November 1976
Organized in November 1976, Valley Economic Development Center, Inc. originally began operation under the name Vitalize Van Nuys, Inc. to address the deterioration in the downtown Van Nuys Business District.

During the first ten years, our economic development corporation forged long-term relationships in the community while contracting with the City of Los Angeles and various agencies of the State of California to conduct programs supporting commercial rehabilitation, accessible business loans, and local economic planning. By 1984, we had coordinated the completion of nearly $6 million in commercial improvements to the Van Nuys Business Corridor.

1989
In early 1989, the corporation changed its name to Valley Economic Development Center, Inc. to more accurately reflect the area served and scope of activities.

1991
In June 1991, VEDC opened its North Los Angeles County Small Business Development Center (SBDC). The SBDC program has grown to be the second largest SBDC program in California to include fully staffed offices in Ventura, Santa Barbara, Glendale, Central Los Angeles and Santa Monica and has since earned the ranking of top-performing intermediary for SBA’s Pre-Qualification Loan Program. In 2000 alone, over 10,000 hours of business consulting were provided to over 1,800 businesses while 2,182 individuals participated in 101 business education classes. During the SBA’s fiscal 2000-2001 program year, 120 loan packages were submitted, representing nearly $11 million in business financing.

1992

click pic to enlarge1992 saw the adoption of VEDC’s award-winning Entrepreneurial Training Program, which has provided an 8-week comprehensive business training to over 1,300 business owners with fledgling companies. In September 2000, the Entrepreneurial Alumni celebrated a reunion and identified that nearly 750 of those 1,300 businesses, were still successfully operating in Los Angeles. This program has a higher success rate for business retention than the national average. VEDC then added start-up and monolingual training as well as a unique Welfare-to-Work Microenterprise Training Program which allows individuals on public assistance the opportunity to become self-sufficient business owners.

1994

click pic to enlargeIn response to the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, VEDC provided assistance to over 10,000 affected businesses. We successfully packaged, brokered, and/or funded nearly $100 million in loans to help rebuild the San Fernando Valley. VEDC’s finance division has grown to include seven different loan programs representing over $12 million in direct business funding to entrepreneurs and small businesses throughout Los Angeles and Ventura Counties.




1998

click pic to enlargeIn 1998, identifying communities with the hardest-to-employ populations, VEDC began the Pacoima Workforce Development Initiative resulting in workforce services being provided to over 800 Northeast Valley residents, 300 of which were placed in permanent jobs. These efforts are combined with other workforce development strategies in various distressed communities to positively impact unemployment and employer workforce issues.



2001
In 2001, VEDC launched the San Fernando Valley Small Business Development Corporation in Pacoima, California. This program will allow for expanded funding opportunities for business growth and more importantly, the expansion of job opportunities in this region.

2004

click pic to enlargeIn 2004, VEDC provided consulting for 4,900 businesses; held workshops attended by over 5,000 entrepreneurs, graduated 215 people from our Entrepreneurial and BizWorks training programs; were responsible for $20 million in direct and guaranteed lending and assisted in placing 159 people into jobs. These efforts culminated in the creation of 649 jobs and 227 new businesses.




2006
In 2006, VEDC provided consulting for 5,000 businesses; graduated 250 business owners from VEDC’s Entrepreneurial and Microenterprise Training Programs, was responsible for $20 million in direct and guaranteed lending and assisted in placing 45 people into jobs. These efforts resulted in the creation of 600 jobs and 155 new businesses.