Discover financial empowerment resources
Discover financial empowerment resources
Momentum is a Calgary-based community organization that works with people living on low incomes and partners in the community to create a thriving local economy for all. For over 20 years, Momentum has offered matched savings programs that build financial stability by working with participants to...
Matched Savings programs, or Individual Development Accounts, are a financial empowerment strategy that aim to build financial stability and reduce poverty. These programs build sustainable livelihoods by working with participants to earn savings while learning about money management, build regular...
In early 2018, Enterprise Community Partners (Enterprise) began a pilot program, Enterprise Community Plus (EC+), to provide financial capability services to residents in two neighborhoods in New York City. Enterprise is a nonprofit housing developer seeking to create opportunity for low- and...
This report from Prosperity Now shows the importance of matched savings programs called 'Promise Accounts' which help families successfully save for their futures. They are especially important for households of color as compared to white households. Decreasing economic inequality and closing the...
In this brief, we articulate why collaboration between community foundations and CSA programs is in their mutual interest. We describe the variety of roles that community foundations can play in promoting the growth and success of CSA programs, and then identify the primary challenges encountered...
This is a one-hour webinar on matched savings programs and personal savings strategies that work for people living on low incomes. Our panelists share experiences from their programs in Ontario and Calgary. The presenters in this webinar are: Dean Estrella, Momentum, Calgary, AB John...
This report presents the findings of the process evaluation of the Financial Coaching pilot, a part of the Financial Empowerment Collaborative in Calgary. In documenting the procedures and early thoughts of participating programs on the implementation of this pilot project, we assessed how well...
This is a webinar on the connection between health and wealth. Discusses social determinants of health, effects of financial stress, racial background, child poverty, and program examples of support...
By 2003, the savings and asset building field had achieved critical research and policy successes. However, some challenges it faced were the lack of a substantial presence of organizations of color in the field and the absence of experts of color at decision-making tables. Over the course of 11...
A registered disability savings plan (RDSP) is a savings plan that is intended to help parents and others save for the long-term financial security of a person who is eligible for the disability tax credit...
The Omega Foundation commissioned this research to better assess the influence of education savings and the federal government’s savings incentive grants for saving on post-secondary access. Our hope was to clarify the facts which have until now been largely obscured. This information gap has...
Individual development accounts (IDAs) help low-income families save by matching their personal savings for specific investments, such as a first home, business capitalization, or higher education and training. The Assets for Independence (AFI) program is a federally supported IDA grant program...
This is a webinar presenting the results of the Building Savings For Success evaluation report of matched savings account programs in 2 United States cities. One city used a coaching model, the other a case management model. The program showed that participants increased their liquid assets and...
This paper has two main goals. First, we provide a review of 38 studies on the relationship between assets and children’s educational attainment. Second, we discuss implications for Child Development Accounts (CDAs) policies. CDAs have been proposed as a potentially novel and promising asset...
Empirical evidence gathered over the last several years documents the potential of Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs) to expand educational and economic opportunity for low- and moderate-income families. While much of the research on CSAs is based on regression analyses of panel data, randomized...
The Children’s Savings Account (CSA) movement has taken off in the past few years. These programs provide long-term savings or investment accounts and savings incentives to help children build savings for their future. In 2016, CSA initiatives started in a diverse range of locations, such as...
Children’s Savings Accounts (CSA) are proving to be a powerful tool for growing college funds and building children’s aspirations for their future. CSAs are long-term, incentivized savings or investment accounts for post-secondary education that help promote economic mobility for children and...
This report quantifies the benefit of the ILA model through a return on investment calculation. Feedback from current partners of the ILA was also gathered in an attempt to reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the model in order to evaluate the potential of bringing these benefits to scale. This...
The Opportunities Account for Youth in Care (OAYC) pilot project is the result of a collaboration of a dedicated group of individuals and organizations working towards equipping youth in care with the financial literacy knowledge, skills and behaviour required for them to thrive as successful...
This presentation from SAGE Financial Solutions is about financial coaching as an approach to improving indivdiual financial capabilty and goal setting. It reports on the successes and challenges of EARN WealthCare Financial Coaching Program in the United States, where participants were "graduates"...
Asset Building for low–income people through matched savings challenges the focus of traditional poverty-alleviation strategies on income support to enable the poor to escape from poverty and improve their economic and social status. It does not deny the necessity nor the benefits of such support...
This study presents findings from our children’s education savings programs, which EARN has offered for 13 years. The research yields insights into how families save and how these programs have impacted their lives. The goal of this paper is to share key results with the field, with the specific...
In most cases, allowable uses of CSAs are limited to higher education initially, with some allowance for homeownership, entrepreneurship, or other capital investment later. Although, more recent proposals for CSAs also include tiered structures so that children could access some savings while still...
Addressing the educational challenges facing disadvantaged children will require innovations that can create greater equality of opportunity, such that their innate talents and academic effort translate into meaningful access to college. Evidence points to differences in asset accumulation a part...