By Sean Luechtefeld on 10/18/2010 @ 11:17 AM

Tags: Innovation

Ten months ago, I joined the CFED Team as a Graduate Communications Intern for innovation@cfed. This week, my short tenure (or extended internship, depending on how you look at it) comes to an end, and I wanted to share with the community what I’m taking away from CFED as this was my first real foray into the Assets & Opportunity field. When I was trying to narrow down my top three takeaways, I thought of dozens of lessons I’ve learned, so excuse me for rambling about what many of you already know; these are simply those lessons that resonate so strongly with me.

1. A stable income means nothing if coupled with asset poverty. I have to admit that until I worked at CFED, I never really thought about financial stability in terms of anything beyond income and savings. Ultimately, this meant if you had a good job that allowed you to pay the bills and live comfortably while putting a few dollars in your savings account, then you were good to go. Sadly, that’s not the case, and asset building through things like affordable homeownership and self-employment really is a critical piece of the puzzle. Furthermore, the rhetoric of the past that posited that it was all about “making ends meet” really doesn’t do justice to the economic climate in which we live. Being able to pay the rent or the mortgage and putting groceries on the table means little when the car breaks down, a medical accident occurs or, worse yet, when a hardworking American loses their job to the recession. Living with a hole in your pocket really can be financial ruin, and confronting asset poverty is the only proven mechanism for ameliorating these harsh realities for many families.
2. “Partnership is an advanced technical skill.” This one came to me from Mindy Hernandez via CFED Senior Program Manager Genevieve Melford. It’s such a simple statement, yet totally true. We often can articulate that collaboration is a valuable endeavor, but can also recognize that it’s an endeavor that rarely reaches its potential. Partnering across the field and across other disciplines is the keystone to success. Whether it’s partnering with research organizations to make more robust our data collection techniques, partnering with community foundations to identify and share best practices or partnering with the public sector to bring innovative approaches for savings to scale, one thing is clear: we can’t do it alone. Developing the partnership skill is perhaps the single-most reliable strategy for increasing our effectiveness.
3. The triangle really works. During my first few weeks at CFED, everyone I met came up to me with their thumbs and index fingers joined such that their hands formed a triangle. They repeatedly asked me if I had become familiar with the three-pronged approach to our work. Indeed, within a day I was intimately familiar with the “triangle”: community practice, private markets and public policy. I have to be honest about this: if one more person showed me the triangle during those first two weeks, I might have left and never come back. Early on, I could talk about how CFED was built on the premise that the most effective strategies for expanding economic opportunity were those that worked across all three prongs. Yet, it made no sense to me at the time. Now, ten months later, I could not believe more in such an approach. What sets CFED apart from other organizations in the field, in my opinion, is this methodology. Change simply can’t happen if it’s focused solely at the policy level. Likewise, policy reforms don’t work absent the right community practices. And, like the point I make in #2 above suggests, little can be effective if nonprofits work on their own and fail to partner across private markets and with the public sector. In other words, let the triangle live on!

I could go on, and I probably should since I could write a whole blog about how awesome my colleagues here are. Unfortunately, this is probably already my longest blog post! So, in short, my experience here has been incredible, both because I’ve worked with some incredible individuals, and because I have learned so much about the exciting and challenging work this field does.

Thank you all for reading my rants, and thank you for being such an important part of the movement to identify innovative approaches that create the save and invest economy. Do keep in touch, too: find me on LinkedIn and follow me on Twitter!

Signing off for now…stay tuned to meet our new innovation@cfed blogger, Lauren Stebbins!

By Sean Luechtefeld on 10/13/2010 @ 12:59 PM

Tags: Innovation, Innovation Marketplace, ALC 2010

YWDEP at the Networking Reception, 2010 Assets Learning Conference

The other day, my colleague Kristin Lawton, came across this blog post from Elliette at Young Women’s Drumming Empowerment Project. The post highlights their performances at the 2010 Assets Learning Conference.

Read and subscribe to Listen Up 2010!, the official YWDEP blog, here!

The post, while accurate in describing people’s excitement in the room, is far too modest. The women of YWDEP literally stole the show and we’re still getting comments on how incredible they are. These women bring it all to the table; they’re talented musicians, energetic individuals and tell a compelling narrative of how it’s possible to excel when you apply your energies to a worthwhile endeavor.

Thanks, Elliette, for the CFED shout-out, and thanks to all the women of Young Women’s Drumming Empowerment Project for two spectacular performances last month!

By Sean Luechtefeld on 10/08/2010 @ 04:54 PM

Tags: Innovation, Events, Entrepreneurship

This week, CFED’s Self-Employment Tax Initiative and innovation@cfed announced a new webinar, which will take place on Wednesday, October 20, 2010 from 2:00 – 3:00 PM (EDT). The virtual seminar, called Partnerships that Leverage Tax Time and Empower Entrepreneurs, will examine the best ways to promote entrepreneurship as an asset-building strategy, especially during tax time when savings practices are most vital.

Speakers during this interactive dialogue will include Linda Paulson of Foundation Communities in Austin, TX, Andrea Beleno of the Legal Assistance to Microenterprise Project of Austin, and Cheryl Sesnon of Washington CASH in Seattle. These innovative and talented individuals will present findings from their efforts to leverage tax time as a resource for microentrepreneurs. Their presentations will be complemented with information about lessons learned from SETI, including the identification of best practices for simplifying processes, effectively training volunteers and staff, and targeting promotion and education.

To register for this exciting opportunity free of cost, click here. If you have questions, please feel free to contact my colleague, Brigitte Gavin, at bgavin@cfed.org.

By Lauren Stebbins on 10/06/2010 @ 03:44 PM

Tags: Innovation, Innovation Marketplace, ALC 2010

Innovator-in-Residence Hilary Abell speaking with visitors to her Innovation Station.

As a featured event of this year’s Assets Learning Conference, the Innovation Marketplace showcased 50 Innovators, Sponsors and Exhibitors that had booths set up during the entirety of the Conference. Conference attendees were afforded an amazing opportunity to learn about and make connections with practitioners and organizations leading cutting-edge work in the asset-building field. The diversity of topics in CFED’s innovation portfolio was well-represented at the Marketplace; some of the work featured included green entrepreneurship opportunities as a prisoner reentry strategy, matched savings accounts for higher education costs and assistive technology for people with disabilities, solar energy products for Native American communities, financial education and savings accounts for children in Uganda and a shared responsibility model for healthcare costs. Traffic in the Marketplace reached its peak during its featured time slot of 4:30-6:30pm on Thursday, September 23 and included the addition of the Entrepreneurship Fair. During this time, Marketplace participants were joined by about 20 creative entrepreneurs committed to social change and expanding economic opportunity who were able to demonstrate and sell their products and services. A fantastic performance by some of the young ladies of the Young Women’s Drumming Empowerment Project infused the atmosphere with even more energy and excitement.

The Marketplace proved to be successful in creating a large, interactive space for CFED innovators to expand outreach on their work, and in creating a dynamic and fun setting for Conference attendees to become intimately introduced to them and other innovative ventures. The feedback we have received has been extremely positive, with many commenting on how the Marketplace created both a fun and informative setting to learn about an “amazing display of innovations” and having it open during the whole Conference created opportunities for “meaningful interactions” and “some of the best conversations.” Our innovators have expressed to us how much they appreciated having a venue to personally meet and connect with a national audience and make valuable connections that will help them move forward.

We would like to send a huuuuge thank you to all of the Marketplace’s innovators, sponsors, exhibitors and volunteers! Your participation helped make this year’s ALC the best ever. For us here at CFED, the success of the Innovation Marketplace exceeded our expectations, and we could not be more pleased to know that the both the innovators and visitors gained so much from this event.

By Bill Schweke on 10/04/2010 @ 04:46 PM

Tags: Ideas in Development, Recommended Reading

By William Schweke

How quickly things change.  A few years ago (and continuing to this day), there were an avalanche of books about the wily economist who could cut through the bull and overturn common sense, regarding the workings of the economy and the reflections and choices of “Economic Man.” Titles included: Freakonomics, The Logic of Life, Why Economics Explains Almost Everything, The Soulful Science, to name just a few.

These books described confidently an “imperial” field, in which almost any topic could receive an economic analysis.  It constitutes a real social science, ready to show sociologists, political scientists, geographers, and others how it is done.  Economists were feeling fat and sassy, boasting successful predictions, lots of sophisticated mathematical models, an almost uncanny ability to spot unanticipated consequences of seemingly rational government action, and a readiness to be on-call and play “market doctor.”  And they did.

But, how the world changed in the past ten years.  The so-called Great Recession has hit the United States hard, generating double digit unemployment in many states.  The profession has been chastised.  Many respected economists have even opined that economics itself is partially to blame.

How were events not foreseen?  How did the market create so many “toxic” assets?  How could government better address the financial woes of the citizenry and curb the predatory practices of pay-day lenders and credit card companies, the spread of sub-prime mortgages, and the “casino” product line, marketed tirelessly by investment bankers?

Two new books help you to wrestle with these questions and the enigma of the discipline of economics: Dean Baker’s Taking Economics Seriously and Roger Backhouse’s The Puzzle of Modern Economics: Science or Ideology. 

The Baker book meets one’s expectations for a book by this author: its prose is lucid, but aggressive, to the point, but subtle.  He is a superb popularizer, treating issues like health costs creatively and clearly in this short tract.

Economist Dean Baker hammers home many of the same points he makes in his book on The Conservative Nanny State:

• The ideological side of modern economics is a reality and there is a need for progressives to reframe the policy debate.
• He stresses the importance of the choice of words and labels – free market, death tax, tax relief and other “Republican” terms, for instance.
• Both conservatives and liberals support public intervention in the economy.  But they have different beneficiaries in mind.
• Do not play into Republican “rope-a-dope” tactics and get labeled as pro-regulation, anti-market, and so forth.

His book should be read along side of Bernie Horne’s Reframing the Future and George Lakoff’s numerous publications on the subject of political communication and persuasion.

Backhouse’s book is much more scholarly than Baker’s and attempts to itemize the strengths and weaknesses of contemporary economics.  He is the   ideal author of such a study, being the writer of an excellent recent history of economics – The Business of Ordinary Life. 

He tries very hard to make this work accessible to the non-economist, as well as inviting and interesting to orthodox economists and economic heretics.  And I think he succeeds ably.

Backhouse tackles fundamental questions such as: Is economics the key to everything or has it already failed?

His answers flow from a series of case studies – the Russian transition to capitalism, the creation of new markets, the impacts of globalization, and   research on finance and money.  Also included are intellectual histories of the role of ideology, the adoption of complex mathematics, and the changing nature of macroeconomics since Keynes.

He concludes by noting that economics has excelled in cases where the problem is well defined and not too big.  It has often failed where the challenge was too big and involved too many other institutions (e.g., Russia). 

Furthermore, since there are genuine methodological issues at play and mythological elements in left and right wing theory and applications, the critical reader should not be silenced by the scientific pretentions of economics and its customary stances.

But economics is more pluralist today.  The new institutional economics, Marxian economics, information studies, principal-agent analysis, behavioral economics, the public choice school, post-Keynesian economics, Austrian economics, and game theory, to name just a few, all clamor for attention.

For this reason and on the basis of economics real contribution to knowledge, Backhouse argues in a compelling and fair fashion that economics still has a future in combating popular illusions about the economy.

And Backhouse does his part by making the discipline more transparent to the lay reader.  Warts and all.
William Schweke is a senior fellow at CFED in Durham, NC

By Sean Luechtefeld on 10/04/2010 @ 11:53 AM

Tags: ALC 2010, Bank On, Saver's Credit, EITC, Innovation

EDITOR'S NOTE: This guest blog post comes to us by way of David Blatt, Director of the Oklahoma Policy Institute. To read the full text of this post and to explore the rest of David's blog, click here.

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the 2010 Assets Learning Conference that brought together over 1,000 participants for three days of plenaries, workshops and sessions exploring approaches to building an economy in which all Americans, including those of limited means, are provided opportunities to achieve household financial security through savings, investment, and entrepreneurship.

As I noted in my blog post reporting on the opening plenary, a major theme of the conference was the notion of “scale” – the need and opportunity to take policies, programs, and products that have been introduced and tested in modest ways up to now and expand them to serve a much greater number and range of individuals and families. In session after session, I learned about innovative practices that are already working at the local level or in pilot programs and that community organizations, government agencies, and financial institutions are gearing up to expand. Here are just four of the policies, programs and products from the asset building field that seem poised for a larger impact:

• The Bank On Initiative: According to a 2008 FDIC survey, one in four U.S. households is unbanked or underbanked, which means they do not have a checking or savings account, or rely on high-cost alternative financial services. In 2006, the city of San Francisco, in partnership with banks, credit unions and non-profit organizations, launched the Bank on San Francisco project to make it easier for the unbanked to get into mainstream banking by providing consumers with starter accounts and financial education. Building on the success of the San Francisco program and with the active involvement of the National League of Cities, the program has spread to over a dozen cities. The Administration has now proposed $50 million for a national Bank on USA initiative “to promote access to affordable and appropriate financial services and basic consumer credit products for households lacking such access.”
• $ave USA Initiative. For many low-income families, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which can be worth over $5,000 to a two-child household, provides an annual lump-sum payment that can not only be used to spend on ongoing and one-time expenditures, but that can also be saved and invested. In New York City, the Office of Financial Empowerment launched the $ave NYC Account Program to provide opportunities for families to invest part of their EITC refund in savings. $ave NYC is a matched savings program operated at tax time that provides low-income households 50 cents of public match for every $1 of savings up to $1,000. An evaluation of the program found that 61 percent of program participants deposited over $500 to their $ave NYC account, despite having average households earnings of roughly $15,000. These findings confirm the growing body of evidence showing that with the right incentives and program design, low-income families can and do save. In July, the federal government announced its financial support for the program in New York and three other cities, including Tulsa.
• Small Dollar Loan Program: Many low- and moderate-income families regularly depend on payday loans, which have APRs that can exceed 450 percent and tend to be extremely short-term, to try to make ends meet. Payday loans often lead to patterns of frequent, high-cost borrowing which perpetuate a cycle of debt and economic insecurity. In 2008, the FDIC launched the Small-Dollar Loan Pilot Program in partnership with 31 banks. All the banks committed to offering borrowers closed-end installment loans up to $2,500 with payment periods that extended beyond a single paycheck and APRs below 36 percent. Some banks coupled their loan product with financial education classes and resources. According to a study of the program, “most pilot bankers in the pilot indicated that small dollar loans were a useful business strategy for developing or retaining long-term relationships with consumers.” The FDIC intends to use the lessons from the pilot to work with the public, private, and non-profit sectors on strategies to expand the supply of lower-cost small-dollar loans.
• The Saver’s Credit. At the national policy level, the Obama Administration is promoting a broad set of tax policy changes that encourage and facilitate savings. One proposal that is strongly backed by CFED and a coalition of corporate and non-profit supporters would expand the Saver’s Credit, which currently is claimed by less than 6 million individuals. Under the Administration’s proposal, the Saver’s Credit would provide a flat 50 percent match on deposits into qualified retirement accounts up to $1,000 per year for joint filers, automatically deposit this match directly into a designated account, and extend this benefit to households earning less than $65,000. If enacted, up to 50 million Americans would be able to use the Saver’s Credit to build up a nest egg for retirement and other eligible uses.

These four examples are from an exhaustive list, but they are representative of a field in which a growing number of partnerships are bringing together government, non-profits, and the private sector to help build assets and strengthen financial security. The Oklahoma Asset Building Coalition is eager to be an active part of this work here in Oklahoma; whether or not you’ve been a part of the regional meetings that the Coalition is hosting around the state, we hope you’ll join our effort and help us ensure that Oklahoma contributes to bringing the assets movement to scale.

By Sean Luechtefeld on 10/01/2010 @ 11:39 PM

Tags: ALC 2010

EDITOR'S NOTE: Today's blog post, which includes highlights from the 2010 Assets Learning Conference, came across my desk by way of Christopher LaPrade, an #ALC2010 Volunteer and Social Media Partner and recipient of the Most Valuable ALC Volunteer award. Use the Comments Feature below to share thoughts and comments with Chris.

Microfinance, Individual Development Accounts and building sustainable assets across borders were some of the definitive themes addressed at the 2010 Assets Learning Conference. The conference, hosted by the Corporation for Enterprise Development, was an excellent opportunity for asset-minded individuals from across the world to come together and exchange best practices.

As a volunteer at ALC, I had the opportunity to work with many of the leaders in this exciting movement. First and foremost, I was tasked with assisting the Innovation Marketplace, a unique opportunity for innovative leaders to exhibit their programs. innovation@cfed worked tirelessly to arrange the Marketplace and it was obvious to innovators and delegates alike that this provided a perfect forum for to exchange ideas and for networking opportunities.

It wasn’t just all work and no play at the ALC. I had the chance to sit in and participate on exciting sessions led by some of the foremost thinkers in asset development. My particular interest lies in international asset building. We heard from communities from across the globe on what was working in their home countries such as the UK, Australia, Spain and some of the work being done by organizations such as World Vision and the Microfinance Centre. It felt as though the room actually got brighter as the figurative light bulb was switched on; delegates furiously taking notes, asking questions and exchanging business cards to follow up later on.

Complementing the work being accomplished in session were the fantastic plenary events. Each plenary was themed differently and facilitated by a leader in the assets movement. I feel that our third plenary, The Innovation Moment: Asset Innovations without Borders, further tied all of these best practice motions together, bringing together not just leaders here in the United States, but also abroad to share their critical lessons and put them under the scrutiny of the delegates. This exchange of best practices is critical as we continue to tackle the challenges of asset development.

The conference theme, The Assets Movement at Its Moment, was very apparent throughout the week. We heard from exciting and inspiring speakers, including legislators who are committed to expanding economic opportunity for all Americans. As a volunteer, I had the pleasure of working with Asset Innovators and the fantastic staff at CFED to ensure that conditions were ripe for this critical exchange of knowledge. I appreciated my time and lessons learned at ALC 2010 and hope to see everyone at ALC 2012!

Christopher M. LaPrade is a freelance global affairs professional based in Washington, DC. His research interests include international education, public diplomacy, nation branding and international asset building. You can contact him via email, follow him on Twitter or connect with him on LinkedIn.

By Sean Luechtefeld on 09/30/2010 @ 10:06 AM

Tags: ALC 2010, Federal Policy, Assets & Opportunity Campaign, Financial Empowerment, Innovation

EDITOR'S NOTE: This blog post comes our way from Alison McIntosh of Neighborhood Partnerships, who was a Social Media Partner for the 2010 Assets Learning Conference. Check out Neighborhood Partnership's newsblog at http://neighborhoodpartnerships.org/newsblog/.

Neighborhood Partnerships staff is in Washington DC attending the CFED Assets Learning Conference. We were also fortunate to attend a pre-conference session for State & Local Assets Coalitions. This pre-conference session was attended by 43 state asset coalitions and over 30 local asset coalitions. Both on days one and two, attendees were challenged to help CFED build a movement in this country to expand economic opportunities for all Americans.

At the end of day one, attendees were asked to respond about how we view asset building as part of a larger social movement, its strengths and weaknesses, and what we need from partners, national organizations, researchers and funders in the coming years to create opportunity for all Americans.

The discussion continued on day two, with a panel discussion on the role of government, state coalitions, foundations and national intermediaries in the asset building movement. Robert Friedman, Founder and Chair of CFED presented state and local asset coalition partners with three opportunities he sees on the horizon:

1. This is a federal moment for the asset building movement. The financial crisis has presented an opportunity where more than ever before, Americans are interested in saving and our leaders are interested in encouraging saving and investing. Legislation to expand the savers credit to fifty million low income families (sponsored by our own Congressman Earl Blumenauer, Oregon District 3) is within our reach as are other asset building proposals. We need to take advantage of this opportunity.
2. The money we spend on asset building at the federal level is upside down—each year the federal government spends nearly $400 billion every year on asset building activity through tax benefits and credits—but most of it is for the wealthiest Americans. CFED’s recently released report Upside Down highlights the opportunity to simply reprioritize a small portion of this asset building budget which could significantly and positively impact very-low , low and moderate income Americans.
3. Lastly, and possibly most importantly, the asset building agenda addresses the major problems this country is currently facing. Asset building can create long term economic stability, access to opportunity and a true and stable middle class, and we can expand the pie in an “old fashioned” American way—though enterprise, saving and investment.

Most importantly, Mr. Friedman talked to the group about how this work is work that should appeal to all Americans. It expands opportunity for all Americans. It develops businesses and promotes entrepreneurship. It promotes the American Dream. We have a history in this country of intentionally implementing policies that have helped over time to create a middle class, including the GI Bill, and the Home Mortgage Interest Deduction. While these policies historically have not been open to all Americans—especially people of color—we can now implement intentional policies that positively impact everyone. Mr. Friedman is right—this is the moment for the asset building movement. It’s time to create economic opportunity for all Americans.

By Sean Luechtefeld on 09/29/2010 @ 02:03 PM

Tags: ALC 2010, Bank On, Innovation

EDITOR'S NOTE: This blog post, which reflects on the 2010 Assets Learning Conference and highlights a new AARP publication, was provided to us by Donna Ortega of the AARP Foundation. innovation@cfed and the ALC Team send special thanks to Donna for her contribution. If you have questions or comments, please use the comments feature below to share.

At yesterday’s “Bank On Initiatives” session at the Assets Learning Conference, Bank On programs were in the spotlight. Modeled on the successful Bank On San Francisco effort launched in 2005, local Bank Ons bring together governments, financial institutions, and nonprofits to help consumers access low-cost, safe, financial accounts and high-quality financial education, and are part of a growing movement striving to better meet the needs of the unbanked (those who have neither a checking or savings account) and underbanked (those who have an account but who still rely to some extent on alternative financial service providers such as check cashers, payday lenders, and auto-title loans).

The panel, facilitated by Wynne Lum from Bank of America, included Anne Stuhldreher with New America Foundation, Heidi Goldberg with National League of Cities, and Matt Pippin with the U.S. Treasury Department, who shared the highlights from the last few years of Bank On growth and outlined the goals of the Bank On USA initiative. There are now close to 70 Bank Ons around the country, and 25 cities have fully launched programs. The importance of relationship-building and making the business case for financial institution involvement were big themes in the session and highlighted the particular promise of Bank Ons: beyond getting people into appropriate products, Bank Ons are also about “getting better products into the marketplace.” As the movement matures and new Bank Ons come on board, knowledge-sharing and evaluation to show the impact of the programs’ effectiveness will be key. JoinBankOn.org is the home for those looking to start or learn more about Bank On programs and National League of Cities will release a toolkit for starting a Bank On in the next few months.

Bank Ons and other programs hoping to better serve the unbanked and underbanked have a new resource to help them identify the needs and motivations of this population. Today, the AARP Public Policy Institute and AARP Foundation together released “A Portrait of Older Underbanked and Unbanked Consumers: Findings from a National Survey,” a new report examining the 45+ un- and underbanked population and their consumer financial behavior. Based on data from the 2008 Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) Underbanked Consumer Study, this new report breaks out CFSI survey results across ethnicity, income, and employment status for the 45-64 and 65+ un- and underbanked population, and makes policy and practice recommendations for policymakers, nonprofits and funders.

We know that consumers at all ages need access to safe places to save, manage their money, and access credit on fair terms. Bank On programs are one strategy that holds promise in helping to move more Americans into the financial mainstream. But we also know that banking accounts are not the only solution. In the comments, let us know what you think is working to meet the needs of the un- and underbanked.

Donna V.S. Ortega manages the AARP Foundation's national Financial Innovation work—an effort to increase access to asset-building financial services for low-income older Americans. Formerly, Donna served as Associate Director of Capital Area Asset Builders (CAAB). She Tweets regularly about asset-building, financial services for the un- and underbanked, economic security, consumer protection, and financial literacy as @AARPInnovation.

By Sean Luechtefeld on 09/29/2010 @ 01:55 PM

Tags: Innovation, ALC 2010

The innovation@cfed blog is back! On behalf of all of my colleagues at CFED, I want to start by thanking everyone – participants, speakers, sponsors and exhibitors – who made the 2010 Assets Learning Conference a huge success! We’ve received so much positive feedback in the past week and we couldn’t be happier!

Second, I want to share a few highlights and resources from the ALC. More of these will become available in the next couple weeks, so we’ll be sure to cross-post these items between here and The Assets Moment. I’ll also be posting the last of our ALC-related guest posts from our Social Media Partners, so check back daily for those!

Daily Newsletters

Missed any installment of Today @ ALC? Download Wednesday’s newsletter, Thursday’s newsletter or Friday’s newsletter now!

ALC Resources

Many of the ALC presenters have agreed to share their PowerPoint presentations with CFED so that we may post them online. So far, we’ve posted the ones we have on the Agenda Page (click on the individual session descriptions) and we’ll continue to do so until we have all of these resources posted.

You may have also noticed that we live-blogged each plenary session. Here are the links to these live-blogs, which will eventually be archived here as well.

• Opening Plenary: The Policy Moment
• Thursday’s Breakfast Plenary: The College Success Moment
• Thursday’s Lunch Plenary: The Innovation Moment
• Friday’s Breakfast Plenary: The Scale Moment
• Closing Plenary: The Entrepreneurship Moment

What do YOU think?

Want to share your thoughts on the ALC? Care to be a guest blogger and share your top takeaways (or any other innovation-related topic)? Send me an email and let’s chat about your contribution to the innovation@cfed Blog!

By Sean Luechtefeld on 09/24/2010 @ 12:54 PM

Tags: ALC 2010

Follow along with the Live Blog for the Closing Plenary, The Entrepreneurship Moment, by clicking here.

Posted on 09/24/2010 @ 11:46 AM

Tags: ALC 2010

EDITOR'S NOTE: This blog post comes to us from Guest Blogger David Blatt, Director of the Oklahoma Policy Institute. To read the official blog of the Oklahoma Policy Institute, visit www.okpolicy.org/blog.

This week I am participating, along with over 1,000 other delegates from around the U.S. and a dozen foreign countries, in the biannual Assets Learning Conference hosted by CFED in Washington, DC (Click here to follow our Twitter feed from the conference). The conference brings together a genuinely broad range of participants – including community practitioners, policymakers, researchers, public officials, entrepeneurs, and businesspeople – united by a shared interest in the ways that assets can help create prosperity and expand economic opportunity for all Americans.

In her opening State of the Field address, CFED President Andrea Levere laid out the case for why the assets movement has reached a defining moment. She argued that an array of programs, policies, products, and financial strategies that the asset-building field has pioneered over the past 30 year are ready to be scaled and to lay the foundation for a more just and inclusive economy.

The theme of the 2010 Asset Learning Conference is “Creating the Save and Invest Economy”, inspired in part by a speech delivered by President Obama in 2009 on rebuilding the American economy:

"We cannot rebuild this economy on the same pile of sand. We must build our house upon a rock. We must lay a new foundation for growth and prosperity — a foundation that will move us from an era of borrow and spend to one where we save and invest; where we consume less at home and send more exports abroad."

Michael Barr, the assistant secretary for financial institutions at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, spoke to the opening plenary of some of the initiatives the Administration is pursuing to spur this vision of an economy based on saving and investment. Their three-fold focus is on expanding financial education; broadening financial access, especially for the large segment of the population that is unbanked or that relies on high-cost fringe financial services; and strengthening consumer protection in the home mortgage and financial services sectors, particularly through the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau enacted as part of this year’s financial reform law. Barr also identified a number of key policies specifically aimed at encouraging more families, especially those of moderate means, to save. These include automatic contributions to retirement accounts, lifting asset limits in public benefit programs, and making it easy for people to invest part or all of their tax returns in U.S. savings bonds. The Administration has also pushed for a major expansion of the Savers Credit, which is part of a policy agenda that hundreds of the delegates promoted during visits with their Congressional representatives on Capitol Hill.

Oklahoma is well represented at the Assets Learning Conference with some dozen participants, most of whom are operating non-profit and tribal programs aimed at promoting savings and wealth and expanding economic security. These programs include home ownership assistance, tax refund sites, matched savings Individual Development Accounts, financial education and counseling, and others. It is something of a happy coincidence that the conference is taking place right as the Oklahoma Asset Building Coalition is convening a series of five regional meetings across Oklahoma to discuss assets and economic security. What we are learning in DC about the innovative policies, programs and products being developed across the nation will help inform the Coalition’s remaining regional meetings and our work going forward. In time, we also hope it will help lay the groundwork for a policy agenda to build assets and strengthen economic security.

The challenges the assets movement faces certainly remain daunting. The Great Recession has left more families in financial distress and led to a great loss of wealth from declining home and stock values. The movement also continues to grapple with how to communicate and organize around a central concept – assets – that remains unfamiliar and ill-defined to most of the public and many potential participants and supporters. Yet the conference also reminds us that the field is bristling with innovative ideas, committed practitioners, and proven strategies. We look forward to going back home charged up and ready to get down to work.

Posted on 09/24/2010 @ 11:29 AM

Tags: ALC 2010, Economic Inclusion

EDITOR'S NOTE: This blog, which highlights some of the Opening Plenary session from the 2010 Assets Learning Conference, was provided by Joy Hunt of Neighborhood Partnerships. Check out the full text of her blog by clicking here.

Speaking yesterday at the opening plenary of CFED’s biennial Assets Learning Conference, Thomas Shapiro and Melvin Oliver outlined four strategies for eliminating the United States’ racial wealth gap. Shapiro and Oliver are authors of Black Wealth/White Wealth, a flagship work on wealth and inequality. Speaking to a crowd of over 1,000 advocates and service providers from all over the United States, Shapiro and Oliver linked historical practices such as redlining and discrimination by the federal housing administration, insurance companies and financial institutions and today’s subprime lending crisis. Shapiro and Oliver pointed out that today—in 2010—the average African American household owns 10% of the wealth of the average white American household—a chilling statistic which hasn’t changed since the 1980s.

Shapiro and Oliver called on the audience to acknowledge hard truths about the role established asset building programs, such as the home mortgage interest rate deduction, play in augmenting unfair gains perpetuated for generations. Thomas Shapiro cited the Panel Study on Income Dynamics, which has followed African American and white families for generations to monitor changes in wealth accumulation over time. Shapiro pointed out that the study gives us the opportunity to monitor wealth accumulation throughout the life-cycle and conclusively demonstrates that the vast majority of wealth accumulation goes to those who are well off to begin with.

Shapiro and Oliver proceeded to outline a policy framework for addressing the racial wealth gap:

Thomas Shapiro called for critically examining wealth building provision in the tax code, which costs approximately 400 billion dollars a year. These policies include the home mortgage interest deduction and savings for retirement pensions. More than 50% of these expenditures go to the top 5% of tax payers—those making more than $167,000 per year, while very little goes to middle or low income tax payers.

Thomas Shapiro called on CFED’s audience to question our thinking on the estate tax and how the intergenerational transfer of wealth through inheritance fits into our country’s democratic tradition. Dr. Shapiro posited that inheritance is the enemy of merit, and called on the audience to question whether we can continue to pass along huge advantages through inheritance while placing a high value on equal opportunity.

Melvin Oliver reminded us that home equity is the main source of wealth for Americans, and asked conference attendees to consider the ways in which residential segregation impacts wealth. He pointed out that high rates of home ownership correlate with stable communities, civic participation, education attainment, and reduced criminal activity, and noted that African Americans do not get the same equity gains from home ownership as whites because of racial segregation and the systematic undervaluing of black neighborhoods. This systematic undervaluation as a result of segregation is essentially an equity tax. Dr. Oliver also called on community development institutions to purchase and renovate foreclosed homes, and called on us all to consider asset building opportunities for renters.

Finally, Melvin Oliver called on us to think about how Children’s Development Accounts can help to close the racial wealth gap. He recommended that public deposits made for each young person be greater for lower-income families in order to make real strides to reducing the racial wealth gap over time.

Melvin Oliver concluded this powerful presentation by calling on the audience to recognize that, in order to get beyond racism, we must first take account of race. Shapiro and Oliver’s presentation was an important reminder about the urgency of asset policy reform coupled with culturally sensitive service delivery. Stay tuned for more highlights from CFED’s biennial conference.

By Sean Luechtefeld on 09/24/2010 @ 08:51 AM

Tags: ALC 2010

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By Sean Luechtefeld on 09/23/2010 @ 12:29 PM

Tags: ALC 2010

Missed today's ALC Newsletter? No problem! Download it here.

By Sean Luechtefeld on 09/23/2010 @ 12:14 PM

Tags: ALC 2010, Children's Savings Accounts

In your beautiful, handcrafted and eco-friendly Conference bag made by Mercado Global, you should have received a copy of Hope in a Concrete Form and Lessons from SEED: A National Demonstration of Child Development Accounts. These resources both highlight the findings from years of research endeavored by the Saving for Education, Entrepreneurship and Downpayment (SEED) Initiative.

SEED, a ten-year, multi-million dollar endeavor to demonstrate the need for and potential of Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs), was designed to set the stage for universal, progressive American policy for asset building among children, youth and families. Premised on the strength of a three-tiered approach that included public policy, private markets and community practice, the SEED initiative tested and promoted matched savings accounts for over 1,100 children by partnering with 12 nonprofit community-based organizations in partnership with a dozen national foundations. From the initiative was spun SEED OK for youth in Oklahoma, where another 1,300+ children have been empowered to save.

As CFED looks to the next chapter in its storied history of promoting savings from birth, we encourage Conference attendees to read the SEED book and synthesis report and support us in developing Asset Building for Children, a national platform for CSAs.

By Sean Luechtefeld on 09/23/2010 @ 11:31 AM

Tags: ALC 2010, Entrepreneurship

The ALC Entrepreneurship Fair, the cornerstone event of the Innovation Marketplace, takes place this afternoon from 4:30 until 6:30 in Salons 1 & 2. The Entrepreneurship Fair will feature business owners and support organizations from across the Washington Metro region showcasing their products and services. Peruse the diverse range of enterprises and organizations but don’t forget to stop by Innovation Stations, interactive showcases of the creative ideas generated by CFED’s network of innovators. These impressive individuals were selected from among hundreds of applicants to partner with CFED to accelerate the next generation of ideas that expand economic opportunity. The Innovation Marketplace and Entrepreneurship Fair will also feature Sponsor tables and Exhibitor booths. Stop by for your chance to win a prize! Then, join us afterwards to the Networking Reception, sponsored by PNC. Enjoy live music, have a snack and catch up with old friends from 6:30 – 9:00 in Salon 3!

By Sean Luechtefeld on 09/23/2010 @ 11:18 AM

Tags: ALC 2010

Today at lunch, Citi CEO Vikram Pandit will be accepting the 2010 Assets & Opportunity Award. The award, given annually to the organization that best exemplifies innovative approaches to confronting asset poverty, will be presented during the lunchtime plenary, sponsored by the Levi Strauss Foundation, titled The Innovation Moment: Asset Innovations without Borders. CFED selected Citi, Platinum Sponsor of the 2010 Assets Learning Conference, because of their outstanding commitment to leveraging their resources to scale the impact of creative approaches to consumer savings products.

An example of Citi’s commitment to expanding economic opportunity for Americans living at the margins of the mainstream economy was demonstrated yesterday as Citi facilitated a Consumer Savings Dialogue Pre-Conference Session. This discussion brought together leaders in the consumer services field interested in developing a winning strategy to build assets in low-income communities. Over 20 innovative minds collaborated to explore specific financial, technical and communications investments that have the potential to optimize the outcomes of the variety of activities undertaken by the Citi Foundation in advancing America’s assets agenda.

CFED is grateful for the work Citi has done to innovate the financial services industry, for their commitment to the Assets & Opportunity field and for their support of the 2010 Assets Learning Conference.

Posted on 09/23/2010 @ 10:56 AM

Tags: Federal Policy, ALC 2010

EDITOR'S NOTE: This blog comes to us by way of Lucy Mullany of the Center for Economic Progress in Chicago. Use the comments feature below to ask questions or leave comments for Lucy.

In the last 1 or 2 weeks before Congress breaks for recess and fully hits the campaign trails, the conversations on the Hill and in the media has focused heavily on the expiring tax cuts. In addition to the Economic Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (EGTRRA) tax cuts from the Bush era, the tax cuts included in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA or the Recovery Act) are also set to expire. The Recovery Act included tax cuts and spending initiatives designed to boost the nation’s ailing economy. However, the biggest success of the Recovery Act was the steps it took toward a more fair and just tax code - a tax code that provides working families to stabilize their finances and begin to build assets.

The Recovery Act included expansion of and reforms to tax credits that make a huge difference for low- and moderate-income workers hit by a decrease in wages and a cut to supportive social programs. These vital tax credits include: expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for families with three or more children and married couples; expansion of the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit (ETC); creation of the Making Work Pay Credit (a $400 credit that benefits 95% of taxpayers); and creation of the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which replaces and expands the existing HOPE education credit.

The National Community Tax Coalition (NCTC) is comprised of free tax preparation and asset building programs around the country. A majority of our programs operate Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites. During the 2010 filing season, we saw a much needed increase in our clients’ tax refunds – especially from the Child Tax Credit. A single mother with two children working full-time at minimum wage ($14,500) received a child tax credit of $1,750. If the credit is reset to the 2001 levels, the mother would only receive $270.

Not surprisingly, the size of the refund often provides an incentive to the taxpayer to make a decision to constructively use the dollars they receive. Thanks to the changes that the IRS and Treasury have made to the tax form and the efforts of many VITA programs to provide asset building services at the tax sites, it has becoming easier for clients to save a portion of their refund. It is now easy for taxpayers to split their refund or purchase a U.S. savings bond through the tax return. Meanwhile more VITA programs are offering year-round financial coaching and asset building services. Many programs across the country are also working with financial institutions and local credit unions to help taxpayers open checking or savings accounts and access various savings and money management products at tax time.

As we participate in the 2010 CFED Assets Learning Conference and learn from and with our colleagues in the field, it’s important that we not forget what is currently at stake legislatively. If these vital tax credits are not expanded, working families won’t have the income support they need to build future assets. To learn more about these refundable credits see NCTC’s recent policy brief, check out Thursday’s session on Tax Time Asset-Building Innovations, and stop by NCTC’s booth in the Innovation Marketplace to take action!

By Sean Luechtefeld on 09/23/2010 @ 01:50 AM

Tags: ALC 2010

We're live blogging Plenary 3, The Innovation Moment. Follow along by clicking here!