Prosperity Now has created state-level Cost-of-Living profiles as new features on their Scorecard website. The Prosperity Now Cost of Living profiles provide a comprehensive look at the financial stability of every person living in the United States. Each state profile can be downloaded and used to...

The Prosperity Now Scorecard is a comprehensive resource featuring data on family financial health and policy recommendations to help put all U.S. households on a path to prosperity. The Scorecard equips advocates, policymakers and practitioners with national, state, and local data to...

This is a three-part webinar series exploring how practitioners, policymakers, and product developers are supporting the diverse savings needs of LMI households during the ongoing crisis. Solutions that help families save flexibly for short, intermediate, and/or long-term goals that address their...

This is the slide deck from a webinar by Community Action Partnership for the CFED, on the racial wealth divide and the challenge of wealth building for families of color in the United States. Racial Inequality has always had economic inequality at its foundation....

Program strategies grounded in an understanding of your community can increase the likelihood of engagement and follow-through. The following resources are intended to support VITA programs with implementation strategies at key program stages, like outreach and intake, and offer examples of how...

Human insights are used when designing programs and improving services through understanding clients’ hidden preferences, environment factors and behaviors. The Human Insights Tools from Prosperity Now are intended to take you through the process of discovering opportunities for innovation from...

This comprehensive resource from Prosperity Now supports organizations in developing a participant-centered financial coaching program. Grounded in a field survey, over 100 interviews, expert advice and beta-testing with six new financial coaching programs, the Coaching Guide highlights the...

These calls, featuring guest practitioners, cover a variety of topics most pressing to the financial coaching field, provide useful tips and resources and serve as a peer-learning platform. Topics include: Financial Coaching Program Design Guide (2/28) - The Role of Financial...

Tax time financial capability services offered at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites range from encouraging taxpayers to save a portion of their refund to free credit reviews, to referrals to financial coaching, and others in between. This report from Prosperity Now summarizes research...

This is Prosperity Now’s Taxpayer Opportunity Network VITA Volunteer Training platform, designed to help VITA volunteers (in the United States) train and become certified to provide free tax preparation services. These resources can provide a complete training or supplement the training offered...

In June 2015, Canada launched its first-ever National Strategy for Financial Literacy and the country is now examining how best to increase the financial knowledge and skills of Canadians. On behalf of the Canadian Bankers Association, Abacus conducted an extensive nationwide study of Canadians’...

The City of Toronto has been tackling poverty issues for many years. City strategies, programs, and services provide targeted supports to individuals, families, and neighbourhoods. Some of these initiatives are now best practices adopted by other cities. We must continue to do the things that...

This report explores the behaviors and outcomes related to savings and financial well-being of low- and moderate-income (LMI) tax filers in the United States. Findings from research conducted by Prosperity Now, the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis and SaverLife...

The following profile presents data on the economic inequalities within New Orleans. These statistics may seem overwhelming. However, we know with more information about the challenges of racial economic inequality, there is greater opportunity to identify best practices and policies that can...

These are the webinar slides from the CFED webinar on asset limits and savings possibilities for Americans on social assistance. The webinar highlights findings from 3 research studies that explore asset limits and household financial security; discusses policy changes to asset limits and their...

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, there are 20 million youth ages 16 to 24 participating in the American workforce, many of them in municipal workforce and employment programs. While some of these local programs offer financial education workshops, many young workforce program participants...

Inclusive retirement savings policies build the means for a safe post‐work future and the chance to pass a little more stability on to the next generation, a goal often believed to be far out of reach for low‐ and moderate‐income families. While wages and the ability to cover day‐to‐day...

Many public benefit programs – such as cash welfare and Medicaid – limit eligibility to those with few or no assets. If individuals or families have assets exceeding the state’s limit, they must “spend down” longer-term savings in order to receive what is often short-term public...

For generations, federal policies have helped Americans build assets. Millions of individuals and households have taken advantage of these policies to plan for the future, buy homes, prepare for retirement, send their children to college, and weather unexpected financial storms. Today – through a...

This is a Presentation showing several different frameworks for assets and financial capability, collected by the CFED. This includes the Household Financial Security framework, the Financial Capability Lifecycle, Road to Economic Security, and...

CFED has developed a Household Financial Security Framework to help us think through what it takes, at the household level, to build financial security over time. Reducing poverty and achieving financial security and empowerment is a dynamic process in which households iteratively gain skills,...

While the progress of the IDA field to date has surprised even its most ardent supporters, its potential in the coming years is greater. We think this progress stems from two fundamental strengths: first, asset equity is an idea whose time has come; and second, individuals and institutions from all...

Last year, the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) helped to lift nearly four million children out of poverty and provided economic relief to millions of struggling households. However, many first-time and lapsed filers from underserved and vulnerable populations missed out on these critical benefits....

Income volatility is an emerging, critical issue for understanding financial security today. American households seem to be facing increased instability and unpredictability in their financial lives. Despite the efforts of scores of researchers, there is no consensus on the extent of volatility...

The National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC) developed the Pandemic to Prosperity series. It builds on NCoC’s data infrastructure and advocacy network developed for its national Civic Health Index, with The New Orleans Index, which informed many public and private decisions and actions...