FNBO Awards Additional $895,000 to Organizations Providing COVID-19 Relief

Press Release

Release Date: September 9, 2020

FNBO Awards Additional $895,000 to Organizations Providing COVID-19 Relief
FNBO provides more than $3.9 million in total COVID-19 relief funding in 2020.

OMAHA, Neb. September 9, 2020—First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO) has awarded $895,000 in workforce stability grants to 63 organizations in Nebraska, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, South Dakota and Texas, providing additional relief to individuals and businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, announced Alec Gorynski, Vice President, Community Development and Corporate Philanthropy. In total, through two rounds of funding this year, FNBO has provided more than $3.9 million in philanthropic and impact investments to community partners working to support those most financially impacted by the current crisis.

“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, FNBO has remained committed to doing our part to mitigate the financial impact this virus has had throughout our communities,” Gorynski said. “As a result, we’ve directed our community investments in a manner that supports nonprofit organizations that are working to address both the short-term needs and long-term impact to individuals and small businesses.”

In May, FNBO awarded $304,500 in housing stability grants to 27 organizations in Nebraska, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, South Dakota and Texas. This first round of grants provided direct financial assistance for short-term housing needs such as mortgage, rent and utility assistance in order keep families in stable housing; and direct financial assistance for short-term health and human care needs such as food and medical expenses. At the same time, FNBO also contributed $2.75 million in impact investments into community loan funds across the bank’s footprint that provide small businesses with COVID-19 relief loans.

The second round of grants primarily support workforce stability programs. FNBO has awarded the following grants to organizations providing services that generate long-term impacts related to workforce development, such as employment case management, employment skill development, employment search support, job placement and job coaching.

Nebraska

In Nebraska, FNBO awarded $660,000 in grants to 37 organizations. Grants supporting workforce stability programs include:

• $20,000 – AIM Institute (Omaha): provides support for AIM Accelerated Tech Training delivered through the AIM Code School.
• $10,000 – Autism Action Partnership (Omaha): provides support for Autism Career Employment (PACE) Program, a traditional workforce development program seeking to meet the unique needs of local business sectors with talented and skilled employees, who also have autism.
• $20,000 – Child Saving Institute, Inc. (Omaha): provides support for Independent Living Skills (ILS) program, which assists young adults to build life skills and successfully transition to positive independence.
• $20,000 – Completely KIDS (Omaha): provides support for adult education classes to enhance the employable skills of parents and caregivers including ESL, citizenship, GED, computer skills, Spanish literacy and financial literacy.
• $45,000 – Credit Advisors Foundation (Omaha): supports embedding certified financial counselors into bank branches by providing virtual credit and budget counseling and education.
• $30,000 – Family Housing Advisory Services, Inc. (Omaha): supports Financial and Asset Education Program which conducts monthly financial education workshops, individual counseling/coaching and community outreach for youth and adults.
• $40,000 – Financial Hope Collaborative at Creighton University (Omaha): provides support for Financial Success Program, a year-long comprehensive financial education and coaching program targeted towards the specific needs of single mothers.
• $10,000 – Girls Incorporated of Omaha (Omaha): provides support for Success Prep programming including job-readiness training, assistance with college enrollment and hands-on work experience.
• $20,000 – Heart Ministry Center, Inc. (Omaha): provides support for Fresh Start, a job training and job placement program that matches clients with jobs that earn a livable wage, and provide clients with the necessary job training, life skills and soft skills needed to maintain steady employment.
• $20,000 – Heartland Workforce Solutions Inc. (Omaha): supports tools and furnishings needed to assist low-to-moderate income populations vulnerable to job loss, barriers to technology and coronavirus.
• $15,000 – Kids Can Community Center (Omaha): provides support for tuition assistance for children of essential workers.
• $10,000 – Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska, Inc. (Omaha): supports employment case management services for new Americans.
• $60,000 – Metropolitan Community College Foundation (Omaha): provides support for adult basic education (ABE) activities (enhanced coaching, tutoring, GED or ESL courses) and onboarding to support students with their career and educational goals, including integrated education and training to accelerate career placement.
• $30,000 – National Foundation for Credit Counseling (Omaha): provides support for the Debt Reduction Program, which offers flexible alternatives for consumers to reduce their unsecured debt.
• $10,000 – Nebraska Maintenance Academy, Inc. (Omaha): provides support for a 12- week intensive, skilled trade, training program for those wishing to become maintenance technicians entering the multifamily housing industry, provided at no cost to participating students.
• $15,000 – New Visions Homeless Services (Omaha): provides supportive service programming including employment education and financial literacy.
• $10,000 – NorthStar Foundation (Omaha): provides support to develop and implement an innovative, agile learning model to address critically needed online credit recovery and college credit curricula for 100 high school students, including the purchase of technology.
• $20,000 – No More Empty Pots (Omaha): supports the Culinary Certificate Program which provides job training and a living wage to program participants.
• $15,000 – Omaha Home for Boys (Omaha): provides support for Jacob's Place and Branching Out programs.
• $20,000 – OneWorld Community Health Centers, Inc. (Omaha): supports technology access for adult basic education at Learning Community Center South.
• $30,000 – RISE (Omaha): provides support for the RISE Reentry Emergency Fund (RREF), which supports RISE program graduates who are accessing RISE reentry services post-release.
• $10,000 – The Bike Union (Omaha): supports program operations and workforce skill building for youth aging out of the foster care system.
• $20,000 – Together Inc. of Metropolitan Omaha (Omaha): provides support for the Horizons Program which seeks to prevent and end homelessness for individuals and families living in the Omaha community through case management, financial assistance and navigation/referral support.
• $40,000 – Urban League of Nebraska, Inc. (Omaha): provides support to enhance workforce job readiness and job skills model to adapt employee’s skills and roles to the post-COVID ways of working.
• $20,000 – YMCA of Greater Omaha (Omaha): supports the organization’s Early Learning Centers (ELC) programming to provide affordable childcare for essential workers.
• $10,000 – Community Action Partnership of Lancaster and Saunders Counties (Lincoln): provides support for financial well-being programs, which provide financial education and a savings match to low- to moderate income populations.
• $10,000 – Nebraska Children and Families Foundation (Lincoln): provides support for the LEAP program to support young adults seeking employment and higher education.
• $12,500 – Care Corps, Inc. (Fremont): provides support for workforce and life skill training to create employability through providing practical skills in gaining employment and focusing on the soft skills needed to stay employed.
• $2,500 – Uniquely Yours Stability Support (Fremont): supports employability services for those impacted by COVID-19.
• $10,000 – Aksarben Foundation (Norfolk): supports upskilling the local workforce, working to improve local technology access, and providing workforce support to small businesses and entrepreneurs.
• $5,000 – Centro Hispano Comunitario de Nebraska (Columbus): supports adult basic education programming to include GED courses in Spanish, computer literacy and technical assistance to those with language barriers.
• $5,000 – Platte Valley Literacy Association (Columbus): supports adult basic education classes such as ESL, GED, citizenship and computer classes to individuals in Columbus and surrounding areas.
• $5,000 – Proteus, Inc. (Columbus): funding will support financial literacy courses for farm workers.
• $5,000 – Multicultural Coalition (Grand Island): provides support for Employment Ready Immigration Services to aid immigrants in receiving documentation needed to begin or continue employment as well as employment case management support.
• $15,000 – Deborah's Legacy (North Platte): provides employment education and other supportive services for women struggling with addiction, homelessness and other issues.
• $15,000 – Community Action Partnership of Western Nebraska (Scottsbluff): supports workforce stability assistance for income-eligible, young adults age 18-24 impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A grant supporting small businesses in Nebraska includes:

• $5,000 – Nebraska Enterprise Fund (Omaha): provides support for training, coaching, and small and microbusiness loans to businesses as they execute their resumption plans and demonstrate business capacity and sustainability overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic.

Colorado

In Colorado, FNBO awarded $110,000 in grants to 12 organizations. Grants supporting workforce stability programs include:

• $10,000 – Attention Homes (Boulder): provides support for employment case management, career development and life-skills/self-sufficiency programming for youth and young adults in need.
• $10,000 – I Have a Dream Foundation of Boulder County (Boulder): provides support for Pathways to College & Career Program which provides low-income youth with college and career readiness programming from elementary through high school.
• $5,000 – Intercambio Uniting Communities (Boulder): provides support for adult English classes which provide immigrants the opportunity to develop new skills to help them meet their employment goals.
• $5,000 – Boys & Girls Clubs of Larimer County (Fort Collins): provides support for workforce readiness programming for teens including resume help, guest speakers and field trips to local businesses.
• $10,000 – Homeward Alliance (Fort Collins): provides support for the Hand Up program, which empowers job-seekers who are homeless or near-homeless to find and maintain employment, with the goal of achieving economic security.
• $20,000 – Neighbor to Neighbor (Fort Collins): provides support for financial education to local renters as well as potential first-time homebuyers.
• $10,000 – Project Self Sufficiency of Loveland-Fort Collins (Fort Collins): provides support for low-income single parents in creating and accomplishing career and education goals tied to living wage employment.
• $10,000 – The Matthews House (Fort Collins): provides support for low-income youth to obtain and maintain employment alongside social emotional skills and resiliency to foster independent living.
• $10,000 – Thrive - Transformation At Work (Lafayette): provides support for virtual workforce development programming to help participants gain access to employment during the ongoing pandemic.
• $10,000 – Boys & Girls Clubs of Weld County (Greeley): provides support for Boys & Girls Clubs of Weld County’s Club Experience, which creates long term workforce stability by developing in young people the highly sought-after competencies of today’s employers.

Grants supporting small businesses in Colorado include:

• $5,000 – Colorado Enterprise Fund (Denver): provides support for small business development services, including coaching and access to capital, through the organization's COVID-19 response efforts.
• $5,000 – DreamSpring (Denver): provides support for COVID-19 Small Business Response Fund to provide immediate relief and recovery opportunities for small businesses in Northern Colorado.

Illinois

In Illinois, FNBO awarded $65,000 in grants to six organizations. Grants supporting workforce stability programs include:

• $10,000 – Hope Haven of DeKalb County, Inc. (DeKalb): provides funding for supportive services to homeless individuals and families impacted by COVID-19 pandemic.
• $10,000 – Literacy Volunteers Fox Valley (St. Charles): provides support for literacy education to help individuals navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and meet the needs of their families.
• $5,000 – Turning Point, Inc. (McHenry): provides support for workforce stability and supportive services offered at secure emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence.
• $10,000 – The Workforce Connection, Inc. (Belvidere): provides support for digital literacy, work readiness, job development and employability training to Spanish speakers in Boone County.
• $25,000 - The Neighbor Project (Aurora): provides support for programming at the Aurora Financial Empowerment Center, a free service available to improve economic mobility by providing financial guidance to individuals and families.

A grant supporting small businesses in Illinois includes:

• $5,000 – DeKalb Chamber of Commerce (DeKalb): provides assistance to small businesses struggling with expenses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kansas

In Kansas, FNBO awarded $25,000 in grants to four organizations. Grants supporting workforce stability programs include:

• $10,000 – Connections to Success, Inc. (Kansas City): supports a comprehensive 60 hour, experiential workforce readiness training including financial literacy, parenting and relationship education, development of hard and soft skills, creation of a resume and life plan and job search assistance.
• $5,000 – Inclusion Connections (Olathe): supports PawsAbilities job skill building and job placement programming for individuals with developmental disabilities.
• $5,000 – The Mission Project, Inc. (Mission): supports employment case management for individuals with developmental disabilities.

A grant supporting small businesses in Kansas includes:

• $5,000 – Community Capital Fund (Kansas City): supports the KC Region Small Business Relief + Recovery Loan Fund to ensure neighborhoods and communities retain their small businesses and the goods and services and economic opportunities they provide.

South Dakota

In South Dakota, FNBO awarded $30,000 in grants to three organizations. Grants supporting workforce stability programs include:

• $10,000 – Cornerstones Career Learning Center, Inc. (Huron/Yankton): provides support for adult basic education, GED preparation and testing, post-secondary and workforce preparedness programs for adults in Huron, Mitchell and Yankton.
• $10,000 – Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota, Inc. (Yankton): provides support for financial education workshops and counseling to individuals and families in the areas of Yankton, Mitchell and Huron.

A grant supporting small businesses in South Dakota includes:

• $10,000 – Community Development Foundation (Huron): provides support for the Forward Huron Revolving Loan Fund, which is a flexible emergency lending program to provide working capital to retail, service, manufacturing, or related business facing financial hardship due to COVID-19.

Texas

In Texas, FNBO awarded a $5,000 grant supporting a workforce stability program:

• $5,000 – Boys & Girls Clubs of Collin County (McKinney): supports Teens Gaining Skills to the World of Work program in order to bridge the gap between youth and meaningful employment, helping them to gain early exposure to the world of work.