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Midlands Latino Community Development Corporation
4923 South 24th Street, Suite 201 Omaha, NE 68107-2763
same
www.midlandslatinocdc.org
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Midlands-Latino-Community-Development-Corporation/611855585822215
Juan Montoya
Executive Director
jmontoya@midlandslatinocdc.org
+1 (402) 933-4466
Yes
1. Project Director—Juan Montoya. Juan is the executive director of MLCDC and oversees program delivery. He reviews reports, metrics, and key performance indicators to determine whether changes are necessary to achieve program goals. Juan has nearly a decade of experience as a business consultant, financial coach, tax preparer, and entrepreneur. Previously, he worked as a bilingual business consultant at the Nebraska Business Development Center in Omaha and was a business trainer in the Microbusiness and Asset Development Program at Catholic Charities of Omaha. He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting, an MBA, and has done graduate coursework in public health. Previously, Juan worked at Creighton University for four years coordinating community programs with minority populations in Omaha. 2. Project Coordinator for Refugee Program--Dr. Asaad Mahdi Dr. Mahdi has a Ph.D. in Statistics from the University Kebensaan Malaysia and more than 20 years of teaching experience at the graduate and undergraduate level in the United States and overseas (Iraq and Malaysia). He was a principal of an international school in Malaysia for three years and has held other positions such as the director of planning and sustainable development division in the ministry of Environment, Baghdad Iraq. Dr. Mahdi will work with the refugee and immigrant community (Asian and African) in Nebraska to identify their needs and how MLCDC can help them succeed. Dr. Mahdi will collaborate with the development of culturally competent curriculum and resource materials in English and Arabic, promoting programs and services. He will also perform data analysis and produce periodic performance reports.
See attached.
MLCDC helps historically underrepresented, low-income individuals such as Latinos and refugees achieve financial stability and grow wealth through entrepreneurship. Our programs lower barriers to financial stability and entrepreneurship, such as language barriers, access to capital, networking, and access to technical assistance. We accomplish this through a unique cultural approach that allows us to better understand, develop, and maintain connections with the communities of color that MLCDC serves in the Omaha metro region. Recent accomplishments related to this proposal include: 1. Growing programs despite the challenges of the pandemic and its economic aftermath. Last year, MLCDC served 230 individuals. We provided financial education training for 120 Latinx, business plan training to 70, created 20 LLCs, created 40 new jobs, retained 20 jobs, and provided technical assistance to 52 small businesses in Spanish. Our new approach to the entrepreneurship program (implemented May 2020) has already prepared more than 100 participants to be successful through financial education and business training. 2. Serving refugees for the past three years despite limited funding. MLCDC received a 3-year grant in 2019 from the Office of Refugee & Resettlement to help refugee women open in-home daycares. However, many of these entrepreneurs struggled to succeed because they lacked more basic financial education. This makes sense, since people must successfully manage their household’s income and expenses before they can manage a more complex business enterprise. The Financial Stability Program for Refugees was developed in response to seeing refugee entrepreneurs struggle with their personal finances, and we have delivered this program to 100 students in the past 18 months. MLCDC now is regularly approached by partners whose refugee clients need culturally appropriate financial education and business training.
Culturally Fluent Financial Education for Refugees
832235.0
832235.0
Combination of capital project and service/program
MLCDC seeks funding to expands its Financial Stability and Accelerator Entrepreneurship programming to the refugee population. Historically, MLCDC has delivered culturally inclusive financial education and training for small business owners to Latinos, but there is a growing need to provides these services to refugees in the Omaha metro region. MLCDC will rent a facility at 3031 Upland Parkway in South Omaha to expand its programming to refugee residents by 20% per year. The facility will be renovated by Canopy South, but MLCDC will provide furnishings and other small improvements to the space as a tenant. Over the next three years, this site will be used to deliver MLCDC’s Financial Stability program to 180 refugees. We also will assist 36 refugees who graduate from that program to develop a business plan to explore the possibility of becoming a small business owner. Finally, we will help launch 13 refugee businesses and provide support for an additional 2 existing small business owners who are refugees.
Furnishings and tenant improvements—Completed by December 31, 2023 (or within six months of grant award) Programming—January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2025
1.0
Long-Lasting Economic Growth (i.e., a proposal that will foster gainful employment opportunities and financial investment in the area, leading to the creation of generational wealth and widespread economic vitality in North and South Omaha)
Policy (i.e., develop or improve context-sensitive education, finance, health, training, zoning, etc.) Sustainable Community (i.e., create or enhance housing, services, education, civic uses, recreation, etc.)
This project will address a community need for South Omaha by helping refugee families become financially self-sufficient after suffering economic losses during the pandemic. It also will help some of these families explore the possibility of becoming an entrepreneur, launch at least 13 new small businesses, and support an additional 2 small businesses operated by refugees. In the past year, Omaha has welcomed unprecedented numbers of refugees from the Middle East, Africa, and Central America. As part of integrating into an entirely new culture, refugee families face the challenge of navigating U.S. financial institutions and requirements in a new language. Financial stability through entrepreneurship can be even harder to achieve for families whose incomes fluctuate through season work and who face new, expensive healthcare costs after decades of malnutrition and lack of medical care. MLCDC removes barriers to financial stability and entrepreneurship by providing refugee families with culturally appropriate training in their primary language that helps stabilize their finances, create a small business, and manage that business successfully over time.
An identified need for South Omaha from the Visioning Workshop was that the area needs additional training opportunities to help low-income residents. MLCDC’s Financial Stability and Entrepreneurship programming for refugees assists a population that typically does not have access to financial education or business training due to language barriers and low education levels. We offer courses in Somali and Arabic, taught by refugee instructors.
MLCDC’s programming serves low-income refugees who live in Qualified Census Tracts in South Omaha. This population relies primarily on low-paying hourly jobs and suffered severe economic losses during the pandemic. They now struggle to recover in the wake of rising inflation. By equipping refugee families to become financially stable, MLCDC positions them to embrace entrepreneurship as a means of growing their income and building generational wealth.
18 jobs; $15-$20/hour wages
13
5
$15-$20/hour
Part of educating participants about personal finance means impressing upon them the need to lower debt, increase their income, and start a savings habit. This often prompts participants to seek additional education and training opportunities and seek higher paying, more stable work that will enable them to reach their financial goals. A financially stable refugee population is more likely to seek employment with local businesses in need of reliable, full-time employees. In addition, MLCDC will provide business plan training to up to 36 participants who wish to become entrepreneurs. We also will help at least 13 refugees start their own small businesses and will provide additional support to 2 refugees who are existing small business owners. This includes assistance in establishing sound financial records, applying for additional capital, and managing their businesses successfully over time. MLCDC is only able to provide these additional services to refugees because of the support of the Accelerator Entrepreneurship program it operates for Latinos. That program has existed for more than a decade, and its culturally fluent curriculum has been so successful that MLCDC was able to adapt it for refugee populations.
MLCDC’s expansion of services to refugees will provide approximately 150 families with the opportunity to become financially stable, build assets, and position themselves to operate a successful small business. MLCDC will increase the number of small businesses owned by refugees in the Omaha metro area through its entrepreneurship training, which will help participants gain education about the logistics of starting, launching, and growing their own small business.
This proposal contributes to the community’s immediate stability by helping low-income refugee families become financially stable. Long-term, it positions refugee families to build assets and become small business owners, breaking the cycle of poverty for this population and ensuring a more socially equitable community.
MLCDC follows evidence-based program models and best practices by ensuring culturally appropriate program delivery for participants. We gain participants’ trust and demonstrate credibility by using refugee instructors from similar backgrounds who speak participants’ first language. This is in line with research showing that the most consistent success is seen in organizations that offer culturally appropriate services. No other organization in Omaha offers MLCDC’s culturally fluent approach to financial education for refugees.
As a result of participating in the Financial Stability Program, refugee participants will: --Increase their personal finance knowledge and skills, --Understand the role of daily habits in achieving long-term financial stability, --Improve their family’s immediate and long-term economic self-sufficiency, --Break the cycle of poverty and overcome barriers to building generational wealth, --Experience less financial stress, which research has shown is toxic to family relationships and harms the well-being of all members, especially children --Be prepared to start a business. Those who receive additional training through MLCDC’s Accelerator Entrepreneurship program will: --Gain increased understanding of the logistics of starting a small business through business planning (36 individuals), --Launch a small business (4 individuals), --Increase the efficiency and profitability of their existing business (15 individu.als)
MLCDC staff measure these outcomes for program participants through pre- and post-surveys conducted at six months and one-year past program completion.
Yes, this program acts as a catalyst for co-investment/secondary investment. Many individuals who complete MLCDC’s Financial Stability program would like to receive business training to open their own small business. However, we have limited resources to deliver this programming to refugees—until now, we have not been able to provide business training to refugees and even with this requested ARPA funding, are only equipped to help a small number of refugees who are interested in entrepreneurship. A secondary investment would expand our ability to provide the Accelerator Entrepreneurship programming to this population.
Yes
Refugee Empowerment Center, New Life Family Alliance, Restoring Dignity--all of these organizations will refer refugee clients to MLCDC for financial education, business plan creation, and/or support for their small businesses.
These partnerships will be formalized as MOUs assuming MLCDC can procure funding to serve referred individuals.
No
MLCDC proposes to rent and perform minor renovations at 3031 Upland Parkway in Omaha to deliver its programming to refugees. This 1,100-sqft location is close to the Southside Terrace in South Omaha. It can easily be accessed by refugees via public transportation and is within walking distance of several housing complexes that have high populations of refugees.
Within one or more QCTs
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Costs are based on market prices for furnishings and tenant improvements, as well as historical per-participant program fees for the refugee Financial Stability programming.
No
MLCDC will use funding to rent, furnish, and perform minor improvements to a space in South Omaha to expand its financial education programming to more refugees over the next three years. Funding will support the hiring of 1 FTE instructor and 1 FTE program coordinator as well as program delivery for nearly 180 individuals.
This proposal will help MLCDC create adequate training space for its financial stability programming for refugees. For the past decade, MLCDC has rented a 2,200-square foot space in South Omaha that is inadequate for existing program delivery, much less to accommodate a program expansion that includes refugees. Our main instructional space is a single multipurpose room that must be constantly reconfigured to accommodate our varied schedule of online and in-person classes, as well as business coaching. Sometimes, we must change out the space twice a day, which consumes significant staff time. Our offices/classroom space is on the second floor and does not have handicapped access. The new site on Upland Parkway is handicapped accessible and would provide adequate space for MLCDC to continue its services to the refugee population. It also is more centrally located to Omaha’s refugee population. The site can be accessed via public transportation and is within walking distance of several housing complexes with high populations of refugees.
Yes
MLCDC is a nonprofit that relies on private donations, fundraising events, and private foundation support to operate. This model has supported and grown our programming since inception and will continue to support programming beyond the grant period.
In the past three years, MLCDC has taken steps toward long-term stability and success. We have now developed relationships with large private foundations such as the Marion Ewing Kauffman Foundation, Sherwood Foundation, and Peter Kiewit Foundation. Specifically, we have received funding from the United Way of the Midlands ($72,000) for Entrepreneurship programing for people of color, the Omaha Community Foundation ($10,000) for financial education for refugees, and the United Way of the Midlands ($66,000) for financial stability programming for people of color. We also created a 3-year strategic plan with the help of Parlay Consulting Review and contracted with Fox Creek Fundraising to meet our annual fundraising goals. In 2022, we have submitted more than $500,000 in funding requests to support our programming; we have received nearly $400,000, with additional funds still pending. We will sustain this programming in the future by continuing to pursue private donations and funding from private, corporate, and government sources.
MLCDC has two pending requests for its Financial Stability program: $50,000 pending from the Weitz Family Foundation and $15,000 from the Semerad Foundation. If received, these funds will support 2023 programming.
No
Yes
MLCDC calculates a per-participant cost for each of its programs. If less funding than requested is received, we will only serve the number of individuals that available funding permits.
MLCDC has an annual operating budget of approximately $650,000, with administrative costs of 15%-20%. We commit to raising all administrative costs to deliver these programs through our regular fundraising efforts.
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Organizational Chart Proposal Budget/Sources and Uses