TM

B A N K

Ours does.

Our solar project loan is at OneCal.It feels right

to do business with a bank that puts money

back into the community.

Does your bank greenyour community?

OneCalifornia Community Development Banking Report }2008 Q2

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B A N K

When 90-year-old Ray Dones climbs to a rooftop above the new Thomas Berkeley Square in downtown Oakland, he sees evidence of his collaborative projects across the skyline. To the west rise the MORH Housing Apartments; to the south, the Elihu M. Harris State Office Building. The satisfaction of jobs well done, life well lived, and family well raised would be enough for most people, but Ray has a vision to do more. A man with great successes

in general and electrical construction, magazine publishing, and audio and automotive engineering, he’s on a mission to harness solar power. As Co-Founder of and Energy Consultant to SUDA (Strategic Urban Development Alliance) and with his son Alan Dones, SUDA CEO and Managing Partner, and John Guillory, SUDA Co-Founder and Partner, Ray is a force behind the largest solar panel installation in downtown

Oakland—a roof-full on the Alameda County Social Service Headquarters at Thomas L. Berkeley Square, a project developed by SUDA at San Pablo and Thomas Berkeley Way (formerly 20th Street). OneCal Bank financed the panels and their installation. Alan shares his father’s passion for adaptive reuse and renewable energy. In addition to overseeing SUDA’s projects, Alan travels to Africa to work on the early stages of a five-country project which includes solar and hydro-electric power. Many of Alan’s other interests align with his father’s. Alan is an accomplished musician and community advocate for equal opportunity in employment and con-tracting; Ray holds patents in audio and auto acoustics and was a founding member of the National Association of Minority Contractors. Both men have been active in local and national organizations creating positive change and opportunity for others. Adding renewable energy to their footprint of new construction and historic preservation in the East Bay, the Dones are an energetic example of what vision, commitment and a lot of hard work can build.

Every night when Ray and Inez Dones gathered their family around the dinner table, they nourished their children with more than food. “We were taught that we had a say in the community,” says Bobbye Dones, SUDA man-agement consultant and self-proclaimed Executive Sister. “We weren’t allowed victimhood. My dad raised us to have a vision. He taught us to be activists. Mom was always there for us. There was so much love—always room for us to grow and learn.”

Bobbye is also keeper of the family history and curator of SUDA’s headquarters, an historic home that belonged to Miss Ida Louise Jackson, Oakland Public School’s first African American teacher and a friend of Inez Dones. The Dones re-furbished the house, raising it to accommodate lower level offices, and they maintain it with Miss Jackson’s original furnishings. An improvisational gardener, Bobbye tends many of Miss Jackson’s original plants. She sees it all as creativeprocess—whether anticipating colors for the garden, producing proformas or construction solutions. “We were encouraged to be creative,” she says. “We figure it out.”

Learn more about the Dones’ projects and history at www.sudallc.com.

“Now is the time for community development banks to be more innovative in creating solutions for businesses, professionals, nonprofits and individuals, especially since larger banks have begun to pull back from community markets. Our Bank and Foundation associates are actively networking with people to facilitate a different kind of banking. This report gives a glimpse of the valuable work OneCal and our customers are doing for the community. Contact us to learn more. “Please take this opportunity to align your community and social values with how you bank. By depositing with OneCal, you automatically contribute to strengthening community. Thank you!” Jeff Cheung, President & CEO, OneCalifornia Bank

RENEWABLE ENERGY

HISTORIC PRESERVATION

BANK WITH PEOPLE WHO CARE ABOUT COMMUNITY

On the cover and above: Alan and Ray Dones at the rooftop

solar installation of Alameda County Social Service Headquarters at

Thomas Berkeley Square. OneCal Bank financed the solar

installation —the largest in downtown Oakland.

Members of the Thomas Berkeley family pose with the Dones at the

groundbreaking for Thomas L. Berkeley Square.

At right, top: The Dones familyBelow: Miss Ida L.Jackson’s home,

now SUDA Headquarters

BANKING ON ONE SUCCESS

AT A TIME TM

S U D A SOLAR

Do you know where profits from your shopping purchases go? Do you think about shopping as a way to improve communities and change the world? Erin Kilmer- Neel does. As Program Officer for OneCalifornia Foundation and founder of Oakland Unwrapped!, she is the visionary behind two programs she brought with her to OneCal. Oakland Unwrapped! Online Marketplace makes it easy for people to buy from locally-owned, independent businesses and artists. The Oakland Indie Awards honor local business owners and artists.

Join us.Bank on your values. Bank with OneCalifornia.Bank for a stronger community.

OneCalifornia Foundation has launched a new initiative to assist low-income families in Oakland and the San Francisco Bay Area. OneCAL SAFE (Checking and Lifetime Savings Accounts with Financial Education) provides individuals with access to fair banking services, along with learning about personal banking, budgeting, money management and online banking. The OneCalifornia Foundation is working with OneCalifornia Bank and selected nonprofit organizations that engage in financial literacy. “We expect to assist hundreds of low-income individu-als by the end of 2009,” says OneCal Foundation Program Manager Liza Jager. “We provide information and tools for empowering individuals to achieve financial goals by building assets and realizing an alternative to predatory services, such as check cashing.” Participating agencies include: Juma Ventures, Covenant House of California, Hamilton Family Center, YMCA of the East Bay, BACS, The Unity Council, SANN, San Antonio CDC, East Bay College Fund, Women’s Initiative for Self Employment, EBALDC, AnewAmerica, Lao Family Community Development, Inc., C.E.O. Women, Centro Legal de La Raza, and ACORN. For individual participation, contact one of the agencies. For more information, contact OneCal Foundation. Pictured at right: A hands-on financial literacy class at the Foundation teaches online banking and other skills, taught by Andrea Walker, Executive Program Assistant (far right).

OneCalifornia Bank, FSB1438 Webster Street

Suite 100Oakland, CA 94612

Main Phone 510.550.8400

Jeffrey CheungPresident & CEO

510.550.8408

www.OneCalBank.com

Bank HoursMonday - Thursday

9 am - 4 pmFriday

9am - 5pm

OneCalifornia Foundation1438 Webster Street

Suite 101Oakland, CA 94612

Main Phone 510.663.2253510.OneCalF

Salvador MenjívarExecutive Director

510.663.2253 Ext. 305

www.OneCalFoundation.org

I

May 2nd2008

Pictured above: La Verbena owner Rosalva Diaz (standing), nominee for Neighborhood Dynamo, at the 2008 Indie Awards ceremony. Seconds later she won! Rosalva gives back by educating the community about healthier eating choices, providing fresh-made juices and shakes and offering employment training for women seeking to escape domestic violence. Other 2008 Indie Award winners are: Pillar: Bruce Beasley; Oakland Soul: OAKBOOK/Novometro; Ripple Effect: Ruby’s Garden; Newbie: Tip Top Bike Shop; Innovator: Pandora; Greenie: Universal Waste Management;Youth Empowerment: Keith “K-Dub” Williams.

OneCALS A F E

“We all shop,” says Erin. “So why not shop in a way that helps our community and our environment.” That’s the mission of OaklandUnwrapped.org—a website where people can browse and make purchases conveniently and with a community conscience. The Indie Awards illustrate why it’s better to support locally-owned businesses and artists. The Ripple Effect Award points out how local businesses and artists have an economic ripple effect in their community because they buy from other local businesses and artists. The Neighbor-hood Dynamo Award reminds people how local businesses and artists give back to their own neighborhoods. Other awards—Greenie, Innovator, Oakland Soul, Youth Empow-erment, Newbie—highlight additional ways that business owners and artists revitalize community. When introduced to OneCalifornia Bank, Erin realized she was looking at the banking counterpart to her work. She makes a comparison between shopping and banking. “Even more powerful than shopping with a conscience, OneCalifornia is helping people bank with a conscience. Both the Bank and the Oakland Unwrapped program are helping to change the flow of money in our local economy. We’re saying ‘let’s stop the trends that are widening the gaps between the rich and the poor, and give profits in the financial sector back to the community. Specifically, let’s redirect the money in this sector to get bank accounts and loans for our community members that are normally shut out of the banking system, and provide programs through the Foundation that help the bank’s customers and the local economy.’” Because OneCal Bank is structured to direct profits back to the community through the Foundation, every bank depositor or borrower gives back just by being a customer.

GOOD BANKING STARTS WITH FINANCIAL EDUCATION

SHOP, BANK, CHANGE THE WORLD!

The Women Connected Venture Fund, C.E.O. Women’s pioneering micro-equity initiative, awarded eight entrepreneurs grants to spark their visions. The grants, including $1,500 cash, $300 worth of business support services and a $200 re-branding award, provide immigrant and refugee women seed capital to launch or grow their businesses. OneCal Bank hosted the May 2008 awards ceremony at the Bank as part of OneCal’s Community Connects program, which brings people together for events and dialogue on topics of community interest. Pictured left to right: Hao Nguyen, Irene McGuire, Alessandra Fortuna, Martha Larin, Regina Ripps, Janet Orok, Maria de la Luz Orozco and Erika Ramirez de Robinson. Learn more at www.ceowomen.org.

Speaking of community development banking...

“Begin with a vision...

Kouichoy Saechao has a vision—to preserve his cultural heritage and pass it on to the next generations. As Chairman of the Board of the Lao Iu Mien Culture Association (LIMCA), he is seeing that dream become reality for the Bay Area’s Iu Mien. Kouichoy’s ancestors fled the hills of China to Laos in the early 1900s. After the Vietnam war, threatened with persecution by the communist government, he and his family fled Laos. He was the first of his tribe to settle in the Bay Area; five thousand more have followed. Kouichoy’s dedication to making a home for his displaced people shines in the Iu Mien Community Center and their new Buddhist Temple, financed by OneCal Bank. It is the first temple of its kind in the U.S. With no written language, skilled in agriculture, textile arts and spiritual tra-ditions that served in mountain villages but can become lost in an urban environ-ment, the elder Iu Mien—the majority of whom don’t speak English—rely on LIMCA for their well-being and community structure. Through LIMCA, they teach their youth to be responsible citizens and to carry on traditions in dancing, folk-lore, embroidery, chanting and ancestor worship. The temple’s 12 porch pillars and 12 high round windows streaming sunlight onto gleaming statues—rep-resenting Buddha, the deities and Kingpan— signify Iu Mien’s 12 clans. Ances-tors are enshrined in a passageway behind the stage of statues; the honoring of ancestors is essential to the Iu Mien culture. Youth achievements, such as gradu-ations, and other events, are celebrated at the Community Center and on the grounds surrounding the temple. The flat terrain of East Oakland may be an unlikely choice for a hill tribe, but 485 105th Avenue is a place to call home for the Iu Mien, as well as an inspiration for neighbors who say, “You make us feel proud. You’re making the neighborhood better.” LIMCA welcomes other cultures and invites neighbors to festivals. It’s a place to taste traditional food, touch the intricate embroidery of beautiful cos-tumes, hear music, dance, and experience the peaceful heart of dreams come true, as well as dreams in the making. Learn more at www.limcacenter.org.Pictured above: LIMCA’s new Buddhist temple (under construction) financed by OneCal Bank. Below: Children celebrate their Iu Mien heritage dressed in embroidered costumes.

OneCal Bank and OneCal Foundation have applied to be designated a “Green Business,” as part of the Bay Area Green Business Program. The certification process takes about one year. Meanwhile, we’re looking at all the ways that going “green” contributes to building stronger, more sustainable communities. Here are a few simple things to do in the workplace:}Use mugs instead of water bottles or disposable cups}Use real silverware and biocompostables for most utensils}Enlist office mates and building management to recycle; do your own recycling, including taking compostables home}Bike to work, take transit, and shop online at OaklandUnwrapped.org}Learn more at www.greenbiz.ca.gov

}}}For information about “green” lending or other financing for sustainable businesses and nonprofit organizations, contact Liza Zuffi, Banking Group Head, 510.550.8401, LZuffi@OneCalBank.com

©2008 OneCalifornia Bank Member FDIC EQUAL HOUSING LENDER

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