In advance of the next tax season, learn more about ways tax sites can encourage families to consider savings through refund splitting. The Get It Back Campaign, a national effort to connect eligible workers to tax benefits, has posted a recording of its training on Effective Ways to Promote Split Refunds. As part of the Get…
A research brief from the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity and Insight Center for Community Economic Development – Women, Race & Wealth – examines the wealth inequality gap across both gender and race. The data shows that single young women (under 40), regardless of race and education, begin adulthood with very little wealth. However, looking…
The Road to Zero Wealth, a report released this Fall by Prosperity Now and the Institute for Policy Studies, examines the growing racial wealth divide and explores policy interventions that could reverse this trend. The report lays the foundation for a broad policy agenda by emphasizing the importance of gathering sufficient information on the barriers low-wealth households face in…
In April, Congress agreed to an “Omnibus” spending bill, funding the federal government through September, but leaving out funding for Assets for Independence (AFI). AFI is a federal program that, for almost 20 years, been the largest source of funding for Individual Development Accounts (IDA’s). Despite advocacy efforts to save the program, as part of a…
Researchers from Duke University and the Insight Center for Community Economic Development recently released Women, Race and Wealth, the first in a series of briefs that examines patterns of wealth among black and white women. Wealth disparity between black and white households has reached its highest level in over 25 years, and research shows that black…
Research indicates that some EITC recipients use their refunds to help pay off debt – including student debt. Average student loan debt at graduation has been growing over the last two decades, but often this burden impacts some families more than others. A recent Urban Institute analysis of 2014 Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED) data…
Barbara Gault, Executive Director of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, recently discussed challenges facing low-income students in higher education. Gault noted that women, especially women of color, are much more likely to face caregiving responsibilities on top of school and work. Support services as well as access to public benefits such as child-care subsidies,…
A recent Atlantic article, Life in a Banking Desert, explores the implications of the increasing percentage of households living in communities without access to mainstream banking services. The article cites a March New York Fed study that highlights the decades-long trend of bank branches closing in lower-income communities and communities of color. Similar to convenience stores moving into…
SaveUSA, an asset development program that encourages low-and moderate-income individuals to set aside tax refunds for savings. Launched in 2011 in four cities – New York City, Tulsa, Newark, and San Antonio – SaveUSA provides a 50 percent matching incentive if eligible households maintain a pledged amount in savings for about one year. According to…
First Nations Development Institute has prepared a report on the financial capability strategies and programs currently serving reservation-based Native communities in the North West. As the report notes, financial capability strategies are one important component of a larger multi-faceted economic development strategy helping Native communities rebuild cultural, social and economic systems. The report provides a…