OneLight International (OLI) is nonprofit public benefit corporation created to strength communities through the lens of providing financial literacy, small business technical assistance, and spiritual guidance. OneLight International (OLI) is nonprofit public benefit corporation created by an entrepreneurial family—Velma Union (mother), Juan Walker (son), and Andress Walker (daughter)—to strengt
h communities through the lens of providing financial literacy, small business technical assistance, and spiritual guidance. The organization, then Accents for Jesus International, was created in 1990 as the community development arm of Accent Financial Group, a financial services company. In 1998, Accents for Jesus International and OneLight Education Consulting merged. One year later the organization was reorganized and renamed to what is now known as OneLight International. OLI is actively engaged in communities across Southern California, with an emphasis on Los Angeles and its surrounding cities. The organization is a long term stakeholder providing small business support and guidance to individuals, families, organizations and government entities. The organization has had a long standing focus on training youth to be healthy, happy, and productive members of their communities. The YouthSpeak Initiative facilitates exposing urban youth to diverse people, locations, and income creation opportunities to spark a paradigm shift altering life trajectories. Small business is at the center of OneLight International’s vision of sustainably vibrant and flourishing neighborhoods and communities. The Community Wealth Builders Initiative (CWBI) has been created to address the gaps in services for local entrepreneurs and small businesses. Business coaching, innovative strategy development, educational training, and business management services that support businesses through inevitable growing pains. Drawing from the experiences of the entrepreneurial staff, our business coaching serves owners holistically: business, personal, familial, circumstantial and spiritual. The Initiative’s classes prepare business newcomers for the entrepreneurial lifestyle as well as provide technical assistance for current owners. Our strategic planning services assist entrepreneurs in practical expansion efforts. CBWI’s business management services takes the burden off of the entrepreneur or business owners by filling in wherever is needed until permanent employees are hired or outsourcing is feasible and/or affordable. OneLight International continues to use the wisdom of yesterday, the innovation of today, and faith in the future to cultivate social enterprise in our neighborhoods and communities.
