Coachella Valley Economic Partnership

04/11/2025

We are thrilled to announce the winners of this year’s Coachella Valley Fast Pitch! Finishing in first place, Habib Jaffer of Domus Tech Solutions, Inc. now moves forward to the Riverside County Fast Pitch Finale on April 30th.

Pictured from L-R: Habib Jaffer, Domus Tech Solutions, Inc. (1st Place); David Powell, CVEP; Miriam Wiegel, Copper Dog Farms; Andrew McDuffie, California Bank & Trust (Judge); Nancy Ross, City of Cathedral City (Judge); Karim Algabarty, Aallie; Melisa Laci, Bond (3rd Place); Haddon Libby, Winslow Drake (Judge); Jacob Estrada, Carmine Minerals (2nd Place); and Brittany Salas, nyxc.

04/01/2025

Are you prepared for an outage? Do you know what to do should the power go out at home or at work?
Last Friday, our office power went out during the very heavy winds. We grabbed our emergency flashlights and lanterns (the inside offices are dark) and got to a well-lit place.
We checked online on our phones and learned there were some Public Safety Power Shutoffs occurring in our greater area for the safety of all of us.
Inconvenient? Sure. Understandable? Definitely.

Prepare Now! Go to the SCE checklist and see how ready you are -- both at home and at work. It only takes a few minutes to learn.
Go to https://www.sce.com/factsheet/non-HFRA-checklist
For lots of information on readiness, go to SCE.com/BePrepared

03/27/2025

ONLY FIVE DAYS LEFT TO APPLY! CLOSES APRIL 1st.

Entrepreneurs: Apply today to compete in the Coachella Valley Fast Pitch on Wednesday, April 9th in Cathedral City.

This event offers an opportunity to receive feedback from local business and community leaders, as well as increase visibility for your business, product, or concept. Space is limited, so apply today!

The winner will proceed to the Riverside County Innovation Month Fast Pitch on April 30, 2025, to compete against winners from other county events.

For more information and to apply by April 1st, go to
https://cvep.com/event/coachella-valley-fast-pitch/

03/15/2025

Experienced Fast Pitch veteran and 2025 Coachella Valley Fast Pitch organizer Eric Cunningham offers tips on delivering an award-winning pitch.

Apply to compete, provide a sponsorship, or reserve your seat in the audience by visiting our website.

Eric Cunningham humorously offers advice for an upcoming Coachella Valley Economic Partnership foundation event on April 9.

03/14/2025

We hear it time and time again: every guest speaker at every Morning Insights event is awesome! This month was no different, as we were joined by tech startup founder, author, and speaker Sharon K Gillenwater in a conversation with CVEP CEO Laura James.

Sharon is on a mission to demystify entrepreneurship for everybody, no matter their age, status, or background. The entrepreneurs and investors in attendance were part of a vibrant discussion which covered deal structure, bootstrapping, being a woman in tech, and everything in between.

Visit cvep.com/events for more!

03/04/2025

Join CVEP in creating lasting economic change in the Coachella Valley by supporting programs that improve job retention and quality and expand access to entrepreneurship.

Our most exciting and impactful work yet will only be possible with your support. Donate today!

CVGivingDay empowers nonprofits to rally their supporters, compete for cash prizes, retain 100% of funds. Together, we create lasting change in our community!

02/20/2025

Morning Insights is an idea exchange designed to help you deepen your knowledge while you strengthen and grow your local network. Each month’s eye-opening presentation gives a jumping off point for your conversations, and ample time is built in for networking.

This month’s conversation is open to everyone, but will be of particular interest to female entrepreneurs! This special presentation is made available in part thanks to generous support from Kaiser Permanente.

Join CVEP for an impactful conversation with serial entrepreneur Sharon K. Gillenwater, author of “Scaling With Soul: How I Built and Sold a $25 Million Tech Company Without Being an A**hole.” At age 43, Sharon founded Boardroom Insiders, Inc., her third startup. She ran the company for 14 years before selling it in 2022 in a $25 million cash deal. Sharon has over two decades of entrepreneurial experience that includes both successes and spectacular failures. In our conversation with Sharon we will cover VC funding vs. bootstrapping, tips for finding key investors/partners/vendors/employees, managing your mindset as an entrepreneur, how to build a company to sell and more! Bring your questions as most of the session will be devoted to Q&A. This is a rare opportunity to dive deep with someone who has "been there and done that".

Buy your tickets early, because this event is expected to sell out. $10 general admission, free for CVEP investors and board members. https://cvep.com/event/morning-insights-march2025/

02/13/2025

What a fantastic turnout for February's Morning Insights!

Special thanks to Greg Rodriguez of Riverside County Housing and Workforce Solutions for the informative and enlightening presentation on and solutions.

We have a very special edition of Morning Insights coming up in March. Visit our events page at cvep.com/events to reserve your seat, because this one will fill up quickly. We can't wait to see you there!

01/14/2025

💙 Palm Springs, Let’s Lend a Helping Hand! 💙

Our neighbors in LA have been deeply affected by the recent fires, and here’s another opportunity for our community to step up and show our support that we wanted to share! 🙌 Dick's on Arenas is teaming up with Rotary Clubs and ACME Moving & Storage to collect new and lightly-used sweaters, sweatshirts, and light jackets for those in need.

📅 When: This Wednesday, January 15th, from 3pm to 6pm
📍 Where: Dick's on Arenas, 301 E Arenas Rd, Palm Springs
👉 Drive by and drop off your donations with volunteers, or stop, stay and have a drink - Dick's will be donating 25% of profits during the collection to the Rotary’s relief efforts.

Together, in true Palm Springs style, we can rally and bring some comfort to those affected by this unprecedented disaster. Every bit helps! 💪💙



Rotary Club of Palm Springs Sunup
Rotary International
Rotary Club of Palm Springs - Evening Star

01/10/2025

❤️‍🩹 Palm Springs Hospitality Association Offers Special Rates for Fire Victims ❤️‍🩹

The City of Palm Springs and our hospitality partners stand in solidarity with the residents of Los Angeles County dealing with unimaginable tragedy due to devastating wildfires that have left so many without shelter. With this in mind, the City’s hospitality community is offering Palm Springs hotel rooms at special rates
for those affected.

“On behalf of the Palm Springs Hospitality Association, I would like to extend our desire to be a safe haven for as many evacuees as possible,” said Celeste M. Brackley, PSHA Board Member and Vice Chair PS Resorts. “The hospitality community is coming together to help evacuees find some comfort at a discounted rate in the hopes of being good neighbors. Our hearts are with all that are worried about or have lost their homes.”

“To the many who have already made their way to Palm Springs, we welcome you and hope you find peace, respite and healing,” said Mayor Ron deHarte. “A big thank you to our hospitality community for stepping up to help those in need.”

People affected by the wildfires should contact the following participating hotels for room availability and rates:

- The The Saguaro Palm Springs, Promo Code: CALOCAL (760) 323-1711
- Hilton Palm Springs, Promo code: PFF (760) 320-6868
- Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs Hotel (760) 904-5015
- Avalon Hotel & Bungalows Palm Springs (760) 318-3012
- Ingleside Estate (760) 325-0046
- The Dunes Hotel (760) 656-0021
- Hotel Zoso (760) 325-9676
- Stardust Hotel (760) 460-6845
- La Serena Villas, A Kirkwood Collection Hotel (844) 932-8044
- Amin Casa Historic Hotel and Gardens (760) 507-1301
- Inn at Palm Springs (888) 788-8466
- Los Arboles Hotel (760) 459-3605
- The Royal Sun Palm Springs (760) 794-7991
- The Muse Hotel (760) 537-6411

*Also people can book through palmspringspreferredsmallhotels.com

01/07/2025

Find important information from Southern California Edison (SCE) at https://www.sce.com/outage-center .