Grassroots and Groundwork

2008 Break-Out Sessions

ACCESS Miami: Tackling Poverty Alleviation in a Major City
City of Miami
Miami, FL

ACCESS Miami, the second phase of Mayor Manny Diaz's original anti-poverty plan, is based on four cornerstones: access to benefits, access to capital, accumulating wealth and assets, and financial education. This comprehensive and coordinated city-driven strategy brings together the public, private and nonprofit sectors with local, state and federal funds and like-minded faith-based, community-based and private organizations.

Presenter:
William Porro, Special Projects Administrator

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Act to End Hunger: 40 Ways in 5 Years to Make a Difference
Oregon Hunger Relief Task Force
Portland, OR,

The Act to End Hunger is a comprehensive statewide plan to end hunger in Oregon by reducing poverty. Since 2004, the plan has made progress on 26 of 40 actions focused on family economic stability, community food security, federal food program expansion and emergency food services. The Act has inspired involvement from the governor, state legislature, state agencies, community-based organizations, media, foundations, schools, businesses and individuals.

Presenters:
Patti Whitney-Wise, Executive Director, Oregon Hunger Relief Task Force; Donalda Dodson, Executive Director, Oregon Child Development Coalition; Sharon Thornberry, Community Food Programs Advocate, Oregon Food Bank

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Advocating to Improve Wage Standards: Tools You Can Use
JOBS NOW Coalition
St. Paul, MN

JOBS NOW is the largest employment policy coalition of its kind in the United States. The coalition’s groundbreaking Job Gap research answers two questions: What is a family-supporting wage in Minnesota? How many jobs pay this kind of wage? The research was used in a successful campaign to raise the state’s minimum wage and brought about the creation of an innovative online financial planning tool: the Family Wage and Budget Calculator.

Presenters:
Kristine Jacobs, Executive Director; Kevin Ristau, Education Director

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Creating a Nationwide Self-Employment Program to Reduce Poverty
CFED
Washington, DC
AccountAbility Minnesota (AAM)
St. Paul, MN

The innovative use of tax code and "tax day" can dramatically scale up delivery of financial services and business literacy to millions of low-income startup businesses. AAM works to combat predatory lending and helps businesses receive federal tax credits. CFED’s Self-Employment Tax Initiative works with local, community-based nonprofits to develop new models for using the tax code and the annual tax preparation process as a way to provide financial assistance and advice during a startup’s early, precarious years.

Presenters:
Eugene Severens, Director, CFED Self Employment Tax Initiative; Bonnie Esposito, Executive Director, AccountAbility Minnesota; Eva Song Margolis, Financial Services Partnership Manager, AccountAbility Minnesota

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Community Health Workers Improve Access to Health Care: The Somali CHW Program
Minnesota International Health Volunteers
Minneapolis, MN

The Somali Community Health Workers (CHW) Program is a model of community-based health promotion that builds individual and community capacity. CHWs often come from the very communities they serve, quickly building trust and more effectively delivering services. This low-cost model promotes community self-sufficiency through health education, informal counseling, support and advocacy.

Presenters:
Diana DuBois, Executive Director; Andrea Leinberger-Jabari, Program Coordinator

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David vs. Goliath: Advocacy Strategies for Financial Justice
Community Reinvestment Association of North Carolina (CRA-NC)
Durham, NC

Today’s predatory lenders offering subprime mortgages, payday loans and refund anticipation loans use federal banking laws to avoid state regulation. CRA-NC’s fight against predatory mortgage lending in Durham led to changes in state law, testimony before Congress and protests at bank headquarters from Charlotte to New York. Their successful multiyear campaigns promote wealth-building strategies, such as financial literacy and community reinvestment, through storytelling, street theater, shareholder advocacy, regulatory and legal challenges, and television production and distribution.

Presenter:
Peter Skillern, Executive Director

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Early Learning: A Preventive Approach to Poverty Reduction
Partners for Prosperity
Blackfoot, ID

To take advantage of the strong connection between quality early-learning programs and poverty prevention, Partners for Prosperity created the On-Wheels Learning Mobile Preschool and the Learning Together Literacy Kits projects. These projects are complemented by passionate advocacy efforts for legislation to strengthen the early-learning system and reduce poverty.

Presenters:
Tom Putnam, Community Development Manager

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Enhancing Asset Development With Get Checking™
EFD|eFunds Corporation
Duluth, GA

Get Checking™ targets unbanked populations, providing them with skills and knowledge to successfully manage a deposit account. This proven model fosters personal self-sufficiency skills and community involvement. It guarantees graduates access to mainstream financial institutions, ending the cycle of high transaction and loan fees, providing a safe and trustworthy place to increase personal savings.

Presenters:
Chiquita Boarde, National Education Director, EFD|eFunds Corporation; Michael S. Gutter, Ph.D., Assistant Professor and Family Financial Management Specialist, University of Florida; Dr. Elizabeth Kiss, Extension State Specialist, Purdue University Extension; Eleanor Lewis, Get Checking Program Manager, LSS Financial Counseling Service

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Family Assets for Independence in Minnesota (FAIM): A Financial Fitness Model
Greater Twin Cities United Way
Minneapolis, MN

FAIM is a nationally recognized asset-building model for moving people out of poverty. The program is a unique partnership that provides centralized oversight and administration and works through collaborations with asset-building programs throughout the state. FAIM helps people build their financial knowledge, reduce debt, improve credit, prevent foreclosures, access tax credits and public benefits, and establish relationships with mainstream financial services.

Presenters:
Andrea Ferstan, Community Impact Manager, Greater Twin Cities United Way; Steve Nagle, Executive Director, West Central Community Action; Catherine Solheim, Ph.D., Dept. of Family Social Science, University of Minnesota

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From Poverty to Opportunity: Realizing Human Rights in Illinois
Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights
Chicago, IL

Individuals living in extreme poverty are often excluded from the opportunity to put a roof over their head, have food on their table or give their kids a chance at a bright future. The From Poverty to Opportunity campaign works to bring together a broad range of stakeholders to develop and advocate for a poverty eradication strategy anchored to human rights standards. By 2015, the campaign expects to cut Illinois’ extreme poverty in half.

Presenter:
Doug Schenkelberg, Associate Director of Policy

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Green Enterprise to Build Sustainable Regional Economies
Enterprise for Equity
Olympia, WA

Green enterprise is good for the environment and the economy, providing opportunities to integrate low-income entrepreneurs into existing regional economic clusters. In the South Puget Sound, Enterprise for Equity has developed collaborative partnerships to connect environmentally focused vendors with customers.

Presenter:
Lisa R. A. Smith, Executive Director

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Growing Native Assets
Four Bands Community Fund
Eagle Butte, SD

Four Bands invests in, grows and protects Native assets. By fostering entrepreneurship and financial literacy on the Cheyenne River Reservation, Four Bands encourages economic development and enhances the quality of life for all communities and residents of the Reservation. They offer direct service, create partnerships to leverage other organizations’ expertise and resources, and work to improve policies that impact poverty reduction.

Presenters:
Tanya Fiddler, Executive Director; Donita Fischer, Youth Program and Partnerships Coordinator

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Innovations in Youth Development Through Social Enterprise
Juma Ventures
San Francisco, CA

By integrating social enterprise employment and job training with financial literacy and life skills development, Juma Ventures empowers 15- to 18-year-old asset-poor urban youth to make a successful transition to postsecondary education and independence. Juma's program provides the foundation for youth to transcend challenging social and economic circumstances, fulfill their inherent potential and positively impact their communities. Juma's 2006 Social Impact Report revealed that 97 percent of participants are still working and/or are enrolled in academic or vocational training programs.

Presenter:
Rajasvini Bhansali, Program Director

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Introduction to Sector Workforce Development
Insight Center for Community Economic Development
Oakland, CA

Embraced by many states, local workforce investment boards and the U.S. Department of Labor, industry-focused strategies help sustain industries and improve worker wages, retention and economic security. Hundreds of sector initiatives are under way in more than 20 industries, and can be adapted for any community.

Presenters:
Susie J. Suafai, Program Director; Dexter Ligot-Gordon, Program Manager

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Lowering Urban Poverty Through the Tax System
Cuyahoga Employment & Family Services
Cleveland, OH

The Cuyahoga Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Coalition brings together governmental, private and nonprofit organizations to ensure that qualified families file for and receive the tax credits they are due. Outreach draws low-income working people to free preparation of income-tax returns and filing for their credits. Follow-on credit counseling, financial planning and other services boost recipients’ ability to develop assets and gain financial security.

Presenters:
Ellie I. Sullivan, P.I.O./Tax Project Manager, Cuyahoga Employment & Family Services; Jeanne Morton, Director of Community Training, Cleveland Housing Network; Ryan Terry, Director, Advanced Technologies, OneCommunity

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Merging Technology and Community Support to Help Latino Entrepreneurs Start and Grow Businesses
ACCION USA
Santa Monica, CA

Many communities want to reach out to support local Latino entrepreneurs, but they face financial and language barriers. ACCION USA’s pilot project, supported by the Northwest Area Foundation’s Rural Latino Capacity-Building Initiative, combines Internet-based lending and community partners to bring credit and financial literacy education to rural Latino entrepreneurs.

Presenters:
Maelle Fonteneau Harris, Loan Officer and Project Manager; Luz Gomez, Senior Director of Marketing

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Our Community Assessing Social Capital
University of Minnesota Extension
Roseau, MN

Communities with a strong foundation of trust between and among different individuals and groups are healthier and are more likely to take action to improve where they live. Our Community Assessing Social Capital is a process that engages community members and helps them identify ways they can strengthen bonding, bridging and linking networks.

Presenters (University of Minnesota Extension):
Jody Horntvedt, Educator and Extension Associate Professor in Leadership and Civic Engagement; Donna Rae Scheffert, Leadership Development Specialist and Extension Professor; Mary Laeger-Hagemeister, Educator and Extension Professor in Leadership and Civic Engagement

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Project REALITY!: From Public Assistance to Self-Sufficiency in 18 Months
Summit County Department of Job and Family Services
Akron, OH

Project REALITY! is an innovative demonstration program designed to move families from public assistance to self-sufficiency within 18 months by eliminating the red tape and inherent barriers of the welfare system. Families will develop the skills necessary for independence and self-sufficiency within a "real world" environment that emphasizes money management and personal responsibility.

Presenters:
Judith “Judy” Hendrick, Deputy Director of Training and Professional Development; Deniela Williams, Project Data Manager; Toree Stokes, CEO, Mustard Seed Development Center (HUD Certified Counseling Agency)

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The Promise and Practice of Children's Savings Accounts
Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency
Pontiac, MI

Saving for Education, Entrepreneurship and Downpayment (SEED) accounts are long-term savings and investment accounts established at birth. They are designed to build lifelong assets, teach financial management and promote economic independence. Funds for SEED accounts come from public and private sources and are intended to help finance education, start a small business or buy a home. The Oakland Livingston HSA is piloting this children’s savings program and legislation to support it.

Presenters:
Susan N. Mosqueda, Associate Director for Asset Development; Donald Jones, Director of Resource Development

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Turning the Tides: Communities Tap Into Strengths and Share Successes
Northwest Area Foundation
St. Paul, MN

The Northwest Area Foundation’s Great Strides Award program identifies communities who develop innovative ways to significantly reduce long-term poverty. Westhope, N.D., and Independence, Ore., 2007 winners, have created a better life for citizens, businesses and neighbors through great entrepreneurial spirit and hard work. These communities are models for positive change and local prosperity.

Presenters:
Karla Miller, Product Development Manager, Northwest Area Foundation; Margo Helgerson, Mayor of Westhope, ND; John McArdle, Mayor of Independence, OR; Shawn Irvine, Community Development Technician for Independence, OR; Lori Berenston, Owner, Deva Lifewear