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Quick List: Ways to Get the Most from Your Membership
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Refugee Individual Development Accounts
Refugee Individual Development Accounts (RIDAs) are an approach for low to moderate income individuals and families to fulfill their American dream to: - Purchase either a first home;
- Obtain a vehicle;
- Open a small business or;
- Earn a post-secondary education/trade credential, which includes college entrance exam fees and prep and test fees for the TOEFL or the general education exam.
OCDCA is proud to be the nonprofit administrator of this Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)-funded IDA Program in the state of Ohio. Learn more about this program, especially if you have potentially eligible individuals or families in your community. Contact Suzanne Parks if you have additional questions. |
AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associate Applications Due Next Week
The AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associate program is a 10 week initiative that offers organizations the opportunity to engage individuals in their community and get help enhancing existing programs. Applications are due February 9th at 12:00 PM. This is a great opportunity to ensure your summer farmers markets and community gardens are safe, that there is additional support to COVID-vulnerable populations, for digital organizing, or any other need you may have this summer. For questions or technical assistance, please contact Alana Perez at [email protected] or by phone at 614-461-6392 ext. 204.
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Residential PACE Home Improvement Financing Webinar Recording
Last week, OCDCA held a webinar on Residential PACE Home Improvement Financing, featuring Frank Ford, Senior Policy Advisor, Western Reserve Land Conservancy; Sally Martin, Housing Director, City of South Euclid; and Steve Sharpe, Staff Attorney, National Consumer Law Center. In case you missed the webinar, you can still watch the 90 minute recording.
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OCDCA's 37th Annual Conference Planning Committee
As we look ahead to October 2021, we remain optimistic that we'll be in Youngstown October 6-8. If you are interested in helping shape conference content for 2021, please email Lisa Much at [email protected] to let her know your interest. Thank you!
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Language liaisons help Columbus students who are learning English and learning online
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Campus District joins call for GCRTA to 'loop' rail service from waterfront to East 34th Street Station
But as 2021 starts, the old idea has become new again, with the Campus District sending a letter to GCRTA telling General Manager and CEO India Birdsong that the District's Board of Directors, "voted to join with All Aboard Ohio in endorsing the reevaluation of the proposed Downtown Loop as an extension of the Waterfront Line," according to the letter. "This could be something that changes the look and feel of our neighborhood and all of downtown in a lifetime," said Campus District Executive Director Mark Lammon. Read more with ABC News 5 Cleveland.
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Homebase's Cincinnati bus tour goes virtual
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Ohio CDFIs Supporting PPP Round 2
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is back and with better terms for small businesses. If your nonprofit or the small businesses in your community haven't applied for a PPP loan, you could consider using a CDFI.Three CDFIs in Ohio are offering PPP loans: IFF, ECDI, and LISC. These CDFIs may still be setting up their systems for this round of PPP, so please be patient, but look into them for your organization and small businesses.
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ODSA Diversity & Inclusion Technology Internship Program
The Diversity & Inclusion Technology Internship Program can connect you with the best and brightest upcoming talent to fill your tech needs. From creating mobile apps to building out websites, developing social media platforms, implementing new software, conducting market research and enhancing cybersecurity, the program can help with virtually any tech need and pay the salary of college interns - to keep your business on the move. Companies can hire up to three interns and be reimbursed up to $30,000. To learn more, join their webinar on February 3, 2021 at 1 p.m. or visit TechIntern.Development.Ohio.gov.
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Advancing Antiracism in Community Development
"Community organizing and community development share deep roots. Grassroots movements that opposed urban renewal fought to flip the false narratives of "urban decay" and "blight" that led to the destruction of communities of color, and in doing so, fought for the right to control the destinies of those neighborhoods through community-led development with an asset-based lens. Decades later, the proliferation of community development organizations has created an entire industry focused on complex finance tools and the mobilization and attraction of private capital." Read more from Tram Hoang in Shelterforce to get three actions organizations can take.
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EDRA Great Places Awards
The EDRA Great Places Awards are unique among programs that honor professional and scholarly excellence in environmental design. EDRA welcomes submissions from the full breadth of environmental design and related research fields, including architecture, landscape architecture, planning, urban design, interior design, lighting design, graphic design, place-based public art, environmental psychology, sociology, anthropology, geography, and the physical sciences. Deadline is February 5. |
GOPC & Lincoln Institute Host 4-Part Webinar Series on Neighborhood Stability
Please join the Greater Ohio Policy Center and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy for a four-part webinar series highlighting timely strategies for preserving neighborhood stability in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Remaining dates include:
Feb. 2: Pivots Mission-Driven Developers Can Make to Promote Stability During COVID-19
Feb 9: Rental Protection Legislation for Local Governments
Feb 16: Local Government Programming to Support Neighborhood Stability
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Free Webinar: Federal Resources for Creative Community Development
Check out the webinar Federal Resources for Creative Community Development on Tuesday, February 9 at 4 pm. Learn how to access a curated list of federal grant programs relevant to equitable community development and the arts, along with application tips and dialogue with placemaking practitioners who have successfully tapped into public funds. Find out how federal funding programs common to community developers - such as LIHTC, Rural Community Development Initiative, and dozens of other HUD, USDA, and Treasury programs - can incorporate creative and artistic strategies that advance equity. This webinar is brought to you by the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, the National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations and Metris Arts Consulting.
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NCRC #JustEconomy 2021
Come to the national online event for community, policy, government, business and foundation leaders who work for fairness in lending, housing and business, and to make all Americans equal parts of the formula for national success. Register for the May 3-4 conference. |
Save the Date: Housing Ohio 2021
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Rural Relief Small Business Grants
As part of our continuing commitment to elevate our impact in rural America, LISC is inviting small business owners in rural locations across the country to apply for the LISC-Lowe's Rural Relief Small Business Grants program. The last application cycle's deadline is February 2.
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Bank of America Economic mobility focused on needs of individuals & families
Bank of America is partnering with organizations addressing the economic and social conditions that affect an individual's health, access to community-based health services, crisis-prevention tied to family stabilization programs, and other poverty related issues. They're also focused on building pathways to employment by supporting a range of workforce development and educational opportunities that will help vulnerable individuals and families stabilize and advance. Deadline is February 19. |
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NCRC Field Empowerment Fund
The Field Empowerment Fund provides flexible funds to members of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) to respond to the economic impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic. Their goal is to help start and scale-up innovative investments that promote COVID-19 economic recovery in traditionally underserved communities. Priority will be given to organizations that: operate in markets that have been significantly impacted by the pandemic; are led by people of color and women; serve low-income and low-wealth communities, and communities of color; increase access to affordable housing and homeownership; and serve small businesses/micro-businesses. The fund will award a total of $5 million over the course of 2 years. Award amounts will vary between $50,000 and $250,000 for a one-year term. Awardees can use Field Empowerment Funds as unrestricted grants. Deadline is February 19.
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Visionary Freedom Fund
The grantmaking realizes the crisis young people, specifically Black, Brown and Native communities are facing. We are intentionally choosing not to list issue priorities, understanding the deep intersections that exist. The grants should advance communities or organizations creating or moving to visionary action that seeks to transform individuals, institutions or communities. Grant dollars are general operating with an emphasis for funding for organizations that are often left out of traditional philanthropic giving. BIPOC youth communities will be prioritized. Deadline is February 26.
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Black Liberation Pooled Fund
The Black Liberation Pooled Fund (BLPF) pools resources to then allocate to the powerful ecosystem of Black-led social change organizations around the country. Through multi-year grants, the BLPF will fortify Black resistance organizing, embolden the imagination and creation of liberatory Black futures, and invest in the development of Black movement infrastructure. Deadline is February 26. |
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Finance Fund, Columbus, is hiring for three positions:
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Federal Eviction Moratoriums Extended
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Federal Reserve Issues Community Reinvestment Act ANPR
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Senator Portman Reintroduces Tax Credit Bill to Encourage Revitalization of Distressed Homes
The Neighborhood Homes Investment Act (NHIA) was introduced on January 28 by Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Ben Cardin (D-MD), and co-sponsored by Senators Tim Scott (R-SC), Todd Young (R-IN), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH). NHIA would encourage private investment in an estimated 500,000 homes that currently cannot be developed or rehabilitated because the costs to do so exceed the value of the home. The tax credit supports development of homes in rural communities struggling with the costs of new construction, as well as the rehabilitation of homes in distressed urban communities. For NHIA info relative to Ohio, watch the OCDCA webinar recording from December 8th. View the slides from Matt Josephs of LISC and the Cleveland data from Kate Monter Durban at CHN Housing Partners. Learn more.
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President Biden Directs HUD to Reverse Anti-Fair Housing Policies
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Rep. Marcia Fudge Gets Hearing on HUD Secretary Nomination
The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing January 28 on the nomination of Representative Marcia Fudge (D-OH) to serve as HUD Secretary. Pat Toomey (R-PA), the acting committee chairman, and Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-OH), the likely incoming Chairman, applauded Fudge's long career in public service and highlighted her commitment and passion in their public statements. Her nomination has bipartisan support and advocates believe her confirmation process will be smooth in the coming weeks.
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Governor Dewine Unveils Budget Proposal
The DeWine Administration unveiled its second budget proposal Monday for the biennium from July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2023, with the spending bill coming to nearly $171.6 billion over two years. Gov. Mike DeWine touted $1 billion in targeted investments aimed at the state's recovery from an economic and public health crisis, what is perhaps most notable about the budget is what isn't in it. There isn't tax increases or decreases, a plan to borrow from the state's "rainy day" Budget Stabilization Fund, or a significant slash in spending.
Of note are proposed single occurrence expenditures to invest in Ohio communities focused on pandemic recovery including:
- $450 million under what's called "Investing in Ohio by Enhancing our Communities" by investing in community infrastructure projects ($200 million) and expanding broadband access ($250 million).
- $460 million for small business relief, such as entertainment and hospitality enterprises.
- $20 million for new businesses that started in 2020.
- Enhanced services to minority businesses.
- $70 million for workforce development.
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Rent, Utility Assistance Approved
The first round of federal aid dollars from the latest federal relief bill to pass through the Controlling Board will go toward rent and utility assistance. The board gave its OK to the use of $100 million in funding for the aid programs, which will be administered by community action agencies through the Ohio Development Services Agency (ODSA). Renters in the U.S. owe an estimated $57 billion in back rent, with the typical renter almost four months and $5,600 behind on their monthly rent and utilities. ODSA recently allocated $55.8 million from the state's federal Community Development Block Grant - Coronavirus relief funding for the Home Relief Grant Program to provide assistance into early 2021. Congress approved $25 billion for emergency rental assistance in the new economic stimulus package with Ohio's distribution of $778.1 million expected soon. Ohioans seeking assistance should contact their local community action agency. For more information and a listing of local community action agencies visit ODSA's Home Relief Grant web page.
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Ohio's Vaccine Resources
The Ohio Department of Health has created a COVID-19 Vaccine Myth v Fact sheet, which is available in several languages. There is other information and resources available on their portal as well to help with an adequate vaccine distribution and information campaign. |
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JobsOhio Inclusion Grants
The JobsOhio Inclusion Grant exists to provide financial support for eligible projects in designated distressed communities and/or for businesses owned by underrepresented populations across the state.
Grant decisions are based on a number of project factors, including but not limited to company location, company ownership, jobs created and/or retained, and project fixed asset investment. Support is generally intended for small to medium-sized companies with eligible projects.
Learn more about these factors and how to help your community's businesses apply. |
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