June 2009

  • Summertime brings both the heat and lots of free time for youth.  With rising temperatures, what are you doing to stay within your family or organizational budgets? Read this interesting article from the Jackson Free Press about what youth in the PRIYDE (the Perico Institute for Youth Development and Entrepreneurship) are doing this summer with a little help from the community and the Foundation for the Mid South.

  • Are you fully realizing the benefits of the federal stimulus, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)?  Find out what you need to know about the ARRA on our website.  Now is the time—don’t delay.  It is also time to contact your local IRS or EITC coalition to receive training to become a VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) site for next year’s tax season. 

  • FMS continues to support the growth of IDA programs around the region and also provides support for financial education and literacy as well as other asset building tools, like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).  Currently, Louisiana is the only state in our region that has a state EITC.  The Department of Social Services is working hard to increase awareness and access of this credit.  For more information, visit the DSS website.

  • Take a few moments to visit the websites listed below to learn more about wealth building in the Mid South.

    Southern Good Faith Fund / Pine Bluff, AR
    The Arkansas Asset Coalition

    Center for Social Research, Southern University / Baton Rouge, LA
    The Louisiana Asset Building Initiative

    Mississippi Asset Building Coalition/ Jackson, MS
    The Mississippi Asset Building Coalition, formally the Mississippi IDA Program (MIDAP)


focus on Wealth building in the mid south

Eliminating Poverty through Asset Creation was the prevailing theme at the recent awareness breakfast hosted by the Louisiana Asset Building Initiative, Louisiana’s statewide IDA program. The May 20th event in Baton Rouge brought increased attention to the substantial impact IDA’s have had and are continuing to have on impoverished families throughout the state. Sponsored by the Foundation for the Mid South (FMS) and Southern University and A & M College, the meeting brought together government officials, community leaders, financial institution representatives and other key centers of influence. 

Necole S. Irvin, FMS Program Officer, spoke about IDA program collaborations and their success in helping working families to gain economic stability.  The event highlighted future initiatives of Southern University IDA program (SUIDA) to assist working families in combating poverty and building assets, including educational and micro-enterprise IDAs.  Tonika George, one of 1,100 program participants and a successful first-time homebuyer, said, “Purchasing a home with the help of SUIDA was my first step to building wealth, moving out of  poverty and securing a more positive and productive future for myself and my children.”

The Louisiana Asset Building Initiative is a collaboration involving the Louisiana Department of Social Services, Foundation for the Mid South, Southern University and A & M College and more than 50 community partners statewide.  For more information about the Southern University IDA Program call Mary Joseph at (225) 771-5454 or log on to www.subr.edu/ida.  Photo and section by Traneisha Y. Jones.

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The Arkansas Assets Coalition co-sponsored a Post-Legislative Session event with the Arkansas Kids Count Coalition in May. The conference highlighted new state legislation to help working families and future advocacy opportunities in the fields of economic self-sufficiency, education, health care, child welfare and juvenile justice. Additionally, the Governor’s Office provided an update on the projects being funded in Arkansas by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The Arkansas Assets Coalition presented awards to three legislators who helped Arkansans build assets and wealth:

  • Senator Joyce Elliott was recognized for her leadership to create the Arkansas Housing Trust Fund program this past legislative session, which eventually will fund a range of affordable housing activities state-wide.

  • Representative Darrin Williams was recognized for his legislation to require full disclosure of the costs and characteristics of refund anticipation loans provided by paid tax preparers. The bill also caps the fees such businesses can charge Arkansans.

  • Senator Johnny Key was recognized for his continued support and devotion to the Arkansas Individual Development Account program. He supported changes to the program to help providers raise private resources to support programs, and previously he helped secure an additional $1.2 million in state funding for the program, bringing the annual state appropriation for the program to $1.7 million.   

For more information about the Arkansas Assets Coalition log on to http://arassetpolicy.org.  Photos and section by Mike Leach.

 

ADDITIONAL NEWS you can use

FDIC Money Smart Announcement
On June 4th, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) released the Money Smart Podcast Network, a portable audio (MP3) version of the award-winning Money Smart financial education program. The audio version of Money Smart is suitable for use with MP3 players so that consumers of all ages can learn to make informed and prudent financial decisions while "on the go."  With easy to understand and topic-based scenarios, Money Smart Podcast Network conveys basic, yet critical, financial information. Money Smart is part of the FDIC's ongoing effort to integrate the unbanked and underbanked into the financial mainstream.  The portable audio version of Money Smart is available free of charge, easily reproduced, and has no copyright restrictions. For more information, or to order copies, visit: www.fdic.gov/moneysmart.

Publications
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency recently released a report that discusses how banks can set up school-based bank savings programs to help students learn about the importance of saving and managing their personal finances.  School-Based Bank Savings Programs: Bringing Financial Education to Students explains how the various school-based bank savings programs operate and describes the potential risks and benefits—including positive consideration under the Community Reinvestment Act—that banks participating in these programs may receive.

The Finance Project released “Making the Most of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: A Guide for Asset-Building Leaders.” The guide aims to help asset-building leaders make the most of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). It highlights 16 funding opportunities in ARRA that are aligned with asset-building programs and services and are related to entrepreneurship, housing and homeownership, infrastructure and capacity building, savings and banking services, and tax benefits that support asset-building goals.

IDA-PAYS Website Launched
The Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis at the University of Southern California launched its new website, IDA-PAYS, after conducting a three-year study on the potential and challenges of individual development accounts to help low-income students obtain access and be successful in college. This website acts as a guide for those interested in IDAs, and includes resources, publications.  Visit the website at http://www.usc.edu/dept/chepa/IDApays.

The importance of financial competency

A recent summit held by Operation HOPE (HOPE) brought together national and global leaders to discuss the importance of instilling the “language of money” in the homes of Americans and individuals around the world. More than 700 delegates and economic leaders from six continents and more than 30 countries participated in Washington, DC. The summit was launched in response to the global economic crisis—marked by the highest U.S. unemployment rate in 25 years (9.4 percent) and a loss of consumer and market confidence due to deteriorating personal finances. Highlights of the day included the signing of an historic Memorandum of Understanding with the Financial Services Roundtable, which will promote a financial literacy standard countrywide and the launch of Tech 2000, a new entrepreneurial / education program for youth featuring Apple worldwide certification for youth and aimed at promoting education and growing business skills for youth.

“When a top adviser to President Obama, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, the FDIC chair, a civil rights icon and four members of Congress all make time in their busy schedules to spend the day making a strong business case for the potential of a world in which financial literacy is deeply engrained in the lives of every family, it sends a loud message indeed," said John Hope Bryant, founder, chairman and CEO, HOPE. "These global leaders who are dealing with the current economic meltdown know better than anyone how important it is that every citizen understands more than just math; they also need to understand the language of money.”

Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke has long been a champion for financial literacy.  As Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Sheila Bair knows having citizens armed with financial literacy is the only way to ensure local and global economic stability. She stated, “Financial education is very important during these challenging economic times.” For more information on the Summit or Operation HOPE’s work visit www.operationhope.org

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If you have any ideas or comments about wealth building for future Insights issues or just want to say hello and tell FMS about your program, please contact Necole S. Irvin at 601.863.0495 or at nirvin@fndmidsouth.org.

Sincerely,

FMS Wealth Building Staff

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