Omaha, NE – Nebraska Hispanic Chamber Foundation (NHCCF) President, Diva Mejias, and South Omaha Business Association (SOBA) President, Liz Codina, are excited to announce that the two nonprofit agencies will merge operations effective October 2020.
“Our agencies have a similar vision and goals for the community, and we are thrilled with the potential going forward, to unify business and nonprofit organizations and their leaders alike,” says Mejias.
NHCC is a statewide agency that focuses on the economic development of the Latino-Hispanic businesses. The agency has a South Omaha committee that focuses on engaging businesses in the area. On the other hand, SOBA serves any business or nonprofit in South Omaha through activities focused on preserving the diversity, heritage, and economic vitality of South Omaha. The membership group will keep its primary focus and goals and become an NHCC program.
The group is happy to announce that current SOBA Board of Directors members, Tony Vargas and Regina Costello, will be elected to the NHCC Foundation Board of Directors to ensure that the interests of SOBA are maintained. Several other SOBA Board of Directors members will lead a new advisory committee that will oversee the activities of the SOBA program under NHCC Foundation.
“After a year and a half of conversations, we realized that NHCC Foundation and SOBA served many of the same members and had similar activities in South Omaha. We were duplicating work in some cases and the opportunity to become a program under NHCC will allow both membership-based agencies to streamline operations and promote unity between Latino-Hispanic owned businesses and other nonprofits and businesses that call South Omaha home,” says Codina.
Current members of SOBA will have free access to the Nebraska Hispanic Chamber member benefits through the end of the year. Starting January 2021, the merged agency will offer one membership that will provide access to member meetings, community events, and professional development events. “We hope members will take advantage of the two-for-one benefits that we have to offer,” says Mejias.
NHCC Foundation and SOBA leaders are ecstatic about bringing members together to advocate for the interests of South Omaha. “We can’t wait to collaborate in a more meaningful way so we can promote South Omaha and its stakeholders,” says Codina.