Sacramento's Tech Nonprofit SARTA Logging Off

The Sacramento Regional Technology Alliance (SARTA) has ceased operations as of August 31.

"SARTA is ending operations due to financial constraints," says SARTA CEO Howard Bubb. 

Bubb says six paid staffers were laid off. The nonprofit organization, which started in 2001, had more than 50 volunteers.

"In the current economic development environment, as the organization has matured, the E-D dollars have been allocated in different directions," says Bubb. "We're pleased the organization has grown to that extent, while we are disappointed to be concluding operations."

SARTA's mission was to develop and support the growth of tech companies in the nine-county Sacramento region.

Bubb, who recently took over the position from Kirk Uhler, says the organization helped 226 start-ups in the past year and "led the formation of the regional AgTech, CleanTech, and MedTech communities for the past several years."

“We are also optimistic about the future for the greater Sacramento region as the area undergoes rapid development and these tech verticals become increasingly embedded in our community," says Bubb. "We want to thank the SARTA team and the 50+ volunteers that have worked with SARTA for many years to advance the tech economy in Sacramento."

Bubb says SARTA is "proud to have helped over 1,000 companies, over 200 in just the last year, so we're very pleased to have contributed to those companies as well as the recognition of the region in technology."

"We're actually planning sort of a final get-together this Thursday downtown [Sacramento] to celebrate the accomplishments of the organization," says Bubb.

SARTA's Board Chairman, Peter Van Deventer, says the organization has "been here to drive this mission forward during many difficult economic times, and we encourage the other organizations in the region to maintain focus on the needs of entrepreneurs as Sacramento enters its next phase of development."