Livable Communities and the AARP Challenge Grants
Wednesday, March 2nd – 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
The AARP Community Challenge provides small grants to fund quick-action projects that can help communities become more livable for people of all ages. This year, applications will be accepted for projects to improve public spaces, housing, transportation and civic engagement; support diversity, equity and inclusion; build engagement for programs under new federal laws; and pursue innovative ideas that support people age 50 or older.
This presentation will walk through the Community Challenge grant opportunity as well as introduce the concept of livable communities and age-friendly initiatives to the audience.
Our Presenter
Doug Tayek serves as the Associate State Director for Outreach with AARP Ohio, where his work focuses predominantly on Northeast Ohio; managing a large team of volunteers, Doug is responsible for implementing AARP’s social mission in this area of the state. In 2021 Doug became the statewide lead for Age-Friendly and Livable Communities work for AARP Ohio, supporting his colleagues around the state as they advise and support Ohio’s age-friendly initiatives. Doug currently supports Age Friendly Cleveland, Akron, Summit County, and Athens County; he has also previously worked in support of Age Friendly Columbus/Franklin County, and Age Friendly Delaware County.
Doug joined AARP in 2011, he holds a bachelor’s degree from Kent State University, and a master’s degree in Applied Politics from the University of Akron. Doug serves on the board of directors for Cleveland Catholic Charities and Cuyahoga County’s Division of Senior and Adult Services.
Heritage Ohio Annual Awards: How to Submit a Successful Nomination
Wednesday, February 16th – 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
The 2022 Heritage Ohio Annual Awards nomination period is now open!
Are you proud of the work being done in your community? Do you know someone who has done outstanding revitalization work? Then maybe you want to apply for Heritage Ohio’s statewide awards.
We have 16 award categories to honor the people, organizations, and projects that are making Ohio a better place to live. Want to know more about the award categories and how to submit a successful nomination that will get noticed by the awards committee? Then attend this webinar!
Join Joyce Barrett and Frank Quinn as they introduce the various award categories, and share tips on completing the nomination forms.
Nominations are due by July 1, 2022.
Ohio Arts Council Programs and Grants
Wednesday, January 19th – 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. OAC has many programs and grants that enhance the arts experience for all Ohioans.
In this webinar, get to know your state arts council! OAC staff will provide a spotlight on Ohio Arts Council grants available to organizations, artists, and schools. They will outline programs, and resources available to the general public, and answer your questions.
This funding is available to every county in the state, to make your community a better place.
Speakers:
Jim Szekacs – Organizational Programs Coordinator for Western and North Central Ohio
Brianna Dance – Organizational Programs Coordinator for the Central and Southeast Ohio.
Patrick Roehrenbeck – Organizational Programs Coordinator
Tax Incentives for Fire Safety Improvements
Wednesday, December 1st – 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Did you know there are very generous federal fire safety equipment tax incentives available for existing commercial properties?
This is a financial opportunity to upgrade buildings in your downtown, making them safer for the entire community. This is a path for putting underutilized buildings into more productive use. These incentives enable commercial businesses to expense the full cost of fire safety equipment in one year, rather than depreciating over a long term.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) was passed in December 2017 and allowed small commercial businesses to accelerate the cost recovery of fire safety equipment by increasing Section 179 expense limitations. The TCJA also eliminated several 15-year asset categories and consolidated them into Qualified Improvement Property (“QIP”).
The CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act corrected a drafting error related to the TCJA that stopped larger businesses from the accelerated cost recovery benefits. The CARES Act assigned a 15-year MACRS depreciation recovery period to QIP and also made them eligible for 100 percent bonus depreciation for property placed in service after September 27, 2019 and before January 1, 2023.
You will learn:
- What improvements qualify as fire safety improvements.
- Which buildings qualify.
- Though you can’t claim historic tax credits while also utilizing the accelerated cost recovery incentives available for fire safety equipment at the same time, you will need to understand each incentive’s strengths and how to determine which is best for your project.
Join Ron Ritchey from the National Fire Sprinkler Association and Tom Boccia and Nick Gerhardt from Novogradac & Company LLP as they explain this opportunity and answer your questions.
This webinar has been approved for 1.0 HSW AIA continuing education credits.
Using the Standards for Rehabilitation to guide your project
Wednesday, December 8, 3:00 pm-4:00 pm
The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation consist of 10 common-sense principles to guide and evaluate rehabilitation work done to historic resources. Whether you’re contemplating a future tax credit project or thinking about applying for a historic preservation grant, adhering to the rehab standards will be critical to receiving your final approvals. Join Mariangela Pfister, Department Head, Technical Preservation Services of the State Historic Preservation Office, as she provides a basic overview of the standards and how they are interpreted.
Presenter
Mariangela Pfister, department head and deputy state historic preservation officer for technical preservation services, heads the Technical Preservation Services Department which manages the Building Doctor program, answers questions about care of older buildings, and works with applicants for the Federal Rehabilitation Investment Tax Credit and the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit. She has developed a wood conservation presentation, has written articles on preservation topics, and continues to work on a series of fact sheets entitled “Fast Facts” on common old-building maintenance issues. Pfister holds a master’s degree in history from The Ohio State University and bachelor’s degrees in history, English, and secondary education from Capital University.
COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL)
Rescheduled to Wednesday, December 15th – 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Learn how this federal small business loan program supports small businesses’ recovery from the COVID-19 disaster’s economic impacts by providing accessible and borrower-friendly capital. Loans are direct from SBA that must be repaid; low-interest (3.75% business /2.75% non-profit) fixed-rate, 30-year long-term loan to help overcome the effects of the pandemic by providing working capital to meet operating expenses. Use may go toward working capital to make regular payments for operating expenses, including payroll, rent/mortgage, utilities, and other ordinary business expenses, and to pay business debt incurred at any time (past, present, or future).
Presenter
Terry A. Bolden serves as the Deputy District Director for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Central and Southern Ohio District Office, managing the delivery of the agency’s financial assistance, technical assistance and government contracting activities to customers and stakeholders throughout 60 of Ohio’s 88 counties.
Bolden is a dedicated public servant with over 25 years of an exemplary track record in leadership, business development, infrastructure, and heavy highway transportation. Bolden is recognized as an effective collaborator, creating strategic alliances across the state of Ohio.
In 2020, Bolden joined the SBA after serving in key roles with Federal, State and local government agencies throughout Ohio. Bolden’s previous roles include: Manager for the City of Columbus Mayor’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion; Administrator at the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT); Business Advisor for the U.S. Department of Commerce; Compliance Officer with the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District; and Construction Inspector with the City of Cleveland Water Department.
A native Clevelander and graduate of Cleveland State University, Bolden has a passion serve his fellow Ohioans achieve prosperity.
Epic Experiences
Wednesday, November 17th – 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
The Ohio Travel Association has done its research on elevating experiences to a transformative level and is launching an Epic Group Experiences designation program for businesses throughout the Midwest. Learn more about this program to attract groups to your downtown.
Presenter
Melinda Huntley is the executive director of the Ohio Travel Association (OTA), a nonprofit organization that provides support for museums, attractions, visitor bureaus, retail shops, hotels, restaurants, and other businesses wanting to attract travelers. OTA advocates for smart policies that increase travel in Ohio and helps businesses. With career experience in public relations at Cedar Point, running a CVB along Lake Erie and helping communities develop heritage and outdoor experiences, she has a unique understanding of opportunities for businesses and communities of any size.
Bring Back Main Street with Small-Scale Manufacturing: The Who, the Why, and the How
Wednesday, September 15th – 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Too many places are stuck in a default model of economic development strategies left over from the 80’s. People and places are being left behind. It doesn’t have to be that way. Attend this webinar to learn about how we can flip the model on economic development and do it in a better way. One that invests in people and places. One with a focus on action now and not just long-term plans. We’ll discuss how to build a strong and resilient economy through concrete steps to include all types of talent in your entrepreneurship efforts, why (and how) to focus on small-scale manufacturing businesses as a catalyst, and how new real estate models for main street (and downtown) can be essential to your success.
Special bonus: We’ll be giving away a few copies of Ilana’s new book, Recast Your City, to webinar attendees.
Presenters
Ilana Preuss is the Founder & CEO of Recast City, author of the new book, Recast Your City, and co-author of Discovering Your Maker Economy and Made in PLACE: Small-scale manufacturing & neighborhood revitalization. Through Recast City, she partners with local leaders to bring main street back to life, bring business back to downtown, and build an inclusive and resilient economy. She is passionate about making great places and sees that small-scale product businesses are a missing piece in today’s mixed-use development, commercial property repositioning, and local economic development strategy. Preuss’ passion for great places grew out of her experience working with big and small cities all over the country when she led the technical assistance program at the U.S. EPA Smart Growth Program, and as the Vice President & Chief of Staff at Smart Growth America.
Revitalization Series Workshop: More Money for Main Streets: The Formula for Raising Unrestricted Capital
Wednesday, June 16 – 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
More money for Main Streets: The Formula for Raising Unrestricted Capital
More than 80% of all annual donations come from individuals*. Research shows this is the greatest growth opportunity for the nonprofit sector. It is also the most sustainable source of income over time. Moreover, building authentic, meaningful relationships with your donors reaps a multitude of rewards for the donor and your organization. Through donor cultivation you may find loyal volunteers, passionate board leaders, new opportunities and more. * Giving USA
In this session, participants will be taken through the donor journey from the first gift to an estate gift. We will give you advice on how to implement simple and effective strategies utilizing the resources and activities you are already doing. Plus, we will also reveal some secrets to attaining corporate support and finding new donors.
We will cover:
• How to increase your annual unrestricted donations from individuals
• Building your membership and converting members to annual donors
• Simple ways to retain and upgrade existing annual donors
• How to find the best major donor prospects in your current donor list using wealth screenings, donor profiles and other planning tools; how and when to make “the ask”
• Engaging your Board and other volunteers in fundraising
• Finding and engaging New Donors
• Producing effective and profitable events
• The difference between corporate sponsorship, program partnership, grants, financial and in-kind donations – and how to get funding from some or all of these.
• Easy ways to start talking with your donors about leaving your organization in their will
Speaker
Danielle Locke
Hey! I’m Danielle Locke. I founded Locke Step Partners because I was frustrated by the endless cycle of grants and events. I knew I could help nonprofit directors raise more unrestricted funds, especially from individual donors already in their list! I serve as a fundraising coach, connector, knowledge resource, and sometimes just a safe space to vent. My specialties include nonprofit management, donor cultivation, fundraising/campaign strategy, and board engagement.
I am an expert in nonprofit fundraising because I have had considerable success in organizations just like these – 20 years actually. I have a few credentials too. These include a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®) from the American College of Financial Services, a Master of Public Administration with a certificate in Nonprofit Management, from Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs and a bachelor’s degree in psychology, both from Cleveland State University. (The Pysch degree comes in handy these days.)
I believe every nonprofit leader has the potential to create a sustainable future for their organization by through meaningful donor partnerships. I am focused on giving nonprofits the step-by-step instruction, tools and support to actually implement the permanent changes that lead to their thriving future.
Revitalization Series Workshop: The Art & Economics of Filling Your Downtown Buildings
Wednesday, April 21 – 8:00 am – 3:00 pm
Becoming Historic Redevelopment-Ready
Join Corey Leon from the National Development Council for an introduction to the dollars & “sense” of redeveloping a historic building using a computer spread sheet. We’ll touch on the benefits of owning real estate, and key financial documents, such as the pro forma, you need to complete in order to properly evaluate the potential for redeveloping any historic building. We will dig into how lenders review potential projects before they commit to construction and/or permanent financing, and how all the structured redevelopment pieces fit together to make the development happen. Dust off your Lotus 123, Quattro Pro, or Excel and get ready to use an income property spreadsheet for a deep dive into the critical financing perspective of historic building redevelopment. Computer access able to open and edit an Excel spreadsheet is required in order to complete the session cases.
Attracting What Your Community Wants & Needs in Your Downtown
In the afternoon, Jason Duff from Small Nation will discuss proven ways your community can recruit new and expanding businesses to your community. Whether its solving your downtown vacancy problem or how to have a productive conversation with a developer, Jason has a solution for your community. Jason will also share several strategies on nurturing your existing downtown businesses to help them be even more successful.
Speaker
Corey Leon
Corey Leon is a director with the National Development Council’s Central Team. Corey is an Economic and Housing Development Finance Professional with over 20 years of experience in community economic development, with an emphasis on real estate finance. He has a full working knowledge of financial underwriting for commercial real estate, residential development and business credit and is skilled in utilizing a broad range of financial resources to structure creative financial packages that bridge the gap between development costs and private sector investment. Corey has assisted with the financial structuring of over $500 million in closed transactions for real estate developments and small business finance transactions.
Jason Duff
Jason Duff is the Founder of Small Nation which encompasses a group of companies, leaders and investors who develop places, spaces and dreams for small towns and small-town entrepreneurs across the county. Jason and his team at Small Nation have completely revitalized the town of Bellefontaine, Ohio. In 7 short years, they have turned a dying town and helped make it a Best-in-State destination.
Jason and his team can be credited with renovating more than 30 historic buildings, started and founded 14 new businesses that have hired more than 190 employees, 18 new loft apartments and they continue to lead and inspire in making towns and communities strong.
Jason serves on Small Business Advisory Council for US Chamber, is a regular contributor to Forbes, Entrepreneur & Inc Magazine, has been recognized by the White House as Top100 Entrepreneurs in 2013 and 2015, and was recently named Heritage Ohio’s 2019 Young Preservationist of the Year.
Revitalization Series Workshop: LORE Storytelling
Wednesday, February 17 – 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
WHY STORYTELLING? WHY LORE?
A compelling story is the fastest route to human connection and influence. Stories make presentations better. Stories make ideas stick. Stories help us persuade. A well-crafted story connects the listener to the teller, holding attention and driving action.
LORE has been empowering individuals and organizations by giving them the tools and a platform to share their stories since October 2018. Founded by Bridget Flaherty, an award-winning storyteller, LORE has helped hundreds of people craft their personal stories. In addition to hosting workshops for businesses, LORE has partnered with nonprofit and public organizations to gather and promote the stories of their constituents and clients.
LORE Storytelling Workshop
A compelling story is the fastest route to human connection and influence. Stories make presentations better. Stories make ideas stick. Stories help us persuade. This interactive program will teach you how to craft a captivating first-person story. You will learn about the story arc and story components, draft and share your personal story, and receive valuable feedback.
Learning Objectives
• Learn how to distinguish yourself and your company through the stories you tell.
• Acquire creative and powerful tools to communicate in a unique and authentic way.
• Develop a personal story that people want to hear in order to better connect with customers, employees, and colleagues.
Speaker
Bridget Flaherty
Bridget Flaherty has a successful career in Information Technology and Business Process Improvement and she is a Storyteller. Odd combination? Yes. And it makes her uniquely qualified to teach storytelling for business.
The first time that Bridget got on stage to tell a story, she won the competition. Instantly, she was hooked. She began travelling to share stories across the Midwest, including cities like Chicago, Pittsburgh, Ann Arbor, Detroit, Louisville, Cincinnati and Dayton.
Quickly, Bridget recognized how a captivating story can impact business success through effective leadership, captivating marketing, increased sales and clarified company culture. It was a natural fit. Marrying her more than 20 years of experience in business leadership with her passion for storytelling, Bridget developed a curriculum that makes sense for business professionals and she began to share the art of storytelling. LORE was born.
Bridget leads storytelling workshops, small group sessions and provides one-on-one coaching for business professionals that desire to tell a captivating story.
Te’Jal Cartwright
Te’Jal Cartwright was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio. Her passion for her community was instilled in her at an early age when she was encouraged to go out into the community with her church. Throughout her academic career, she would find herself more and more concerned about the state of her community and the role that she played in empowering those around her while learning from them as well. After graduating from the University of Dayton with her bachelor’s degree in English, she went on to fundraising and community outreach. It was at her previous job that she discovered her love for hosting. With this discovery she created a digital talk show called What’s the Biz with TJ. What’s the Biz focuses on highlighting black entrepreneur’s stories in an effort to connect the community to black owned businesses. Te’Jal has interviewed more than 35 businesses and has expanded to a national platform within the past year. She’s also interviewed legendary artists like Jojo Brim and Christopher “Play” Martin from Kid N’ Play. Her life’s work is dedicated to creating a better world for her 3 year old son, Luke.
Te’Jal has been a part of the LORE team in a variety of capacities since January 2019. She is an engaging host and a proficient technologist who keeps the LORE Storytelling Workshops moving smoothly.
Understanding PPP Round Two Webinar
Tuesday, January 26 – 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Round Two is starting to roll out. If you want to learn more before you apply or are not sure if you qualify, join Shannon Feucht and Jerome Jones from The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as they introduce the basics and answer your questions.
During the webinar, SBA will discuss:
- Overview of Forgiveness Process & Requirements
- Overview of the Paycheck Protection Program, as updated by The Economic Aid Act
- Overview of SBA Resource Partner Services
There will be time to ask questions!
Speakers
Shannon Feucht is a Lead Economic Development Specialist at the Columbus District Office for the U.S. Small Business Administration. In this position, she is responsible for marketing and conducting outreach to entrepreneurs, small businesses, and resource partners in order to help them start and develop by utilizing
Jerome W. Jones is a Lender Relations Specialist with The U. S. Small Business Administration. Prior to joining the SBA Jones was a Certified Business Advisor with The Ohio Small Business Development Center at Columbus State Community College and Managing Member of The Danash Group, LLC. He has also served as VP of Lending with the Economic and Community Development Institute, the Vice President of Business Services at Telhio Credit Union where he was responsible for the business loan department, Vice President of Community Development Lending for Key Bank, and a senior loan officer for Community Capital Development Corp. Jones is also very active in the Central Ohio community, serving on the United Way of Central Ohio Finance Committee and the City of Columbus Loan Review Committee, as well as having served as a board member of the Columbus Urban League. Jones is a recipient of the SBA Financial Services Champion Award, is a Certified Economic Development Finance Professional, a Certified Business Advisor and attended Jackson State University and Franklin University.