Nonprofit Workshop Tackles Economic Stability for Working Families
AT THE CORE OF THE DISCUSSION ON ASSET POVERTY is the question: What helps families move up to a higher economic level? “Even though income is necessary, it is not sufficient,” says Ida Rademacher of the Corporation of Enterprise Development (CFED). “Building assets is the most dependable way to weather financially difficult times. People want to save; they just need the resources and products to help them succeed.”
On March 29, nearly 200 leaders from local nonprofits convened at CFT to learn more about the recently published study on asset poverty in North Texas. Organizations represented at the workshop included CitySquare, Genesis Women’s Shelter, Healing Hands Ministries and the Mexican Consulate, as well as Dallas City Councilman Jerry Allen.
Small groups discussed programs that are working in Dallas right now, such as the YWCA’s programs on Financial Empowerment including the Self-Sufficiency Calculator and Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) and the United Way’s Earn It! Keep It! Save It! free tax preparation services. Participants also discussed the specific challenges currently faced by working families in North Texas including:
• Lack of banks in some sectors of Dallas County
• Lack of accessibility to services and financial institutions via public transportation
• Lack of information and marketing on the services available to families and individuals
“Next we’re launching the Data Driven Decision-Making (D3) Institute for nonprofit leaders to learn more about each other’s work and explore how they can collaborate,” says Sarah Cotton Nelson, Chief Philanthropy Officer at CFT. “We want to foster key partnerships that will synchronize programs supporting the working poor.” Continue the conversation on Twitter: #Stability4Families.
D3 INSTITUTE PROVIDES TOOLS FOR NONPROFITS
To further support the community in addressing asset poverty, CFT announces the creation of the Data Driven Decision-Making (D3) Institute. Designed to support nonprofit organizations that offer services
for low-income working families, the yearlong D3 Institute will use data from the recently released Assets & Opportunity Profile for Dallas to equip local nonprofits with tools to strengthen their programs so that they will have a greater impact on financial- and poverty-related issues.
Up to 15 nonprofits will be accepted, and each participating organization will receive a general operating grant of $10,000.
To learn more about the D3, please go to www.cftexas.netcommunity.org/D3institute.