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…
The Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human services has partnered with CFED to release a guide for social service organization and non-profits to integrate financial capability services into their existing work. The Guide breaks down the integration process step by step, providing concrete tools for organizations to provide…
Research shows that individuals with limited English proficiency face significant barriers to financial literacy and to navigating everyday financial affairs. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has developed a Newcomer’s Guide to Managing Money, currently available in Spanish with more languages on the way. The guides include fact sheets on ways to receive money from…
The Your Money, Your Goals toolkit is designed to help organizations working with low income families and individuals by providing a comprehensive and interactive guide for front line workers interested in helping their clients through financial education, including goal setting, choosing financial products and skills related to credit clean up.
While many programs aim to increase the financial well-being of low income workers, “financial well-being” has never been uniformly defined, nor is there a standard way to measure it. This report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau provides a conceptual framework for defining and measuring success in financial education by delivering a proposed definition of…
An estimated 9 million American households are unbanked and an additional 21 million households are underbanked. New research released by CFED and its partners highlights which communities in America are the most unbanked.
Two generation approaches to alleviating poverty focus on providing the necessary services and supports to both vulnerable parents and children together as a way to ensure a better future for the family in both the short term as well as for generations to come.