Financial Well-Being

We aim to help families keep what they earn and strengthen their safety net through savings and strong money management. We do this by:

• increasing access to fairly priced, appropriate financial products and services.
• protecting consumers from high-cost products and practices that deplete family resources.
• promoting federal and state policies that support asset building, affordable financial services and consumer protection.

• Weaving asset-building tools, such as financial coaching, into public programs that low-income families already use so they have easier access to products and services that can help them achieve financial stability.
  
• Making it easier for individuals and families to save through innovative programs.
  
• Increasing people’s financial stability and strength through coaching, loans for security deposits and improving their credit reports.
  
• Connecting people with limited or no access to banks to mainstream financial institutions through innovative financial products and services.
  
• Supporting stronger policies that protect consumers.

• The Doorways to Dreams Fund helped make it easy for taxpayers to save money by splitting their tax refunds so that a portion goes toward buying a U.S. savings bond.

• In 2013, nearly 40,000 taxpayers bought savings bonds through their tax returns, collectively saving $21.5 million. Nearly two-thirds were by families whose annual income was less than $50,000.

• The SaveUSA initiative, which offers low- and moderate-income individuals a financial-matching incentive to save money, saw great success in its New York pilot: In three years, about 75% of participants earned the matching payment.

• The Refund to Savings Initiative's research on low- and moderate-income households identified the motivational tools that lead taxpayers to devote some of their refunds to savings.

• More than 650 low-income individuals are receiving assistance to reduce debt, improve their credit and save money through the Baltimore Financial Stability Pathway Project.

• More than 27 million low- and moderate-income people received the federal earned income tax credit in 2012, bringing in more than $62 billion in extra income to individuals and families.

• Learn how nonprofits assess their clients’ financial status by exploring this assessment tool.

• Accessing Credit Reports for Foster Youth is a guide for child welfare agencies working with young people in foster care that explains how to obtain credit reports and the importance of building good credit as youth transition out of care.

• How do we protect young people in foster care from identity theft and bad credit? Youth and Credit offers advice on the best way for caseworkers and other adults to comply with federal mandates to request and review credit reports for youth in foster care — and to help young people resolve any issues that come up in the process.

We work with a number of partners to support the financial well-being of families:

• Asset Funders Network
• Brandeis University Institute on Assets and Social Policy
• CFED
• Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
• Ford Foundation
• New America Foundation
• The Urban Institute's Opportunity and Ownership Project
• University of Wisconsin Center for Financial Security
• Washington University in St. Louis Center for Social Development