equipped to succeed even in entry level jobs; and about the problems such young people have in supporting a family, finding satisfying work and contributing positively to the economy. Education and community leaders joined with business in organizing the Compact with an initial focus on improving high school graduation rates and job-readiness in new graduates.
Fresno Compact introduced StriveTogether, a national cradle-to-career movement, to Fresno-area stakeholders and launched Fresno Area Strive (FAS) soon thereafter. FAS developed a network of local, cross-sector partners and workgroups committed to systemic improvement in youth-affecting institutions from pre-school through college. FAS was coordinated by Fresno Compact until 2015 when Strive responsibilities were spun off to the local organization C2C, with Compact refocusing its efforts on improving secondary and post- secondary results. Fresno Compact remains a partner with C2C in the cradle-to-career continuum.
Lumina Foundation announced Fresno in the final 20 cities for its 75-city Community Partnership for Attainment (CPA) network, with Fresno Compact as the local lead agency in partnership with Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC), and focused on dramatically increasing the number of local residents with postsecondary credentials. The Compact and CVHEC jointly established Central Valley Goal 2025 as our north star, supporting Lumina Foundation’s national effort to increase the percentage of Americans with high-quality degrees, certificates and credentials to 60% by 2025 to meet evolving workforce requirements.
Lumina Foundation awarded Fresno Compact and Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) designation as one of 17 “Talent Hub” communities across the nation. Fresno and the 16 other cities earned this new designation by meeting rigorous standards for creating environments that attract, retain, and cultivate talent, particularly among today’s students, many of whom are people of color, the first in their families to go to college, and from low-income households. Talent Hub cities are committed to eliminating deep disparities in educational outcomes among African-Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians, who fare poorly in contrast with white and Asian students.