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Carver Financial Innovation Center (SMB Enterprises and Barak II)
2416 Lake Street Omaha, Nebraska 68111
Carver Financial Innovation Center P.O. Box 540592 Omaha, NE 68154
www.carverlegacycenter.com
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064197845090
Willie Barney
Co-founder and Co-owner
wbarney@reviveomaha.com
+1 (402) 290-5627
Yes
SMB/Revive: Willie and Yolanda Barney launched SMB Enterprises, LLC, a media, events and communications company in 2003 and the nationally recognized Empowerment Network in 2006. They are co-founders and co-owners of the Carver Legacy Center. They both have over 25 years of business and community development experience. Willie and Yolanda own several businesses including an event & food center and national consulting firm. The Carver Legacy Center started as a vision from Willie to bring a financial institution back to the historic Carver building and reemerging 24th and Lake Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Business District. SMB is the parent company of Revive Omaha which launched the Revive Black Business Network seven years ago and has worked with over 300 Black businesses and entrepreneurs. Revive has hosted workshops, a monthly business development luncheon with keynote speakers, special events with national consultants and one of the largest and most successful Black business expos in the region. Revive also publishes the region’s most comprehensive Black business guide in print and online and a highly popular North Omaha Community Guide. Revive has helped to launch and support dozens of Black-owned businesses. Barak II: Martin and Lynnell Williams are the owners of Barak II and co-founders and co-owners of the Carver Legacy Center. They are also the co-founders and co-pastors of the internationally known Ambassador Worship Center. Martin and Lynnell both have 30+ years of community and economic development experience. Martin also had a vision to own a financial institution and the Williams and Barneys joined together to launch Carver. Barak II, LLC is a real-estate, investing and development company with real estate holdings in Nebraska and outside of the United States. Barak II has over 20 years experience incubating and launching successful small businesses, coaching them to advance from the hobby enterprise stage into thriving organizations. Barak II was instrumental in transforming a 120,000 sq. ft. mixed-use property into an entrepreneurship center. The development housed retail bays, offices, a salon, fitness center, insurance, and more currently valued at over $20 million dollars. After extensive renovations and repurposing, the space has provided an incubation model for several startup businesses. Barak II has strong financial investments locally and internationally. American National Bank: John and Wende Kotouc are co-CEOs and co-Chairs of the Board of Directors of American National Bank. They have partnered with Willie and Yolanda Barney for over 15 years on strategic community initiatives and worked with the Williams family for over 25 years ago on community outreach efforts. American National Bank is a strong regional bank serving customers nationally with a long history of making strategic community investments. With over $4 billion in assets and 100+ years of banking experience, American National Bank serves as a vendor to the support the Carver Legacy Center. American National Bank is also making investments in the Carver Legacy Center to support the vision, including but not limited to: equipment, staff, and deposits and loans designated as Carver Legacy. The Carver Legacy team is also committed to partnering with additional banks and institutions locally and nationally.
Willie and Yolanda Barney and Martin and Lynnell Williams are all co-owners and co-founders of the Carver Legacy Center (CLC). CLC is 100% black owned. American National Bank serves as a vendor to the CLC.
After three years of meetings and private planning, the Carver Legacy Center team introduced the concept to the community through an article written and published by the Omaha World-Herald in late August 2020. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Since the announcement and grand opening on April 4, 2022, deposits have reach over $10 million. Again, this has taken place without a large scale marketing effort and only limited outreach to “family and friends” for a soft opening. A full branding and marketing campaign is in development.
Carver Legacy Center and Carver Legacy Accelerator
58800000.0
24000000.0
Combination of capital project and service/program
The Carver Legacy Accelerator would support the mission of the Carver Legacy Center and respond to needs identified since the launch of the Carver. Businesses are looking for meeting and office space and a place to receive technical assistance. The space at the original Carver building is limited. The Carver team is requesting $10,000,000 in grant funding or $20,000,000 in deposits to be leveraged into loans for businesses. The Carver is also requesting $3.5 million to support the creation of the Carver Legacy Business Accelerator on the corner of 25th and Lake. The building would be owned by the Carver Legacy Center partners, SMB Enterprises (Willie and Yolanda Barney) and Barak II (Martin and Lynnell Williams). Since the Carver team launched its website, over 200 entries have been received. African-American and North Omaha residents and business owners are looking for support to: Launch or scale a business Financial training Wealth building Home ownership Another common request received by the Carver team is for space to house a start-up business. Members of the Carver leadership team consistently field inquiries regarding the need for office and meeting space. The Carver Legacy Accelerator space will be run by SMB Enterprises/Revive and DreamBusiness in partnership with other organizations and small businesses. It will provide an opportunity for these businesses to co-locate and participate in start-up and scale-up accelerators. It will help meet specific needs identified by providing more space than what is available at the current Carver Building. The Carver team also recognizes a community need for a drive up ITM/ATM in the 24th and Lake area. Because the Carver currently does not have space for the ITM/ATM near its current building, the team has identified 2 potential locations in the vicinity. The primary location and the northwest corner of 25th and Lake. The plan for building one is a ground floor drive up ITM with office/retail. The 2nd floor will include office and meeting space. The 3rd floor will contain room for mixed-income apartments. A parking lot shared with a neighboring business will be an added amenity.
The Carver Legacy Center was announced in August 2020 and formally hosted a grand opening on April 4, 2022. While the location was not open until the spring of 2022, the Carver was renovating the historic building, installing systems, receiving deposits and processing initial loans. Since its inception, the Carver has received over $10,000,000 in deposits and helped to generate over $3,000,000 in loans primarily to African-American and North Omaha businesses and residents. Moving forward, with support from the ARPA funds, the Carver would anticipate increasing funds available to businesses as early as spring of 2022. The team would also plan to install an ITM/ATM near the Carver building and finalize plans to construct a three level facility that would house incubator/retail space, offices and mixed-income housing on the third level. Initial drawings and renderings have been completed. The team is in the process of purchasing the land needed to build the new facility. Upon completion of fundraising, the team would plan to begin construction in fall of 2023.
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Fundamental Change (i.e., a proposal that will continue to elevate North or South Omaha's presence and perception within the region, significantly improving the lives of area residents through physical development) 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) Transformational (i.e., a proposal that will help energize, recharge, or spur significant and favorable advancements in North or South Omaha's function or appearance)
Other Infrastructure (i.e., develop or improve broadband, business districts, roadways, sewer, etc.) Policy (i.e., develop or improve context-sensitive education, finance, health, training, zoning, etc.) Quality of Life (i.e., create or enhance natural spaces, mixed uses, parks, safety, etc.) Sustainable Community (i.e., create or enhance housing, services, education, civic uses, recreation, etc.)
Business Ownership: Omaha has a strong and thriving business climate and economy. Yet, African-American businesses have not garnered the same level of vitality. Only 200 African-American businesses in Omaha have employees and nationally African-American businesses account for only 1.3% of total sales. AA Acct for 1.3% of Sales 1.7% of Employees Omaha: Only 200 AA Business have emp. White Acct for 88% of Sales 86.5% of Employees Omaha: Strong business environment (Sources: National Data from Wealth Gap Report, William Darrity 2018/Economic Study – US Census) Home Ownership: In the US, African-American ownership is significantly below the level of the majority community. In Omaha, the gap is even larger with African-Americans in Omaha having one of the lowest rates of home ownership in the nation at 33.1%. AA Omaha 33.1% US 41.8% North Omaha: 40% in 68111 White Omaha 70.8% US 73.1% Douglas County: 64% (Data Sources: US Census – American Community Survey 2019) Wealth: Local and national data and trends point to a crisis with Black business ownership, home ownership and wealth creation. A national study using 30 year trending data from the Federal Reserve predicts Black wealth to be zero by 2043 if something dramatic and innovative isn’t done to address the large and growing gaps. 2016 2043 Wealth Projection AA $17,156 $0 White $171,000 $200,000 (Sources: Brookings Institute (2016), Prosperity Now/Institute for Policy Studies w/ exam of Fed. Reserve data (2017)
While numerous efforts and programs have been launched with some individual and anecdotal successes, none have reversed the ownership and wealth trends in the United States. Long-term the percent of wealth owned by African-Americans hasn’t increased significantly since the early 1900’s. A slight improvement in the early 2000’s was erased by the housing crisis of 2008 and 2009. When the North Omaha Village Revitalization Plan was approved unanimously by the Omaha Planning Board and City Council in July 2011, the theme was connecting the rich history of North Omaha with a thriving, sustainable future. The Carver Legacy Center is a perfect example of bringing this vision to life. The uses of the Carver Legacy Center and Carver Legacy Accelerator build on the historic legacy of the institution as the first African American/Black owned Bank in Nebraska; recognizes the historical significance of American civil rights leader, Whitney Young who advocated for home ownership and employment opportunities for African Americans; and maximizes the building as a recent venue for arts and culture related events. It will be the catalyst for the next phase of new development by creating a unique approach to financial empowerment and ownership. This new proposal creates an approach that fully utilizes the recent investments in the historic Carver building and will accelerate the momentum of the arts, culture, entertainment and business district by helping individuals and businesses to maximize their financial resources and build long term wealth. This project supports the commercial revitalization of the historic North 24th and Lake District and meets the goals of the North Omaha Village Revitalization Plan for advancing commercial development, breathing new life into remnant historic structures in the area. It also addresses findings of local and national case studies and reports that consistently highlight the remaining gaps for African Americans and other minorities in Omaha: Income, Wages, Home Ownership and Business Ownership. Recent national studies show that closing the wealth gap will take over 100 years if innovative strategies are not created and implemented. The Carver Legacy Center is part of the solution in North Omaha. This Financial Innovation Collaborative will be a one stop location to connect residents with services, organizations and products to build financial stability, become home owners and create, launch and sustain businesses. The center will be the hub for building wealth through ownership. The collaborative approach will address the needs identified directly from Black and other minority small businesses.
It is well documented that significant barriers exist for the success of Black businesses and homeowners. Locally and nationally access to credit and capital, lack of strong social networks and insufficient operational/business acumen are the top barriers for entrepreneurship. Another barrier to success is that African-Americans tend to launch businesses in the same traditional categories and concentrate primarily in service businesses. Data shows that home ownership represents 37% of wealth. African-Americans in Omaha have one of the lowest rates of home ownership in the nation at 33.1% (ACS 2019). In North Omaha (NO), homeownership has decreased to 50% (ACS 2019). African American home ownership is lower in the Midwest than other parts of the country. Partly because of the late migration, redlining and other barriers in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s, African-American homeownership in Omaha started low and was also exacerbated by the building of the 75 Highway and movement of African-Americans into public housing projects. Some estimate the highway, built directly through the heart of the Black community, reduced Black homeownership by 1/3 in Omaha as homes were removed. North Omaha has not recovered. Overall wealth is difficult to measure. However, despite documented improvements with unemployment, income, poverty and other variables, African-Americans have relatively low wealth in Omaha. And, in North Omaha as major revitalization takes place, African-Americans are not positioned in industries that generate wealth. In addition, many African-Americans and North Omaha residents do not have banking accounts, savings accounts or plans to transfer property or assets to the next generation. The Carver Legacy Center and Carver Legacy Accelerator will help address entrepreneurship, business growth, job creation and wealth building.
The most recent census data highlighted a dramatic increase in the number of Black owned businesses in Omaha. However, only 200 of the businesses had employees. (Economic Impact Report) African Americans have high interest in starting businesses. Nationally, African-American women represent the highest % of new entrepreneurs of any race or ethnicity (KC Fed. Reserve 2018). Even with significant barriers, an exciting new group of Black entrepreneurs is emerging in Omaha. Omaha has great resources that can be aligned and targeted to address the problems and challenges. In addition, national resources are now available through Opportunity Zones and other national initiatives. The economic impact has already started. The Carver Legacy Center has made or assisted with loans in excess of $3 million in a very short amount of time. The businesses that have received these loans have expanded, created jobs and generated higher sales. One new client has used a $1 million loan to renovate housing units along 16th Street. With additional grant funds or deposits that can be leveraged into loans, Carver is perfectly positioned to work with other organizations and businesses to help North Omaha businesses to flourish
TBD
TBD
The goal is $25 per hour or higher.
The Carver Legacy Team primarily used contractors of color for work to renovate the Carver building. We plan to do the same with the development of the Carver Legacy Accelerator. In addition, it is an expectation for businesses that borrow from the Carver will also do business with diverse owners and businesses from the QCTs.
One of the biggest issues consistently identified by entrepreneurs is the lack of access to credit and capital. During the day, the CLC is used to connect residents and clients to financial and banking services. The Legacy Accelerators will offer space for co-working, technical assistance and meetings. The Collaborative will address these issues head on by co-locating businesses that provide consulting, training, funding and marketing expertise in these areas. The collaboration will focus on key categories including STEM, food, and other high growth industries where minority businesses are not typically engaged. Using best practices and the best local and national research, specific business opportunities have already been identified. Large customers have been identified that have the capacity to buy from the entrepreneurs and business owners that emerge through the facility. Entrepreneurial clients will also be able to utilize the Carver as an event space for launch and test marketing events. A perfect size for intimate audiences, Carver offers a great location for budding entrepreneurs to host private and public events to try new products and gain feedback from target customers before making large investments in products and inventory. It provides a fantastic venue for direct interaction with customers and potential customers in a state of the art and multi-use facility. The Carver Legacy financial model and ecosystem will be recognized as the center point for building and sustaining Black Wealth and creating economic success through community-based development in high potential, under resourced neighborhoods. The Center will start in North Omaha and expand nation-wide in collaboration with financial institutions. The Carver Legacy Center has created an innovative and collaborative Black-owned financial center focused on building Black wealth and thriving communities. The collective focus will be on business, home and community ownership. The Carver Legacy Center and Carver Legacy Accelerator will build Black and North Omaha wealth through utilizing spiritual, social and cultural capital and by increasing access to financial capital and technical expertise (intellectual capital). The team is also exploring plans to help add more parking in the neighborhood.
While numerous efforts and programs have been launched with some individual and anecdotal successes, none have reversed the ownership and wealth trends in the United States. Long-term the percent of wealth owned by African-Americans hasn’t increased significantly since the early 1900’s. A slight improvement in the early 2000’s was erased by the housing crisis of 2008 and 2009. When the North Omaha Village Revitalization Plan was approved unanimously by the Omaha Planning Board and City Council in July 2011, the theme was connecting the rich history of North Omaha with a thriving, sustainable future. The Carver Legacy Center is a perfect example of bringing this vision to life. The uses of the Carver Legacy Center and Carver Legacy Accelerator build on the historic legacy of the institution as the first African American/Black owned Bank in Nebraska; recognizes the historical significance of American civil rights leader, Whitney Young who advocated for home ownership and employment opportunities for African Americans; and maximizes the building as a recent venue for arts and culture related events. It will be the catalyst for the next phase of new development by creating a unique approach to financial empowerment and ownership. This new proposal creates an approach that fully utilizes the recent investments in the historic Carver building and will accelerate the momentum of the arts, culture, entertainment and business district by helping individuals and businesses to maximize their financial resources and build long term wealth. This project supports the commercial revitalization of the historic North 24th and Lake District and meets the goals of the North Omaha Village Revitalization Plan for advancing commercial development, breathing new life into remnant historic structures in the area. It also addresses findings of local and national case studies and reports that consistently highlight the remaining gaps for African Americans and other minorities in Omaha: Income, Wages, Home Ownership and Business Ownership. Recent national studies show that closing the wealth gap will take over 100 years if innovative strategies are not created and implemented. The Carver Legacy Center is part of the solution in North Omaha. This Financial Innovation Collaborative will be a one stop location to connect residents with services, organizations and products to build financial stability, become home owners and create, launch and sustain businesses. The center will be the hub for building wealth through ownership. The collaborative approach will address the needs identified directly from Black and other minority small businesses.
The Carver Legacy Center and Carver Legacy Accelerator brings an innovative approach to Omaha. It brings together in one place best practices from other cities. 1. Carver FINANCIAL INNOVATION CENTER: A Black-owned Banking Center The Carver Legacy Center, in partnership with American National Bank, is launching a three phased approach to establishing a Black-owned financial center. 24th & Lake will be the home site. Individuals, businesses, organizations and ministries can open “Carver Legacy” accounts and conduct business at all American National Bank locations. A major focus will be increasing Access to Credit & Capital for Black businesses and investing in home ownership. Purpose of the Loans: • Business Start Ups and Expansion • Home Purchases • New Home Construction and Home Renovations • For Profit Real Estate Development • Other: Car for Work/Education 2. Carver Legacy HUB: The new home of Revive Omaha Magazine, Revive Black Business Network and business partners. The Hub is a place for Black businesses to network, launch, grow and expand by receiving technical assistance in the areas of accounting, technology, marketing, social media and operations. The Accelerator will focus on helping businesses go to scale, raise capital from multiple sources and connect to supplier diversity and procurement opportunities. Carver Legacy Accelerator will allow the Carver to expand space and services available to businesses. 3. Carver Legacy INCUBATOR: Pop Up Store & Incubator A place where African-American and North Omaha food entrepreneurs and small businesses can launch and introduce themselves to the market with special emphasis on the Historic Business District at 24th and Lake. The Store and Incubator will focus on products made by African-Americans. This location will partner with the Revive Center Market. 4. Carver Legacy WEALTH CENTER: Workshops and Special Events Attend special events and activities focused on business ownership, home ownership and financial empowerment. The Carver Legacy Accelerator will provide more room to implement these four strategies.
Deposits: As outlined in the marketing strategies below, the Carver is approaching major employers, foundations, small businesses, churches, non-profits, developers and most importantly residents to establish Carver Legacy accounts. Business Loans: One of the primary goals of the Center is to improve access to credit and capital for Black-owned and minority owned businesses. Primary: Non-traditional, high growth business categories which will be located throughout the city and other industries that support the revitalization of the core neighborhoods and business districts in North Omaha Secondary: Traditional categories with brick and mortar locations in North Omaha along with e-commerce solutions Home Loans: The community of North Omaha and African-Americans have low levels of home ownership. As a key ingredient for building wealth, the Carver team is partnering with other organizations to address challenges and offer training and loans to help close gaps in this area. Primary: Initial focus for home ownership will be current renters that have the capacity and financial ability to become homeowners but haven’t yet made the transition. Current trends show there are renters in the market who could be moved to homeownership with the proper guidance. Secondary: Longer term, there are individuals in the market that must overcome challenges like low credit scores to position themselves for home ownership. The Legacy Center will help these customers prepare to become homeowners and work with partners to assist with down payments, closing costs and other gaps as they are identified.
The outcomes are measured by CLC and American National Bank.
Yes. Loans and grants made to businesses will help generate new jobs and help accelerate the growth and development of the 24th and Lake District and North Omaha.
Yes
Revive Omaha, American National Bank, Empowerment Network, DreamBusiness, Martin Williams International, Nebraska Enterprise Fund, Family Housing Advisory Services, Omaha 100, Omaha Economic Development Corporation and others. Each partner brings their specific expertise to the table and supports through training, finance, commercial property, development, banking services, etc.
Formal agreement with American National Bank.
No
The physical location is 2416 Lake Street for the Carver Legacy Center. The tentative location for the Carver Legacy Accelerator with drive up ATM/ITM is 25th and Lake.
Within one or more QCTs
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
No
Architect
No
The Carver Legacy Accelerator would support the mission of the Carver Legacy Center and respond to needs identified since the launch of the Carver. Businesses are looking for meeting and office space and a place to receive technical assistance. The space at the original Carver building is limited. The Carver team is requesting $10,000,000 in grant funding or $20,000,000 in deposits to be leveraged into loans for businesses. The Carver is also requesting $3.5 million to support the creation of the Carver Legacy Business Accelerator on the corner of 25th and Lake.
The grant funds for Carver Legacy Center would be used for grants or loans to businesses in the QCTs. $3.5 million would be used to support the development of the Carver Legacy Accelerator.
Yes
The Carver's sustainability will come through deposits from businesses, residents, organizations, ministries and others who are committed to the vision and mission.
Carver Legacy Center Deposits Grants Carver Legacy Accelerator State City Foundations Bank Equity
TBD
TBD
Carver will scale based on deposits. The timeline shows step by step how the components can be implemented. The Carver Legacy Center has been renovated. The ITM/ATM can be installed while the team completes fundraising for the building of the Carver Legacy Accelerator. The work of the Carver can also be expanded to other buildings in the vicinity once space is exhausted.
In tentative budget
Carver is leveraging $10,000,000 in deposits. The goal is to grow to $20,000,000 and request the Omaha Economic Recovery team to match those deposits. Carver will plan to raise over $5,000,000 for the development of the Carver Legacy Accelerator.
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Data table of uses (breakdown of how the requested funds will be used for your proposal) Plans and detailed descriptions, including pictures and a map of the site location/surrounding area Proposal Budget/Sources and Uses