June 2018 Newsletter
RAISE Texas News
June Giveaways for New and Renewing Members This Month!
Calling ALL Texans! We want YOU to be a part of the RAISE Texas Network. This month all new members will receive a fancy RAISE Texas magnet for their fridge and bragging rights to their friends. Click here to join today!
RAISE Texas had another busy year in 2012…
Continuing with our reflections over the last 10 years, in 2012, RAISE Texas launched the Child Support for College (CS4C) initiative, which combined the efforts of RAISE Texas, three local nonprofit financial coaching entities and the Texas Attorney General- Child Support Division, to encourage long-term economic success for families in the child support system by assisting custodial parents receiving child support in opening a college savings account for their child and providing access to free financial coaches. This project was the first of its kind in the country so click here to read more about it.
The momentum did not stop with the new initiative, instead we had the first presentation on the Community Loan Center at our annual training and summit in October. Citi recently put out a video about the CLC of America and all of its success. Check it out here! And we released the RAISE Texas IDA Toolkit in November to assist organizations in developing, expanding and implementing an Individual Development Account (IDA) Program in their communities.Texas News
Financial Coaching Assistant Director Position at Texas Tech Now Available
Texas Tech University is looking for a qualified person to serve as the Red to Black Peer Financial Coaching Assistance Director. If you are interested in this position please click here for more details, otherwise please spread the word about this important position. Thank you!
Texas Launches ABLE Program
The ABLE National Resource Center, managed by National Disability Institute, officially announced that the State of Texas has launched the Texas ABLE Program. The Texas ABLE Program allows qualified individuals with disabilities to save up to $15,000 a year in an ABLE account without it affecting federally-funded means-tested benefits like SSI and Medicaid. The money saved in the account can be used for disability-related expenses for the beneficiary to increase or maintain his or her health, independence and quality of life. Click here for more information on the Texas ABLE Program.
Texas Grant Program Accepting Applications Now
The Housing and Economic Assistance to Rebuild Texas Program (HEART), created by TSAHC and Enterprise Community Partners, provides grants up to $50,000 and technical assistance to nonprofits providing housing assistance to families displaced by Hurricane Harvey. Click here to apply.
Federal Reserve Releases Financial Well-Being Survey Findings
The Federal Reserve Board released its fifth annual “Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households” showing that financial well-being in our country continued to improve in 2017. In fact, the report found that 74 percent of adults when asked about their finances said they were doing okay or living comfortably in 2017. That is over 10 percentage points more than in 2013 when the first survey was administered. The report also shares insights into individuals’ employment experiences, emergency savings, bank and credit access, education, housing decisions, retirement planning and student loans. Click here to access the report and other resources.
Texas Cities Continue to Build Pathways to Postsecondary and Workforce Success
Six cities were chosen by the National League of Cities (NLC) to participate in their Building Equitable Pathways to Postsecondary and Workforce Success cohort and had the opportunity to share their innovative and scalable models at the NLC National Briefing in May 2018. RAISE Texas would like to congratulate Texas cities- Austin, Houston and Corpus Christi- who took part in the National Briefing. This initiative aims to address a key challenge for cities- ensuring all residents have access and support to earn certificates and degrees and ultimately gain meaningful employment. Click here for more information on the initiative.
Article Highlights Innovative Housing Program in the Rio Grande Valley
After Hurricane Dolly hit Brownsville in 2008, the Community Development Corporation of Brownsville (CDCB) used its pilot program, RAPIDO, to replace disposable FEMA trailers with small housing units known as "the core”—a kitchen, living room, bathroom, and bedroom. The "core" was designed so that more bedrooms could be added incrementally as families raised the money for the additions or when another round of government funding came through after a disaster. The RAPIDO program can complete a housing "core" in under six weeks and for about half the cost of federal replacement houses. The CDCB hopes that this model can extend recovery funds to more residents and get them into new homes sooner. Click here to read the entire aNational News
National Partners Help Parents Understand New Changes to 529 Rules
Prosperity Now, the Center for Social Development and New America released a new paper, How Do Changes to 529 Rules Affect Children’s Savings Accounts Programs?, to provide the latest information and guidance to the field. In December 2017, Congress made changes to the tax code which included expanding the allowable uses of 529 college savings plans. The federal legislation allows withdrawals up to $10,000 annually for K-12 tuition payments. With more than half of CSA programs using 529 plans as account vehicles, this paper will help CSA program managers and supporters to better understand the implications of the 529 rule changes. Click here to access the paper.
Does Your Organization Use the Financial Capability Scale?
Several years ago the Center for Financial Security (CFS) developed the Financial Capability Scale (FCS) to increase coordination across organizations to improve field-wide capacity to demonstrate client impacts. Now, CFS is launching the new FCS Portal data tool that allows organizations to input their organization-wide average client FCS scores to track changes over time, and to compare them with other organizations Click here to sign up to participate or for more information.
Request for Proposals for Youth Banking Initiative
The Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund) is seeking 2-3 local partnerships to expand the opportunity to connect high school age youth to the financial mainstream. Requests for proposals will be accepted until Monday, July 2, 2018. Awardees will receive up to $50,000, technical assistance from CFE Fund staff, and the opportunity to participate in the CFE Fund conference in 2019. Click here for more information.
