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No More Shelters: IDA Helped Mother of 3 Buy Her First Home

Just a few years ago, Sunshine Cross had no job, no home, no college education and three sons to care for. Now, she has a job she loves, owns a home, earned her Bachelor’s degree and is pursuing her graduate degree.

How did she do it? Simple – Individual Development Accounts (IDAs).

IDAs are matched savings accounts to help low- to moderate-income people afford to buy a home, go to college or start a business. CFED partners with nonprofit organizations around the country to match people’s IDA savings.

“It was really hard to save, but I hung in there; I had a goal in front of me, and I wanted to succeed,” Cross said.

Unsatisfied with her situation, Cross sought options to better it and found Mile High United Way of Denver – one of CFED’s state partners. Mile High is one of 12 CFED organizational partners that help low-income individuals and families build wealth and achieve financial security through IDA programs. There are more than 1,100 sites that offer IDAs around the country with 85,000 people taking advantage, resulting in 9,400 new homeowners and 7,200 educational purchases.

“There are so many resources out there, that there is no way you cannot succeed. I lived in a shelter before and didn’t have anything at all—now I can provide for my family and I have a house that I can call my own.”

Homeownership has proven the most effective way to build wealth, especially for moderate and low-income families. In a national CFED survey, we learned that the majority of IDA accountholders who purchased homes obtained conventional, fixed-rate mortgages. Moreover, of 1,212 homeowners, only four reported foreclosures – that is less than 1%!