The OBB’s foundation and origins are in the faith community. Across the country, The Benefit Bank is a project of the National Council of Churches(NCC), the Jewish Council on Public Affairsand several other national organizations. NCC chose Ohio as a pilot State for the Benefit Bank. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation provided funding to complete software programming of taxes and benefits for the OBB, by Solutions for Progress, Inc., a public policy and information technology firm. Outreach began in early 2006 when Episcopal Community Services Foundation of Southern Ohio started recruiting counselors and establishing Benefit Bank sites. The Columbus Foundation and the Ohio Department of Development, Office of Community Services, in 2006 provided substantial grants for community outreach.
Later in 2006, the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks (OASHF) became the lead non-profit agency implementing the OBB. OASHF obtained a non-monetary grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service, and placed one AmeriCorps*VISTA member as a “Community Trainer” in each of the 12 Regional Foodbanks in Ohio to train new OBB counselors. OASHF established OBB sites sponsored by faith-based and community organizations as well as businesses, trained Benefit Bank counselors and built local coalitions for outreach using the OBB.
Governor Ted Strickland learned about the OBB during the transition period after his election, and created a new position within his staff to lead the State of Ohio’s support of the OBB. He appointed Ralph Gildehaus to be Director of The Ohio Benefit Bank and located his office within the Governor's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (GOFBCI). His responsibilities as Director include: (1) securing funding for the OBB; (2) integrating the OBB with State agencies; (3) devising innovative uses for the OBB to meet the needs of Ohioans; (4) seeking cost-sharing with private sector partners for additional outreach and with other states to pay for software programming to include additional federal benefits; and (5) promoting the OBB in conjunction with the Governor's Office of Communications and private and public sector partners.
The operations of the OBB are supported by appropriations in the State budget, funds from the GOFBCI, grants from the Ohio Department of Development and non-profit and foundation supporters, and federal food stamp administrative matching funds. The OBB is implemented under a grant agreement, managed by Mr. Gildehaus, between and OASHF and GOFBCI, in partnership with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. OASHF also received a second-year, non-monetary grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service for 13 AmeriCorps*VISTA members and one VISTA leader. The OBB was named the best VISTA project in the State of Ohio for 2007.
The OBB operates through my creative partnerships. For example, in the Cincinnati area, the Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services contracted with the Freestore Foodbank for Enrollment Brokers with laptop computers, portable printers and mobile web access to bring Benefit Bank services to clients at community locations across the county. The George Gund Foundation recently awarded a $150,000 grant to OASHF to launch the Benefit Bank in Greater Cleveland and for Benefit Bank outreach in Ohio over the next two years. The Columbus Foundation recently provided a $75,000 grant and Charter One Foundation a $10,000 grant for a Central Ohio Coordinator and an Enrollment Broker, in partnership with the Franklin County Department of Job and Family Services.
OASHF and its partners are pursuing a detailed, strategic three-year implementation plan for the OBB. In just over 2 years of operations, this partnership has established more than 900 OBB sites, in 78 of Ohio's 88 counties, sponsored by nearly 400 faith-based, community and private sector organzations across Ohio and trained more than 4000 Benefit Bank counselors. OBB sites are sponsored by a wide variety of faith-based, community and social service organizations, and includes places of worship, food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, settlement houses, immigration services, legal aid societies, government agencies and private businesses. The OBB has already served more than 19,000 Ohioans and helped them claim more than $120 million in work support tax credits and public benefits.
In August 2007, OBB counselors used "Quick Check" at a booth at the Ohio State Fair to assess whether clients were potentially eligible for works supports and, if so, used the site locatorto OBB sites in clients' local communities. The partnership recently completed 14 regional briefings across Ohio to inform organizations about how to establish OBB sites and train OBB counselors. More than 1,000 people attended these briefings. Governor Strickland's public service announcements promoted the OBB for home energy and tax preparation assistance. In addition to the growth of awareness, OASHF opened a new statewide headquarters, featuring a storefront counseling office and new training center in downtown Columbus, Ohio, at 51 North High Street, Suite 150 to help meet the growing needs and successes of the Ohio Benefit Bank.
In August 2008, after successfully expanding the Ohio Benefit Bank in his tenure as the Ohio Benefit Bank’s first director, Ralph Gildehaus has taken a role with a nonprofit that is developing a national effort to connect low- and moderate income Americans with work supports. Not only did Ralph spearhead the 4-fold increase in sites, he helped develop new modules to expand the capabilities of the OBB to connect Ohioans to key tools for achieving self-sufficiency. We are pleased that Ralph will continue to work nationally with Ohio and other states to enhance similar services to serve even more low- and moderate income citizens.
Shannon Teague assumed the role of director in September 2008. Shannon comes to the Ohio Benefit Bank with over a decade of leadership with the Ohio Department of Youth Services where she served most recently as the Administrator of the Office of Community Partnerships. Shannon will lead the implementation of several new OBB initiatives in FY2009.