Practice Session Descriptions

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I.1 INVOLVING TEENS IN BANKING AND INVESTING Brought to you by Small Business Sponsor
Potomac I

Session participants will hear from teachers, bankers and community leaders about innovative partnerships and programs designed to give minority, immigrant and underprivileged high school students the financial skills and experience they need to succeed in the mainstream economy and achieve their educational and career goals. Participants will learn how to help teens build assets by operating student-run banks in high schools and incorporating stock market investments and games into the school curriculum.
Speakers: Lisa Kanemoto (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation), Robert Wynn (Asset Builders of America Inc.), Lakia Williams (Capital One)

 

I.2 ADVANCING THE ASSETS AGENDA TO AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES
Potomac II

The real Economic Impact (REI) Tour has mobilized over 400 community-based practitioners and national partners to bring awareness to serving and reaching workers with disabilities who are neither filing nor receiving the EITC. In this session, learn how your organization can join other communities in providing free tax awareness education and tax preparation assistance for persons with disabilities.
Speakers: Tobey Davies (Southern New Hampshire University, School of Community Economic Development), Richard Keeling (Internal Revenue Service), Johnette Hartnett (National Disability Institute)

 

I.3 ASSETS FOR LIFE: EXTEND YOUR AGENCY'S CAPACITY WITH ALLIED PROFESSIONALS
Washington A

Allied professionals, such as financial planners and Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) can extend an organization's capacity to serve clients by delivering workshops and coaching to complement IDA and Earned Income Tax Credit programs. This session will help participants understand the role of financial planning in building assets, how to cultivate and manage relationships with professionals, and how to develop service delivery standards for coaching programs.
Speakers: Saundra Davis (Sage Financial Solutions), Emily Waterbury (EARN)

 

I.4 PORTABLE AND RELOCATION IDAs: MOVING BEYOND PLACED-BASED ASSET-BUILDING PROGRAMS
Potomac III

Traditionally, IDAs assist people in purchasing an asset in a specific target market. Given the extraordinary circumstances of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the potential for future disasters, we must look beyond the traditional placed-based IDAs and create an updated portable asset-building strategy. This session will look at efforts to create asset-building products, programs and policies for these hurricanes living in Texas and the Greater New Orleans area.
Speakers: Woody Widrow (RAISE Texas), Odessa Adams-Payne (United Way of Greater New Orleans), Stephan Fairfield (Covenant Community Capital)

 

I.5 Summoning the Power of Family and Community in Building Assets:  The Family Independence Initiative
Arlington

Summoning the creativity and power of families and ethnic/racial communities multiplies the ability of low income families to build economic assets.  In the Oakland, California pilot of the Family Independence Initiative (FII), twenty-five low-income working African American, Iu Mien and Salvadorian families increased their net worth by 300% in three years.  In this session, families and leaders of FII will discuss how to unleash the power of family initiative and community leverage in asset-building.  Session will also include a discussion about policies to move the working poor to financial security.
Speakers: Maurice Lim Miller (Family Independence Initiative), Charles M. Parrish (Family Independence Initiative), Michelle Chao (Family Independence Initiative), Marcel Diallo (Family Independence Initiative)

 

I.6 Credit Union Partnerships for Asset Building and Asset Protection
Kennedy

In recent years, a growing number of credit unions are reaching beyond their membership, seeking to expand services to the underserved. Credit union partnerships with community-based organizations and community development financial institutions (CDFIs) are proving an effective strategy for making these services accessible in communities dependent on fringe financial services. This session will trace the historic role of credit unions in asset building and showcase successful credit union partnerships for asset building and asset protection.
Speakers: Clifford Rosenthal (National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions)

 

II.6 CREDIT BUILDING IS ASSET BUILDING
Potomac I

In today's economy, a credit score is a valuable financial asset and credit building is fast becoming one of the most cost-effective asset-building tools. Recent innovations in the credit industry open up new opportunities for practitioners to help their clients build credit and assets toward financial self-suffciency. This workshop will share Credit Builders Alliance's (CBA) research and policy successes, as well as tools and strategies for building credit from CBA's toolkit and credit measurement tool.
Speakers: Vikki Frank (Credit Builders Alliance), Sandy Fernandez (Citi), Cynthia Logsdon (Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation)

 

II.7 HELPING HOUSING AUTHORITY RESIDENTS MOVE INTO UNSUBSIDIZED HOMES
Potomac II

This session will highlight the challenges and achievements of the Women's Opportunities Resource Center's (WORC) 3-year partnership with the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) to help 200 PHA families become self-suffcient through homeownership. The initiative includes IDAs, housing counseling, financial education and strategies that help participants leverage funds with Family Self-Sufficiency monies and other available grants.
Speakers: Lynne Cutler (Women's Opportunities Resource Center), Cathy Hinko (Metropolitan Housing Coalition), Rylanda Wilson (Philadelphia Housing Authority)

 

II.8 CDFIs: POLICIES TO PRACTICE
Kennedy

This session will describe the role of community development financial institutions (CDFIs), with a special focus on Native CDFIs, in promoting asset building and access to capital in the areas of affordable housing and home ownership, entrepreneurship and matched savings. The unique capacity of CDFIs to pair expertise in debt financing with new approaches to savings mobilization will be highlighted, with the aim of engaging more CDFIs in strategies to build both individual and community assets.
Speakers: Elsie Meeks (First Nations Oweesta Corporation), Sandra Kerr (Opportunity Finance Network), William Guevara (First Nations Oweesta Corporation)

 

III.5 CHILDREN'S SAVINGS ACCOUNTS: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTATION
Potomac I

This session will highlight lessons learned in operating children's savings account (CSA) programs through the Savings for Education, Entrepreneurship and Downpayment (SEED) Initiative. Panelists will share their experiences and insights on such topics as: how to reach out to communities and recruit accountholders, how to build trusting relationships among participants, and best practices for providing financial education to children, youth and parents. This session will also examine opportunities for the next generation of CSAs in native communities.
Speakers: Leigh Tivol (CFED), Peter Morris (National Congress of American Indians), Iris Medina (Fundación Chana y Samuel Levis)

 

III.6 MAXIMIZING THE VALUE OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION
Washington A

Financial education can be the most transformational part of asset-building initiatives, but programs need to make it relevant to participants' lives in order for the training to be effective. This session will present new research on the power of financial education and its link to account ownership, and will discuss innovative strategies for providing financial education to diverse populations.
Speakers:  Karen Murrell (New America Foundation), Peter Skillern (Community Reinvestment Association of North Carolina), Inger Giuffrieda (Assets Alliance)

 

III.7 ASSET DEVELOPMENT IN MICROENTERPRISE ORGANIZATIONS
Potomac II

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Owning a business is a critical path to building assets, and microenterprise programs played an early role in the implementation of IDA initiatives. Today, programs increasingly are taking a multi-faceted approach to asset building that includes financial literacy training, credit counseling, credit repair products, savings products (e.g., IDAs) and help in accessing the EITC. This session will provide an updated look at the role and status of asset development work within microenterprise development organizations.
Speakers: Joyce Klein (The Aspen Institute), Mary Niebling (Central Vermont Community Action), Eric Weaver (Opportunity Fund)

 

III.8 ASSET BUILDING AND FINANCIAL SERVICE ADVOCACY FOR IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES
Kennedy

While the immigration debate has been raging nationally, organizations across the country have been exploring the economic future of immigrant communities. Asset-building products and services ease the financial integration of immigrants and refugees into mainstream economies, but obstacles can bar their access to financial institutions. Expert panelists will share proven marketing and program design strategies to reach out to this culturally diverse market and improve their knowledge of and access to asset-building financial services.
Speakers: Phillip Black (ISED), Ann Baddour (Texas Appleseed), Jose Quinonez (Mission Asset Fund)

 

IV.5 A PATH TO STABILITY: MATCHED SAVINGS ACCOUNTS FOR FOSTER YOUTH
Potomac I

Youth in foster care face challenges in achieving financial stability, particularly once they age out of the foster care system. matched savings accounts can help these young people learn financial skills and accumulate savings for the future. This session will provide an overview of the needs of youth in foster care and will explain why IDAs and childrendevelopment accounts are an effective tool for serving foster youth.
Speakers: Kippi Clausen (Mile High United Way), Christine Johnson (CMJ Consulting), Dominique R. Jones (Office of Youth Development, Administration for Children's Services)

 

IV.6 CRAFTING AND COMMUNICATING YOUR ASSET-BUILDING MESSAGE
Potomac II

Achieving success in advancing asset building at the policy or community practice level requires an ability to communicate clearly and persuasively about issues of income, wealth and poverty. Using recent public opinion research, this session will provide participants with an opportunity to learn about the strength of public support for asset building and children's development accounts and the messages, themes and arguments that most persuasively convey their importance.
Speakers: Jerome Uher (CFED), Guy Molyneux (Peter Hart Research Associates, Inc.), Rourke O'Brien (New America Foundation)

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