One of our favorite First Tech’s legacy community campaigns is here again! Season of Giving, where employees and members are invited to help direct end of year giving, is giving Hacienda the opportunity to win $10,000. These funds are extremely valuable to help further our mission. The five nonprofit organizations who receive the most write in nominations will each receive a $10,000 grant of unrestricted funds.

The Season of Giving campaign runs from November 1st through the 30th.  All we are asking you to do is to fill out this short survey - it really is short, promise! – and nominate Hacienda at the end.

The information the survey asks about Hacienda is the following:

Name: Hacienda Community Development Corporation

City: Portland

State: Oregon

 Thank you to First Tech members, employees and community supporters who make these opportunities possible.

#FirstTechFed #FirstTechGives

Nomination Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SOG24

Take this short community survey or sign up for a focus group. Your answers will be anonymous.

Your opinion matters! Take our survey or sign up for a focus group for a chance to win a $100 Visa Gift Card! Your responses and personal information will be kept anonymous.

¡Tu opinión es importante! ¡Participa en nuestra encuesta o inscríbete en un grupo de enfoque para tener la oportunidad de ganar una tarjeta de regalo Visa de $100! Tus respuestas y tu información personal se mantendrán anónimas. 

Please take the short survey here.

Si desea realizar la encuesta en español, haga clic aquí

We also have two focus groups you can join virtually to have your voice heard.

También tenemos dos grupos focales a los que puede unirse virtualmente para que se escuche su voz.

November 11th, at 12:00pm

Click Here to Sign up and Get Zoom Link

Da Click Aqui Para Participar en Zoom

November 13th, at 2:00 pm

Click Here to Sign Up and Get Zoom Link

Da Click Aqui Para Participar en Zoom

Meet us in person

Encuéntramos en vivo

Thursday, November 14

Jueves el 14 de Noviembre

9:00am - 10:00am

Food Bank

Las Adelitas Community Room

6735 NE Killingsworth St

Portland, OR 97218

Over the past few days, false information about Hacienda CDC and one of our downpayment assistance programs has rapidly circulated in conservative media, tabloid websites, and social media. 

To be clear, we do not discriminate against anyone and serve all Oregonians equally. 

The truth is important, so we are sharing the following facts about the programming in question:

1. Through a pilot program for 21 homebuyers, Hacienda distributes mortgage down payment assistance funded through Business Oregon. This is part of the Economic Equity Investment Program (Oregon Senate Bill 1579), which aims to build economic stability, self-sufficiency, wealth-building, and economic equity among disadvantaged individuals, families, businesses, and communities in the State. The program does not exclude U.S. citizens.
   

2. Participants need to be Oregon taxpayers with a mortgage pre-approved by a bank or credit union and meet two out of five risk factors outlined by the program governed by State Statute and RGA requirements. These include:

• Experience of discrimination because of race or ethnicity

• English language proficiency 

• Citizenship status 

• Socioeconomic status

• Residence or operation in a rural location   

A community flyer we created misstated these program requirements. 

For 32 years, Hacienda CDC has been advancing the health, livability and progress of all Oregonians, regardless of their race or ethnicity. Our mission is to strengthen families by providing affordable housing, homeownership support, economic advancement, and educational opportunities, focusing on creating inclusive pathways to success. 

We ask our community to help in sharing these facts with others. Thank you for being so supportive as we respond to this false information.

Sincerely,

Dr. Ernesto Fonseca
Chief Executive Officer
Hacienda CDC

Las Adelitas will soon be coming to life and will provide 142 safe, quality, affordable homes in the heart of Portland’s Cully neighborhood. We are excited to announce a collaboration with an incredible Latina artist, Michelle Angela Ortiz, who will be outfitting the building with a custom mural inspired directly from neighbors and community members in Cully. Read on to learn more about her work, inspiration, and the importance of this project. 

Image courtesy of Michelle Angela Ortiz

Michelle Angela Ortiz is an artist who describes herself as using her “art as a vehicle to represent people and communities whose histories are often lost or co-opted.” We might also think of her as a historian in real time, capturing histories as they happen, creating a testament of community that represents them and their stories, allowing them to feel seen and understood.

Ortiz has created over 50 large-scale public works in the United States and abroad. She has been a cultural envoy in Fiji, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Venezuela, Honduras, and Cuba. Her work happens in a range of expressions with the common thread of giving communities a voice. 

We are honored to be working with Michelle Angela Ortiz to bring a mural to Las Adelitas which will extend along the main entrance of this community along Killingsworth St.  Her work will be assisted by local Portland artist Oliver Casillas.

Her Background  

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Ortiz proudly shares that she still lives in the same neighborhood she has lived in all her life. Her mother is from Colombia’s Caribbean coast and her father from Puerto Rico, both activists before there was a name for it.  

“It was about being kind and standing up when things were not fair,” she explains. Her father was a bolero singer and a janitor, bringing home scrap paper from offices he cleaned for Michelle to turn into art. Everything she saw, she turned into art, from scenes in the open-air market to everyday acts of courage. She remembers these days fondly as the roots of her artistic career: “I saw art everywhere, it was my foundation.” 

Orgullo Otomí, public art created Michelle Angela Ortíz.

Michelle Angela Ortiz’s work dives into the importance of heart and home within the immigrant experience. “I come from a family that might not see its experience as having importance, but for me, it is placing value in that, acknowledging and honoring the story of my grandmother; to me it is as important as knowing about Thomas Jefferson, understanding our journey and where we come from.” 

The artist translates the communities’ stories into art. Whether immigrant communities, formerly incarcerated groups, teens, graffiti artists, grandmothers, she values the importance of this responsibility. What results is a local response to the common theme of “how can we utilize moment /space to represent their stories and the changes they want to see?” 

Conversations with the Community 

After 23 years working as an artist in communities, her process always begins with a conversation. Jessica Lam, Resident Services Manager at Hacienda CDC worked with Living Cully to organize a series of meetings with the community.  

In one of the conversations, the community was asked what images might represent family to them, home away from home, and even freedom. The group came up with a list of different images, which will then direct future images taken by photographer Mariana Fernandez, to inspire the design of the mural.  

“How do you build community and belonging in a space that is working so hard to displace you, whether through systems or individual interactions?”

— Michelle Angela Ortiz

Olga from Guatemala suggested an image of girl playing freely, hands making tortillas, feeding her family, showing a connection to tradition. Carrie spoke of having a white mother and an African-American father and reflected on racial discrimination. Lizette even wrote a love letter to Cully. The images, says Ortiz, have meaning that “is both personal and universal.”  

Mural in Tegucigalpa, Honduras by Michelle Angela Ortiz.

Michelle points out that she is aware of her role as “la visitante,” and is able to connect to individuals by hearing their stories fully and finding her own parallels with the community where she grew up. This allows her to make connection about what is being said, but also looking for what is missing. She begins deeper conversations with a poignant question: “What have you learned from your ancestors that you bring into the work that you do?”

Her work strives to understand belonging, a concern among many immigrants. She knows this feeling well, developing art that reflects a community while simultaneously acknowledging and fighting against the systems of oppression that works against that community and reflects, “how do you build community and belonging in a space that is working so hard to displace you, whether through systems or individual interactions?” 

These conversations have helped craft a mural that will represent the strength of women and the bright future of the Las Adelitas community while balancing the struggles of the past and present. “Acknowledging the struggle, but not letting it be the focus… filling the mural with light and positivity and all good things Cully has to offer, without shying away from the current obstacles the community faces.” 

Reflections 

Learn more about Michelle Angela Ortiz and the impact of her work and visit her website www.michelleangela.com

After years of doing this valuable work, she shares that for her, “the common thread is the importance of speaking up and sharing our story and sharing our truth. And I have seen change happen in waves, from little ripples to huge waves of change and I feel that art plays a role in supporting local justice, local community involvement and engagement, and I think that for artists, we play a huge role in really getting to the heart or the core of the work.” 

When asked what she hopes the observer takes away from this mural, she says, “I really would like them to see themselves represented. It is so important to have representation, to feel seen, to feel valued.” She hopes that the young children that see the mural and the transformation of the space will feel a sense of new possibilities and witness the impact of collective action on their community.   

Jaclyn Sarna, helping students through our Expresiones program.

In early December, Hacienda celebrated Jaclyn Sarna as our newest Chief Operating Officer!

Jaclyn has been working at Hacienda for over 10 years and began her career as an After-School Program Coordinator. She continued her trajectory into management and was recently the Interim Chief Operating Officer before taking on this new opportunity.

We appreciate Jaclyn’s leadership, stewardship, and tenacity. She is a great leader serving alongside Hacienda faithfully. Read more about Jaclyn and her story.

Jaclyn Sarna, Chief Operating Officer

Jaclyn Sarna, has stepped in as our new Chief Financial Officer as of March 2022. As we transition into a new chapter on our finance team, we have also welcomed new leadership to our Real Estate and Economic Opportunity departments.

Jerome has a background in investment management, commercial real estate finance and development, renewable energy finance, and financial services industries. In addition, he has over 20 years of experience in affordable housing finance in all aspects of the industry, including equity investing, investor relations, construction, and permanent lending. Jerome gained this experience under Fannie Mae, HUD, and private banking. Jerome also brings significant expertise in CDFI funding and administration, helping organizations diversify and strengthen their products to increase their impact and financial stability.

Jerome graduated from the University of Illinois, Chicago, and holds Chartered Financial Analyst and Certified Public Accountant Certifications. Jerome comes to us from Castle Island Group Consulting in the Chicago Metro Area.

Hacienda is increasing its impact and growing its team.
Want to learn about new opportunities to build community? Visit our careers page.

This summer while grocery shopping, you can also help take care of the environment and your community at the same time! When you bring in a reusable bag to the Slabtown New Seasons Market, their Bag It Forward Program will donate 5 cents to Hacienda CDC.

Give while you can at the New Seasons Market - Slabtown at 2170 Northwest Raleigh Street in Portland, Oregon.

Bag It Forward supports organizations like Hacienda and others that support food access and equity, education programs, and environmental action and justice. Hacienda CDC is honored to have been selected in this partnership that has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to community organizations.

Hacienda CDC is a Latino Community Development Corporation that strengthens families by providing affordable housing, homeownership support, economic advancement and educational opportunities. We are grateful for this partnership and support of our work! Take the opportunity to give and support our mission by visiting the New Seasons in Slabtown, Portland, Oregon.

Learn more at NewSeasonsMarket.com