Hacienda CDC has a job opening for a Director of Operations and Development. Click here for details.
Job Opening at Hacienda CDC
September 2nd, 2010OMEN VISTAs at NEDCO in the news!
September 2nd, 2010Former OMEN VISTA, Lee Warnecke, and current OMEN VISTA, Landon Hoyt, were recently interviewed by the Springfield Times about their work with small businesses in downtown Springfield. Lee and Landon work with NEDCO, Neighborhood Economic Development Corporation, an OMEN member in Springfield, Oregon. To read the full article, click here. To learn more about OMEN’s VISTA program, click here.
CDBG 2010 2nd Quarter Award Announcements
August 30th, 2010CDBG 2010 2nd Quarter Award AnnouncementsThe Oregon Business Development Department (OBDD) recently awarded more than $4 million dollars in grants to ten city and county projects. The grants from the Oregon Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program will assist Oregon communities with funding for important community infrastructure projects around the State, as detailed below. The recently funded projects include community facilities, microenterprise assistance, wastewater and water projects. Applications for the 3rd quarter are due September 30, 2010 and will be announced in November 2010.
The Community Development Block Grant program supports a variety of local projects and services aimed at improving community livability for citizens with low to moderate income.
Community/Public Facility projects ($1,800,000):
Malheur County – Domestic Violence Shelter $1,000,000
City of Oakridge – Library $ 800,000
Public Works projects ($2,025,500):
City of Canyonville – Wastewater System Final Design $ 700,000
City of Powers – Wastewater System Final Design $ 725,000
City of Stanfield – Water System Final Design $ 302,000
City of Amity – Water Master Plan $ 150,000
City of Nyssa – Wastewater Collection Plan $ 148,500
Microenterprise Assistance ($227,496):
Union County – Microenterprise Assistance $ 37,500
City of Independence – Microenterprise Assistance $ 90,000
City of Junction City – Microenterprise Assistance $ 99,996
TOTAL GRANT DOLLARS AWARDED: $4,052,996
OBDD is accepting applications until September 30, 2010 for the CDBG program’s 3rd quarter competitive application round. Award decisions for the 3rd quarter will be made in November 2010.
Since the early 1980’s, OBDD has administered the State of Oregon’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program with funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The program serves non-metropolitan cities and counties of Oregon. OBDD reviews applications for funding under the Community Development Block Grant program on a quarterly basis or until all funds available for the year have been obligated.
For further information about the Oregon Community Development Block Grant program, please contact OBDD or visit
OMEN Welcomes 2010-2011 VISTA Team!
August 19th, 2010OMEN welcomes its 2010-2011 Asset Building Corps VISTA team. The fourteen member team starts their year of service on August 20th, 2010, serving at various nonprofits around the state. For more information on the OMEN Asset Building Corps VISTA team, click here. This years VISTA host sites include:
- Adelante Mujeres
- Bienestar
- Economic Opportunity Initiative/Portland Development Commission
- Financial Beginnings
- Food Roots
- Hacienda CDC
- Innovative Change$/Innovative Housing Inc (IHI)
- MERIT (MicroEnterprise Resources, Initiatives & Training)
- NEDCO (Neighborhood Economic Development Corp)
- OMEN (Oregon Microenterprise Network)
- PCRI (Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives, Inc)
- Proud Ground
- Portland State University Business Outreach Program
- Salem-Keizer CDC
OMEN Member Event: MERIT’s Expo Negocio – Latino Business Showcase!
August 17th, 2010In partnership with the Latino Business Alliance and Chemeketa Community College SBDC, MERIT is hosting a Latino business expo and conference, Expo Negocio – Latino Business Showcase!, at the Chemeketa Center for Business and Industry on September 10th and 11th.
Latinos are not just impacting the economy as consumers; they are also becoming entrepreneurial drivers of the economy, starting businesses at a faster rate than any other demographic. Expo Negocio will recognize the contributions Hispanics are making to our economy and explore best practices to help Latino entrepreneurs prosper. This two day event includes:
Friday:
- Luncheon with guest speaker Lydia Muniz, the Governor’s advocate for Minority, Women and Emerging Small Business
- Panel discussion facilitated by Grace Gallegos that will explore cross cultural communication and the role that it plays in business
Who should attend? Business and economic development professionals, small business owners, leaders from Latino organizations, community members, educators and public officials. The cost to attend Friday’s conference is $20 and includes lunch. Registration is required to attend the luncheon.
Saturday:
- Exhibition area spotlighting many of the region’s Latino businesses
- Workshops for business owners and others wanting to start small businesses. Workshops to be offered include bookkeeping, taxes, health insurance, business financing, obtaining a contractor’s license in addition to classes that will help people with business ideas figure out how to get started. Workshops will be offered in Spanish.
There is no cost to the general public for admission to the business exhibition and workshops. Exhibitor tables are available for a reasonable fee, registration information can be found on the exponegocio.org website.
This event brings together economic development professionals and small business owners with an emphasis on best practices to help Latino entrepreneurs grow and prosper. This conference will include excellent opportunities to learn new business strategies, network, be challenged by keynote speakers, learn new skills in small business workshops, experience a food demonstration area, and showcase regional businesses.
For more information, contact Forrest Peck, Director of MERIT at 503-399-5088 or via email at forrest.peck@chemeketa.edu, or Lucy Escobar from the Latino Business Alliance at 971-218-0807.
FIELD Webinar: Trends in Financial Literacy and Credit-Building Services, September 14th
August 11th, 2010
In the current economic context — in which many are struggling under the burden of heavy consumer debt or even bankruptcy – credit scores have become exponentially more important in determining access to financial services. FIELD’s new publication, Financial Literacy and Credit-building Services Among Microenterprise Development Organizations explores how microenterprise programs are revisiting or expanding their efforts in this realm. This “scan of practice” documents both the current body of work in the field, and emerging and promising new directions taken by practitioners. The scan reviews literature on financial literacy, education and credit building, survey data from microenterprise organizations, and interviews and discussions with microenterprise practitioners.
Date: Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Time: 2:00 – 3:30 pm EDT
Cost: Free
Time: 2:00 – 3:30 pm EDT
Cost: Free
OMEN Member Event: Hacienda CDC’s Viva La Comunidad II, September 23rd
August 10th, 2010In conjunction with The Regence Group, Hacienda CDC cordially invites you to join them for their second annual night of food, music, dancing, and fun! Tickets include live entertainment, tamales prepared by Hacienda’s own Micro Mercantes participants, raffle prizes, and more! Help celebrate the accomplishments of our community and continue to address the important challenges we face in housing, community economic development, and youth development.
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TICKETS: Please visit www.haciendacdc.org or contact Dianne at 503-961-6403
Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP): Application Deadline Extended to August 16th!
August 3rd, 2010About $45 million will be awarded nationwide, and the first deadline for
RMAP applications is July 16. Although there will be future funding rounds,
it is likely that the availability of funds will shrink and the competition
for funds will increase, so prospective RMAP applicants are strongly
encouraged to apply by the first deadline, August 16 (previously July 16).
If you were thinking about applying for USDA Rural Development’s newly-minted RMAP program, but missed the July 16 application deadline, take heart. USDA has decided to re-open the first round application period, with
the new deadline of August 16, 2010:
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-18639.pdf
(If August 16 is still too soon for you, the next deadline after August 16
will be September 30; and thereafter, quarterly applications may be
submitted.)
For those of you who have been following the RMAP story closely, you may be
interested to know that the number of applications received nationwide by
the initially-set July 16 deadline for the RMAP Loan program total was LESS
than the loan funds available. By contrast, the RMAP “TA-Only” Grant
program is heavily oversubscribed, so new applications for these grants will
be entering an already very competitive field.
USDA Rural Development recently unveiled its Rural Microentrepreneur
Assistance Program (RMAP). This program provides low interest loans to
capitalize microloan funds and provides technical assistance grants to
support such funds; there is also a small grant-only program to support
technical assistance delivery to microenterprises in need of such financing.
Nonprofits, tribes, and institutions of higher learning are eligible for
RMAP assistance. Public bodies and local governments are NOT eligible for
this program.
Details about the new program first appeared in the Federal Register as a
notice inviting applications on June 3, and as an interim final rule on May
28. You can find links to both of these key documents here:
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/or/rmap.htm
An announcement from USDA Rural Development regarding the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP) Program:
Central Oregon Food Summit – Save the Date – Sept 10, 2010
July 29th, 2010The Central Oregon Food Summit will provide an opportunity for the public, producers, retailers, food institutions and policy makers to create a community-based framework for action toward a more food secure Central Oregon. For more information visit: www.cofoodsummit.yolasite.com
FRIDAY, SEPT. 10, 9AM – 4PM
COCC Student Center, Wile Hall
Bend, Oregon
COCC Student Center, Wile Hall
Bend, Oregon
Pre-register online at www.cofoodsummit.yolasite.com
$20 registration includes lunch
$20 registration includes lunch
AGENDA
Keynote Speaker: Mark Winne, former director of Connecticut’s Hartford Food System
and the author of “Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty.”
Breakout sessions include:
* Emergency Food Services and Community Health
* Enhancing Farmer’s Markets
* Community Food Projects
* Food Distribution, Storage and Processing
* Training and Supporting the Next Generation of Farmers
* Food System Council
Keynote Speaker: Mark Winne, former director of Connecticut’s Hartford Food System
and the author of “Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty.”
Breakout sessions include:
* Emergency Food Services and Community Health
* Enhancing Farmer’s Markets
* Community Food Projects
* Food Distribution, Storage and Processing
* Training and Supporting the Next Generation of Farmers
* Food System Council
Your voice matters. Everyone has a part in the food system.
The Importance of Startups in Job Creation and Job Destruction
July 20th, 2010Amended PRIME NoFA including Track 1 Funding
July 15th, 2010The Small Business Administration (SBA) has issued an amended NoFA for PRIME that includes the following updates to the original NoFA:
1. Provide interested entities with the opportunity to apply for funding under any of the three PRIME tracks as follows:
- Track 1 Funding for provision of business based technical assistance for disadvantaged Microentrepreneurs
- Track 2 Funding for Capacity Building
- Track 3 Funding for Research and Development of Best Practices in the Field of Microenterprise Development
2. Application deadline extended to July 30th, 2010.
To view the full program announcement, click here. Applications must be submitted online at www.grants.gov.
For more information about the PRIME program, visit the SBA’s website here:
http://www.sba.gov/financialassistance/prospectivelenders/prime/index.html
Self-Employment Tax Initiative Webinar Announced
July 14th, 2010Innovations in Asset-Building: Learning from $aveNYC
Wednesday, July 21 from 2 – 3:30pm EDT
Please join us for a webinar on a pioneering strategy for connecting low-income households, including the self-employed, to asset-building opportunities. Tax time represents a unique opportunity to help low income households, including the self employed, to save for the future. Throughout the United States, the thousands of free tax assistance sites have long struggled to connect low and moderate income families with asset building opportunities, while staying true to their mission of delivering high quality tax preparation services.
Since 2008, the City of New York has offered low income tax filers a unique matched savings opportunity called the $aveNYC Account. The $aveNYC Account provides a 50 percent match to filers at select free tax preparation sites who commit to a full year of savings. This initiative is intended to test the impact of an innovative policy idea: using tax-linked savings incentives to leverage medium-term savings for consumer-designated purposes. This initiative is designed for those tax filers who generally receive a significant tax refund.
This webinar will present a basic overview of the $aveNYC initiative, preliminary findings from the first two years of implementation and provide concrete suggestions for implementing similar asset building programs at tax sites throughout the country. You will also hear from Ariva, a South Bronx-based nonprofit that has participated in the $aveNYC initiative for the past two years, for both their wage-earning and self-employed customers.
This webinar is appropriate for practitioners who want to create new asset-building programs for this tax season.
Speakers will include representatives from the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs’ Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) and from Ariva, a South Bronx-based nonprofit that filed more than 800 free tax returns for self-employed filers and opened 302 $aveNYC accounts this year. Ariva is a CFED local partner in the Self-Employment Tax Initiative (SETI). OFE is the first local government initiative in the nation with a mission to educate, empower, and protect residents with low incomes so they can build assets and make the most of their financial resources.
To register for the Innovations in Asset-Building Webinar, click here. There is no cost to participate, but advanced registration is required. For more information, please contact Patrick Hain (202.207.0141, phain@cfed.org).
One Page Business Plan and MicroMentor webinars in July
June 30th, 20102010 OMEN Member Impact Report
June 28th, 2010Vote for Adelante Mujeres to receive Green America’s Green Grant Award
June 23rd, 2010Adelante Mujeres has been selected as a finalist for a Green Grant Award by the national nonprofit Green America. Based on hundreds of nominations of projects across the country, Green America staff selected 10 top projects that benefit people and the planet in local communities and is asking people to vote for their favorites. Adelante Mujeres is the only project based on the West Coast that was nominated. People can vote at http://www.greenamericatoday.org/greengrants/index_voting.cfm through July 19.
Green America will award four Green Grants to local projects in the United States that support its mission of creating a socially just and environmentally sustainable economy. Green America will provide one Grand Prize of $2,500 and three First Prizes of $1,000 in late July. If Adelante Mujeres is selected for a grant, the funds will go towards a restoration and farmscaping project at La Esperanza Farm, a collective farm managed by Adelante Agricultura, the sustainable farming program of Adelante Mujeres. For more information on Adelante Mujeres, please visit www.adelantemujeres.org.
Registration now open for the 2010 Oregon Summit on Entrepreneurship! Click here to learn more!
June 21st, 2010Register for the 2010 Oregon Summit on Entrepreneurship! Click here to visit the registration page. Click here to visit OMEN’s Summit website with more detailed event information!
In Today’s Oregonian: Entrepreneur Assisted by MESO Featured
June 16th, 2010Please visit this link to read the article featured in today’s Metro section of the Oregonian newspaper.
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/anna_griffin/index.ssf/2010/06/jimmys_corner_of_north_fremont.html
The entrepreneur was assisted by MicroEnterprise Services of Oregon (MESO), and he has a commitment to his local community that typifies so many of Portland’s best small businesses.
OMEN Congratulates Three 2010 SBA Small Business Champions
June 2nd, 2010The Oregon Microenterprise Network congratulates three OMEN members who are receiving special recognition this week from the Small Business Administration.
Small Business Development Center Service Excellence and Innovation Center Award:
John Lopez, Director for Rogue Community College SBDC
Women in Business Champion of the Year for the NW Region and Oregon
Maggie Finnerty, Executive Director and Clinical Law Professor, Lewis and Clark Small Business Legal Clinic
Home-based Business Champion of the Year for Oregon
Shawn Winkler-Rios, Executive Director, Entrepreneurial Development Services, eDev
Full press release is available here. For more information about the SBA, see www.sba.gov/or
Microenterprise Program Directory from the FIELD Institute
June 1st, 2010HUD Updates Low-to-Moderate Income Limits for 2010
May 24th, 2010OPB highlights self-employment
May 5th, 2010Click here to read OPB’s article Self Employment Instead of Unemployment
Portland invests in local start-ups
March 15th, 2010Obama Administration Announces Enhancements for TARP Initiative for Community Development Financial Institutions
February 4th, 2010Economic Gardening in Oregon
February 4th, 2010OMEN announces the 2010-2011 Oregon Asset Building Corps VISTA RFP!
January 20th, 2010OMEN is seeking applications to become a VISTA host site from organizations that are working with microenterprise development, financial literacy and asset building. Approved sites will recruit a full-time VISTA volunteer who will serve at their site from August 20th, 2010 to August 19th, 2011. Applications must be received at the OMEN office by 5:00 PM on Friday, February 19th, 2010. Sites will be notified of their acceptance by March 12th, 2010. Click here to download the application instructions and forms. Click here to read the press release.
OMEN launches the Strengthening Oregon Microenterprise Development Project!
January 20th, 2010With generous support from the US Small Business Administration, OMEN is offering a range of services to help organizations build their capacity and increase service to entrepreneurs statewide. Participating organizations are offered the following menu of services from which to build their unique service delivery platform. In exchange for services, participating organizations will report on benchmarks to OMEN on a quarterly basis through September 30th, 2010. Please click here to read more about the services OMEN is offering, or here to enroll in PRIME.