IDA RFP 2011
Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) and Neighborhood Partnerships (NP) recently awarded grants for eight innovative and collaborative proposals to reach communities who are currently underserved by the Oregon Individual Development Account (IDA) Initiative.
Revenue collected in 2010 allowed the Initiative to allocate about $1 million in funds to strategically reach communities currently underserved by the Oregon IDA Initiative. Funding for IDAs comes from contributions from individuals and corporations; the contributions are eligible for a 75% Oregon IDA Tax Credit.
In a highly competitive process, eighteen proposals from collaborations including forty-two organizations were received by the September 1, 2011 deadline. The proposals requested a total of $3.3 million.
Several collaboratives proposed education IDAs to help individuals get the training and degrees they need to be skilled and competitive in the workforce and as small business owners. Bienestar, Innovative Changes, International Refugee Community Organization (IRCO), Mercy Corps Northwest and NeighborWorks Umpqua received awards for their innovative proposals.
Other proposals will support microenterprise IDAs that will help individuals and families start businesses that can become the income stream for their households as well as provide jobs for others. Hacienda Community Development Corporation and Microenterprise Services of Oregon were awarded funds for this purpose.
Awards were also made to provide home repair and homeownership IDAs to increase financial stability and protect assets for low income families, and the Native American Youth and Family Center and IRCO received resources for this area.
Bienestar—$115,000
Offer education IDAs to very low income Latino/Latina youth in suburban and rural Washington County
Hacienda CDC—$125,000
Offer micro-enterprise IDAs to Latino/Latina micro-entrepreneurs including the development of a cooperative Mercado
Innovative Changes—$115,000
Offer education IDAs to very low income people, especially people of color, working with the Black Parent Initiative, CASH Oregon, and Alder Elementary I Have A Dream Collaborative
International Refugee Community Organization (IRCO)—$130,000
Offer education and homeownership IDAs to very low income Immigrants and Refugees in fourteen Oregon counties
MercyCorps Northwest (MCNW)—$100,000
Offer education IDAs to individuals leaving the Corrections system in the Portland Metro area
Microenterprise Services of Oregon (MESO)—$115,000
Reach underserved communities of color, immigrant communities and work with Columbia County Mainstreet Program in Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington and Columbia Counties with microenterprise and education IDAs
Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA)—$90,000
Serve Elders in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties with home repair IDAs to make needed repairs to their homes
NeighborWorks Umpqua (NWU)—$100,000
Offer innovative employment-related and education IDAs to very low income and rural families and individuals in Douglas, Coos, Linn and Lane Counties
