September 2018 Newsletter
YOU are invited to the 2018 RAISE Texas 10th Anniversary Summit- Registration Coming Soon
The RAISE Texas 10th Anniversary Summit is fast approaching on December 5-6, 2018 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Speakers are confirmed and we are finalizing a stimulating agenda to help YOU expand your financial capability services, better reach the diverse populations in your communities and help Texans prepare and recover quickly when disasters strike! Registration will open at the end of September. We hope to see you there!RAISE Texas News
We hope to Invite YOU to the next RAISE Texas Community Leadership Meeting!
RAISE Texas is grateful to all our paid and active members that serve Texas with strong, life-changing financial empowerment programs, services and products daily. This is why so many of our members play a crucial role in our work. RAISE Texas works to expand high-impact, large-scale asset building programs, services and products throughout Texas. During September, we are going to invite two new organizations that become paid members to our next statewide RAISE Texas Community Leadership Team meeting to join in the statewide asset building conversation and to network with community leaders across the state. You don’t want to miss this meeting! Become a Member of the RAISE Texas network today!
Remembering back to 2015 as part of our 10 Year Anniversary Retrospective
The 2015 Texas legislative session provided a huge victory for our field. RAISE Texas was a key partner in the passage of state legislation that mandated financial education in grades K-8 in Texas schools to “facilitate the planning and saving for higher education and facilitate personal financial literacy instruction”. Since then, RAISE Texas and partners have utilized this mandatory financial education as a tool to implement financial capability programs into schools throughout Texas. Click here to read more about our work throughout the past 10 years. #RT10 #TenYearsofRAISETexas
Upcoming Opportunities
Grant Opportunity: NALCAB is Scaling Financial Capability in Latino and Immigrant Communities
NALCAB is looking to implement, expand and/or enhance organizations' systems and integration of financial and asset building programs serving Latino and Immigrant communities. The grant opportunity will provide grants of $45,000 to up to 12 organizations, along with customized technical assistance and community among grantees to help address the needs identified in selected proposals. Proposals must be submitted by September 28, 2018. Click here to view the RFP and here to apply.
Opportunity for VITA Sites to Join the Bureau's Tax-Time Savings Initiative 2019 Cohort
The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (formerly known as the CFPB) is looking for 75 VITA programs from across the country that are interested in starting or expanding savings initiatives within their tax preparation programs for the 2019 tax season. Selected programs will receive training and technical support from nationally recognized experts on VITA program management. Organizations can apply if they meet the following criteria:
- Knowledge about the benefits of saving.Demonstrate an understanding of the benefits of promoting saving at tax time and be interested in how to integrate savings promotion into existing VITA program.
- Staff capacity. Demonstrate capacity to dedicate staff or volunteer time directly to saving promotion.
- Marketing saving. Have an interest in promoting saving to clientele before and during tax season through marketing and other consumer information channels.
- Target population: We are seeking a diverse set of VITA programs so that the cohort serves a broad range of consumers; special consideration will be given to programs serving traditionally underserved or hard to serve tax filers.
- Information sharing: Commit to sharing aggregated, de-identified data regarding returns and saving activity after the end of the 2019 tax season.
We hope our Texas VITA sites will take advantage of this great opportunity to implement best practices to help more Texans save. To apply, fill out the application and send it to CFPB_taxtime@cfpb.gov by September 19, 2018.
2Gen Peer-Learning Site Visit Opportunity- Apply Today!
The Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Ascend, invites organizations to apply to participate in this site visit while receiving advice on their team’s current 2Gen trajectory or challenges from an experienced Resource Team of 2Gen experts and from other participating team members. The visit will be to Brighton Center in Newport, Kentucky on October 24-26, 2018. Brighton Center works with parents and children together in a two-generation strategy to create opportunities for families to reach self-sufficiency through education, employment, support services and leadership. The site visit is designed for teams and up to 15 teams will be chosen to participate. You must apply by Friday, September 21. Click here for more information or to apply.Texas News
Texas Financial Coaching Programs- Please Respond TODAY and Represent Texas!
- Are you a financial coach?
- Are you a part of an organization that is delivering financial coaching?
- Are you funding financial coaching initiatives?
If the answer is YES, then we want to hear from you!
The 3rd Financial Coaching Census, developed in partnership by the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for Financial Security and Asset Funders Network, is now open. Take this simple online survey today and be eligible to WIN a $50 Amazon gift card.
Who Should Complete the Financial Coaching Census?
We are seeking insights from three key groups of individuals:
1. financial coaches who are currently providing or delivering coaching services;
2. individuals who manage financial coaches or oversee the delivery of a financial coaching program
3. funders currently investing in financial coaching
Multiple respondents from an organization are encouraged and will add to our insights.
Insights from the Census will provide greater clarity into the size and scope of financial coaching efforts across the US, and help guide the strategic growth of the field.
LEARN MORE & TAKE THE CENSUS
Community Loan Center Reaches ANOTHER Milestone
Recently the Community Loan Center of Texas made loan number 40,000 as borrowers continue to use Community Loan Centers around the country as a better alternative to predatory loans. Started in 2011 in Brownsville, the CLC Affordable Small-Dollar Loan Program now has 18 local lenders serving their communities in 10 states. Congratulations to the newest CLCs:
- CLC of San Antonio
- CLC of Coastal SC (South Carolina)
- CLC of Birmingham
- CLC of Northern Arizona
- CLC of Southeast Tennessee
Click here to read about all of the CLC locations. For more information about the CLC loan program, contact Howard Porter at 512.916.0508 or howard@tccapital.org.
Texas Match the Promise Scholarships Now Available
The Texas Match the Promise Foundation is accepting scholarship applications from now through December 31, 2018. These scholarships are available for students in grades five through nine and have a family income of $100,000 or less. Scholarship recipients can receive matching scholarships in the amount of $1,000 intuition units or top recipients can receive a one-time Promise Scholarship of tuition units worth $2,000. Click here for more information or apply today.
Texas Cities Engage Community Colleges to Shape the Workforce
As more and more mayors and community colleges work together to give city residents the skills and knowledge they need to land a good job and help strengthen local labor markets, it is exciting to see three Texas cities highlighted for their work. National League of Cities’ recent initiative worked with six cities to build the capacity of cities to ensure more young adults from marginalized populations can access postsecondary educational opportunities that lead to good jobs. This article provided the following highlights on the work of three Texas cities:
- “The city of Austin, under Mayor Steve Adler, established a target of upskilling 30,000 underemployed and unemployed residents to fill high demand jobs. Austin developed a new data sharing agreement between Austin Community College (ACC) and community-based organizations to provide workforce development training focused on measuring the success of opportunity youth and the adult population. In addition, a partnership with Austin Chamber of Commerce supports a data-sharing agreement between area school districts and the community college as part of a Summer College Transition program for recent high school graduates."
- “The city of Corpus Christi, developed its first-ever citywide Education Strategic Plan led by Mayor Joe McComb, Del Mar College and other business and community partners. The goal of the plan is to improve preparation for postsecondary education through the P-16 system, use data to drive decision-making and enhance collaboration among educational institutions, businesses and community-based organizations."
- "The city of Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner spearheaded the launch of Hire Houston Youth to increase the number of youth in the workforce. This includes a plan to enroll many of these young people into postsecondary institutions to receive certifications or degrees by 2020. Houston Community College is part of these conversations.”
National News
How do we break the cycle of intergenerational poverty? Build Women’s Economic Security
With one out of four children living in a household supported by a single mother and nearly 60 percent of children dependent on a single mother live in poverty, building women’s economic security is the “most sensible way to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty” according to an article in Spotlight On Poverty & Opportunity. Closing the Women’s Wealth Gap Initiative is a national forum where 250 representatives from more than 150 organizations are working together to expand wealth building opportunities- by advancing policies and practical strategies- for low-income women and women of color. Click here to find out more about how this initiative is making an impact on women throughout the nation.
Can Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs) Fight Racial Wealth Inequity?
Prosperity Now released a new paper that examines how CSAs can be re-configured to increase higher education while fighting America’s racial wealth divide. Click here to read the paper.
