November 2015 Newsletter
RAISE Texas News
Save the Date: RAISE Texas Summit May 10-12, 2016
The 2016 RAISE Texas Summit and workshops “Building Financial Success for Texans: In Schools, The Workplace and Our Communities” will be held on May 10- 12, 2016 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas in Dallas, Texas. We will be discussing the latest information on:
- Financial Coaching
- College Savings Accounts for children through schools
- Small Dollar Loan Alternatives
- Implementing asset-building products and programs in the workplace.
More information about the summit and related activities will come later this year. For now, mark your calendars and plan to attend! We hope to see you there!
Register for Webinar on Groundbreaking Research Findings on Financial Coaching Programs
RAISE Texas and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas are hosting an exciting webinar in our Financial Coaching Webinar Series, "Groundbreaking research provides new insight into the design of financial coaching programs" on November 16, 2015 at 10:00am CST! Our two presenters will discuss the key findings from the Urban Institute’s new report, “An Evaluation of the Impacts and Implementation Approaches of Financial Coaching Programs.” The report focuses on program implementation, service uptake, and program impacts from a multi-year research pilot of two financial coaching programs that serve low-and moderate-income clients, and is the first process and random control trial evaluation of financial coaching. The Financial Clinic, one of the two financial coaching programs that participated in this pilot, will also present on what they learned and how they changed the design of their financial coaching program based on the results of the study. Register today and join financial coaches from across the state for this important discussion!
College Savings Pilot Program Launches in Dallas Area
We are excited to announce the launch of our college savings pilot program, Dollars for College! Tied to Texas’ mandated financial education curriculum, Dollars for College helps kindergarten students at two elementary schools in the greater Dallas area build financial skills by teaching them about college savings accounts and gives their parents an opportunity to open a free savings account for college. The goal is to test the feasibility of this particular strategy to expand college savings in Texas, an approach that OpportunityTexas has been developing since 2010. OpportunityTexas is partnering with the Richardson Independent School District, First Convenience Bank, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, and the Texas Council on Economic Education on the pilot. Read our blog post and visit the Dollars for College website to learn more about the program.
OpportunityTexas Partners with United Ways of Texas to Expand Asset-Building Programs in Texas
This summer, OpportunityTexas partnered with United Ways of Texas to make mini-grants to support asset-building programs in two Texas communities. The first mini-grant went to the United Way of Williamson County (UWWC) to re-launch and refine its workplace financial education program. The Round Rock Chamber of Commerce, which identified through its workforce assessment that financial issues were a chief cause of employee issues and instability, is partnering with UWWC on this initiative. UWWC will be working directly with the chamber and local businesses to set up free workshops for employees in their workplace. United Way of Denton County received the second mini-grant to help them develop a financial coaching program. We look forward to following the progress of these programs and sharing learnings from them.Texas News
Save the Date for the Upcoming Financial Education Train-the-Trainer Session in San Antonio
The Texas Department of Banking is hosting a Train-the-Trainer Workshop on November 12 from 9:00am-3:00pm in San Antonio. The goal of this training is to provide hands on learning regarding financial education curricula and best practices. Register today!
Texas Organization Receives Funding from Assets for Independence Program
RAISE Texas would like to congratulate Foundation Communities Inc. for being awarded an Assets for Independence grant for their IDA program. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) awarded more than $9.8 million nationally to 33 new Assets for Independence projects. We look forward to hearing about the progress that this grant allows families to make while building a savings and purchasing an asset through the IDA program. View the entire list of projects here.
Match the Promise Foundation Scholarships Available
The Texas Match the Promise Foundationsm encourages Texas families to save for college by providing matching scholarships of tuition units worth up to $1,000 at today’s pricing, and grants of tuition units worth $2,000. Eligibility requirements for applying for a scholarship are:
- Be a fifth through ninth grader;
- Have a family with an annual income of $100,000 or less;
- Be a Texas resident; and,
- Be enrolled in the Texas Tuition Promise Fund.
National News and Resources
Brief Summarizes Research on Financial Coaching
The Center for Financial Security at the University of Wisconsin-Madison released a new brief, Financial Coaching: Review of Existing Research. This brief summarizes the findings of 26 publications over the last 8 years, and includes briefs, reports, academic articles, book chapters and other sources. In fact, one of the publications included in this review was RAISE Texas’ definition of financial coaching. Click here to read the brief.
Bank On National Account Standards Launched for 2015-2016
Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund recently released Bank On National Account Standards (2015-2016), working closely with their Bank On National Advisory Board and other key stakeholders. The standards provide a benchmark for account partnerships with financial institutions, and were inspired by the FDIC’s Model Safe Accounts Template. Click here to view the standards.
New Study Focuses on EITC Quarterly Payment Option
The Earned Income Tax Credit is a federal tax refund that provides a large refund once a year to around 9 million low-income Americans. The Center for Economic Progress released a new study that identified several financial benefits from the EITC based on a Chicago pilot where participants received smaller, regular EITC payments throughout the year. The findings from Restructuring the EITC: A Credit for the Modern Worker include:
- Periodic EITC payments are administratively feasible
- Taxpayers prefer periodic EITC payments to a single tax time payment
- Periodic EITC payments improve financial stability.
Click here to read the study.
Most Americans have less than $1,000 in savings
A new Google Consumer Survey for GoBankingRates.com shows that around 62% of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings, and 21% of Americans don’t even have a savings account. This isn’t the first survey to show these astonishing rates. Earlier this year, Bankrate.com did a similar survey and also found that 62% of Americans have no emergency savings. The newest survey focused on the amount of money in the savings accounts finding that 29 percent of participants claim to have savings above $1,000, while 9 percent say they only have enough money in the savings account to avoid fees. For more findings from this new survey, click here.
EITC Interactive Data Tool Posts Local-Level Data on Tax Filers Claiming the EITC
The Brookings Institution has posted local-level data on tax filers claiming the EITC on its EITC Interactive data tool. This data from the IRS shows how the level of EITC benefits varies widely across communities. Brookings also released a new brief, “New local data on EITC benefits by number of children” that discusses the new addition of data on how EITC dollar amounts vary by the number of children in the filer's family. The data shows that childless workers made up nearly 25 percent of EITC filers in 2014, but they only accounted for 3 percent of EITC benefits due to smaller-sized tax credits. Whereas workers with two kids took home 40 percent of all EITC dollars. Click here to access the brief.
Americans Will Put Off Retirement to Pay for College Educations According to New Research
According to LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute’s new research, one-third of consumers have reduced or are willing to reduce the amount of retirement savings to help pay for college educations for their children or grandchildren. This is leading to decreasing retirement confidence and even reduced discretionary spending by Americans. Click here to read the entire article.
Next AFI Application Due Date Announced
The next application due date for the Assets for Independence (AFI) funding opportunity has been announced as December 15, 2015. This December due date replaces the October 13, 2015 due date listed in the last Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). Do you want to get ready for the December application cycle?A good place to start is by checking out the AFI Resource Center’s resources for applicants available at www.IDAresources.acf.hhs.gov/Apply, including guidance on Documentation of Non-Federal Cash Commitment Required for AFI Applications.
