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My name is Dasarte Yarnway, and I am a founder based here in Sacramento.
I’m here to speak in support of continued funding for CLTRE and the Community Advisory Commission.
Before I had any institutional backing, before venture capital, CLTRE was the first to invest in me. They gave me a $5,000 grant at a time when I was building from nothing. They took no equity. There were no strings attached. They simply believed in what I was building.
That kind of access changes everything.
That $5,000 was not just money. It gave me momentum. It gave me confidence. It helped me keep going when most people would have stopped.
Today, I am building a venture-backed company. But stories like mine do not start with venture capital. They start with access at the earliest stage.
If programs like this are cut, we are not just removing funding. We are removing opportunity for founders who do not have wealthy networks or easy access to capital.
We are also limiting the number of companies that get built right here in Sacramento.
If this city wants innovation, jobs, and ownership, then we have to support people at the beginning, not just celebrate them at the end.
CLTRE creates that starting point.
I am here because someone chose to invest early when it mattered most. I ask that you continue to make that possible for others.
Thank you.
I am a member of the Sacramento creative artist community. This funding to the arts is VITAL to the lives and futures of residents. Without support, writers like me would not have the opportunities to pay our bills. In a time where AI, corporations, and government are cutting art/creative jobs, we desperately need our city to support us.
My name is Sam Mejia. I’m a CLTRE participant, artist, and founder of EcoPress Sacramento: an upcycling studio that transforms local plastic waste into functional goods and community education.
I want to be very clear about the impact of this program:
The $1,500 I received through CLTRE’s 6-week program directly helped me put a deposit down on my space in Old Sacramento. Without this grant I wouldn’t have been able to put the deposit down.
That is a physical space. A real business. A place where community members will be able to learn, create, and engage with sustainability in a hands-on way.
CLTRE is not abstract support, it is directly funding small businesses and startups to exist, to grow, and to stay in Sacramento.
Without that kind of investment, many of us would not have access to the resources needed to take our ideas from concept to reality.
The proposed $8 million reduction to Measure U funding puts that pathway at risk.
These cuts don’t just affect programs, they affect whether businesses like mine are able to open their doors, whether creatives can build sustainable careers, and whether Sacramento continues to invest in its own people.
Programs like CLTRE are infrastructure for economic and cultural growth. They are how you build a city that supports innovation, small business, and community-driven solutions. We have access to so many resources, tips, and events that further so many small businesses and startups in Sacramento through CLTRE. I have never felt more community-driven and community-powered than I do now, and that’s all thanks to CLTRE and all the one-of-a-kind opportunities we got.
I urge you to protect this funding; not just for programs, but for the people and businesses they make possible.
Thank you for your time.