Summer is almost over, schools are filling up, colleagues are headed back from vacation and here at NP we’re looking ahead to an eventful fall.
Our Oct 29 and 30 RE:Conference is titled as such because nothing gets us more excited than the chance to reconnect, rethink and re-imagine Oregon. We’re rejuvenated after a busy legislative session and we’re re-booting our monthly newsletter.
We’ll refrain from overusing the “re” theme now. We look forward to seeing you and working with you soon.
Follow up from the 2015 Legislative Session
Thanks to the work of tireless advocates the 2015 Legislature brought Oregon great wins, and now we’re onto implementation.
- The Oregon IDA Initiative was renewed and the changes from that renewal go into effect on Oct 5th. Changes to the tax credit that helps fund the Initiative will be felt immediately. The renewal will also allow us to consider new uses of IDAs with the new funding cycle which begins April 1.
- Housing bills that were passed largely go into effect January 1, 2016.
Laying the Groundwork
Oregon’s legislative calendar means that the moment the 2015 Legislative session ended preparations for the 2016 and 2017 sessions began. Policy teams are laying groundwork for the future:
- NP and the Housing Alliance are hiring a new Housing Policy manager. We look forward to building an even stronger base for advocacy in 2016 and 2017. Stay tuned for updates.
- The Oregon Asset Building Coalition, which NP also convenes, is engaging with partners on exciting possibilities for 2016 and 2017 including bringing Children’s Savings Accounts to every Oregon kid. Contact Jill Winsor (jwinsor@neighborhoodpartnerships.org, 503-226-3001 x 118) to find out how you can join us.
Thank You Meyer Memorial Trust
We are grateful to Meyer Memorial Trust for their support of our work. We are especially excited that the Trust is supporting our Diversifying Voices effort within the Housing Alliance with a two-year grant totaling $138,000. The Housing Alliance is facing a complex set of challenges. Among them are: the severe housing crisis in almost every Oregon community, the variety of competing policy options and the need to prioritize, and the near-term need to plan for the retirement of key leaders. We will work over the next two years to recruit and support engagement, integration, skill building, and leadership development of a new cohort of leaders for this work.
The Trust is also supporting our work as conveners of the Housing Alliance. They have provided us with a two-year grant of $122,000 to support our core activities. We plan to devote these resources to monitor housing issues across the state, engage with existing partners on policy analysis, set priorities and build common agendas, and communicate effectively about housing needs in Oregon communities and strategies to address those needs.
Register for the Oct. 29 & 30 RE:Conference
The aforementioned RE:Conference is being held on Oct. 29 and 30 at the Salem Convention Center. The conference is a perfect place to plug into all the great work being done around Oregon in the affordable housing and financial capability sectors.
You can check out an outline of the conference agenda where you’ll see we have sessions covering a wide range of issues from “Creating Equity by Addressing Racial Wealth Barriers” to “How to hijack our brains to achieve our goals” to “Strategies to Create Inclusive Communities, Reverse Gentrification and End Displacement.”
We will also be celebrating the recently launched financial opportunity innovation award, the second year of the IDA video contest and the IDA Marketplace.
Thank you to our lead sponsor JP Morgan Chase and our supporting sponsors Oregon Housing and Community Services, Beneficial State Bank, CareOregon and MAPS Community Foundation.
Register at Early Bird Discount Prices until Sept 15
Excitement on the horizon for the IDA Initiative
The Oregon Individual Development Account (IDA) Initiative is working with Oregon Housing and Community Services, the Department of Revenue and key partners between now and Oct. 5 to establish temporary administrative rules for implementing the upcoming legislative changes. Our funding cycle for the Initiative is not expected to change. We will solicit proposals in December for projects to begin April 1, 2016.
We are excited about the State of the IDA “roadshow” coming up in the fall. Our hope is to generate conversation with a wide range of current partners, legislators, and other agencies. We will share what we know of the state of IDAs in Oregon, and we want to hear from you about how they are impacting participant lives and communities across the state. A more detailed schedule will be shared next month.
As if that isn’t enough to keep us busy, the IDA team is also planning for another Your Money Your Goals rollout and new financial education standards. You’ll also hear more about those in our next newsletter.
As you can tell, there’s tons of excitement and future possibilities. Asset builders from around the country are thrilled and intrigued by our collective progress. We have some work to do to roll this all out, but we expect great things in fall.
What We’re Reading & Interested In
- The Town That Decided to Send All Its Kids to College [The Atlantic/Alana Semuels]
- At the Mott Foundation, A Persistent Evangelist for Children’s Savings Accounts [Inside Philanthropy/Kiersten Marek]
- New site showing Architecture and Development in Portland: http://www.nextportland.com/
- Free and discounted strategic messaging courses from the Frameworks Academy