Individual Wealth Preservation

MODELS & BEST PRACTICES

Bank on San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
www.bankonsf.org
Started in December 2005, Bank on San Francisco seeks to serve the "unbanked" by removing barriers that have historically prevented certain groups from accessing mainstream financial institutions. Working with local community organizations, credit unions, and mainstream banks, the program seeks to change bank products and policies to increase the supply of starter account options for this market, raise awareness among consumers about the benefits of account ownership, provide qualified San Franciscans with the opportunity to open low-cost, starter bank accounts, and provide quality financial education to San Franciscans. To date, the program has help open more than 25,000 new bank accounts.

Community Tax Aid (Washington, DC)
www.communitytaxaiddc.org
Founded in 1987, Community Tax Aid (CTA) was created by a group of tax professionals concerned about the growing needs of low-income taxpayers in the Washington DC metropolitan area. CTA provides comprehensive, free tax services and prepares all types of tax returns—including federal, state, prior year, resident and non-resident returns. The increasing complexity of the tax code and limited English of many taxpayers renders CTA's services necessary for the low income community. In 2008, CTA helped 2,800 households receive over $2.8 million in state and federal refunds.

Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Delaware Valley (Philadelphia, PA)
www.cccsdv.org
Since 1966, the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Delaware Valley (CCCS) has provided comprehensive credit education, counseling, asset building and debt reduction programs through its 19 offices in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. A nonprofit institution, their goal is to empower individuals in order to overcome financial hardship and they offer services in 6 different languages. In 2009, CCCS conducted more than 23,000 one-on-one counseling sessions, up by 32 percent from 2008. Of those client sessions, more than half focused on housing issues.

Empowering and Strengthening Ohio's People (Cleveland, OH)
www.esop-cleveland.org
ESOP was founded in 1993 to address the issues and challenges facing neighborhoods in Cleveland, Ohio. Formerly East Side Organizing Project, ESOP changed in name in 2007 to reflect its broadened focus toward the entire state. Its core goal is to preserve homeownership by preventing foreclosures and curbing predatory lending practices. Through community organizing, ESOP maintains campaigns concerning payday loans, vacant properties, and local development. ESOP also offers housing counseling, and can directly negotiate with lenders to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. In 2002, ESOP negotiated a 5-year Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) agreement with Charter One bank—the first CRA agreement between a bank and a community group in Cuyahoga County in over a decade.

Financial Literacy Coalition of Central Texas (Austin, TX)
www.flcct.org
The ultimate goal of the Financial Literacy Coalition of Central Texas (FLCCT) is to enhance community prosperity by providing Central Texans with the knowledge and skills to make well-informed financial decisions. Since 2001, FLCCT has educated over 2,500 Texans on budgeting, excessive spending, savings and investment, mortgaging a home, and paying for college. Their education classes are available for youth and adults, and are instructed by trained volunteers.

NYC Department of Consumer Affairs Office of Financial Empowerment (New York, NY)
www.nyc.gov/html/ofe/html/about/volunteer.shtml
The Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) is the first municipal office of its kind in the nation. Its mission is to educate, empower, and protect low income New Yorkers. OFE volunteers work in one of five major areas: VITA tax preparation, "Your Money Helpline" to provide advice over the phone, one-on-one counseling at Financial Empowerment Centers, outreach assistance and community events, and research assistance to administer surveys, conduct interviews, and manage data. Through guided tax preparation and its $ave NY program, OFE helped incentivize over $450,000 in savings for low-income New Yorkers from 2006 to 2009.

Prosperity Campaign (Miami, FL)
www.prosperitycampaign.org
The Prosperity Campaign is a major initiative of Florida's Human Services Coalition, a nonprofit that promotes equality and economic self-sufficiency. The Campaign provides a range of free financial services in order to connect low-wage South Floridians to quality health care and financial security. The Prosperity Campaign offers services such as free tax preparation, foreclosure assistance, and small business start-up support. The group estimates that its earned income tax credit outreach effort generated an additional $62 million in revenue in the first year.

Young Americans Center for Financial Education (Denver, CO)
www.yacenter.org
The Young Americans Center for Financial Education is the complement to a bank just for youth, the Young Americans Bank started in 1987. The Center offers resources and educational curriculum to endow children with the necessary skills to lead a life of financial security. Young Ameritown is the Center's educational program for 5th and 6th graders in Colorado. The curriculum first teaches students about basic economic supply and demand, democratic processes, banking, and career readiness, and then has students run a fictitious 17-business town. Young Americans Center for Financial Education serves 45,000 youth each year.

Your Money's Best Friend, Pennsylvania Office of Financial Education (Harrisburg, PA)
www.moneysbestfriend.com
The Pennsylvania Office of Financial Education was created in 2004 in increase the access to and quality of financial education in Pennsylvania schools and communities. The Office develops finance related lesson plans that teachers can incorporate in their existing curriculum, teaches employers how to provide personal finance tools to their employees, and connects community based organizations with counseling services. Educators have used such training and curriculum to impact over 400,000 Pennsylvania youth.