Nebraska Bankers, Providing Education and Opportunity

NBA Members:
 
If you have read my magazine columns or attended one of my membership updates over the past several years, you have probably heard me discuss the importance of recruiting and retaining the next generation of Nebraska bankers. As I travel the state, talent recruitment and development remain top concerns for almost every member institution in our state; urban and rural locations, small and large banks.

One of the key strategies utilized through your NBA to help nurture future bankers are scholarships offered through the Nebraska Bankers Educational Foundation (NBEF) and the Nebraska Bankers University of Nebraska Foundation Allocation Committee (UFAC). Thanks to very generous donations from our Nebraska bankers, the NBA provides nearly $150,000 in scholarships annually, to students attending various higher education institutions across Nebraska.

Founded in 1997, the NBEF is a 501(c)(3) foundation managed independently by your NBA with the purpose of using investment income to provide scholarships to business students with an interest in banking who attend one of Nebraska’s state or privately funded colleges or universities. NBA staff and volunteer bankers who meet semiannually. Many of the involved bankers are active contributors to the NBEF. The NBEF board provided eleven-$2,000 scholarships for the 2019-20 school year to deserving Nebraskans from the following institutions: Nebraska Wesleyan; Wayne State College; Midland University; and Concordia University.

During the 1970s, the NBA conducted a fund drive to establish the Nebraska Bankers fund within the University of Nebraska Foundation. The campaign raised approximately $1 million, forming the foundation’s largest single-industry fund. Again, NBA staff and volunteer bankers comprise the University Foundation Allocation Committee to oversee the four different donor-directed accounts based at the University of Nebraska Foundation. Investment income from these funds provide substantial support at each of the four University of Nebraska bachelorette campuses. During the current year, UFAC funds provided the following levels of support:

• University of Nebraska at Kearney
  • $24,000 in scholarships to students within the College of Business pursuing banking-related education.
• University of Nebraska at Omaha
  • $5,000 in support for an NBA Professorship within the College of Business
  • $18,000 in scholarships to students within the College of Business.

​Until next time,
Richard J. Baier
NBA President/CEO