Family Economic Success: A Framework for Funder Action Helping - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Family Economic Success: A Framework for Funder Action Helping ping families lies mov ove e fro rom the he marg rgins ns into o the he ma mainstream stream

What is FES? F amily E conomic S uccess March 16-17, 2015  FES Focus: People, Place and Opportunity • Systematically examine the factors that influence family economic success Advancing Economic Success • Take a two-generation approach • Build communities that support families • Rely on principles that apply equally well in rural, urban and suburban areas – the difference is in how place affects 2 implementation strategies

FES Core Belief Children do well March 16-17, 2015 when their families do well. Advancing Economic Success Families do better when they live in supportive communities. 3

How Are Families Doing? Mos ost t famil ilies ies wor ork ha hard rd. . Many y stru rugg ggle le to o get ahe head. ad. March 16-17, 2015  Low wages • 57% of households earn less than the median living wage (for a family of four) Advancing Economic Success  Multiple jobs – if you can find them! • Many hold multiple jobs, do odd jobs or – especially in rural areas, but increasingly in urban – do self- provisioning to make ends meet • 55 million working- age adults didn’t work in 2013 4

How Are Families Doing? Mos ost t famil ilies ies wor ork ha hard rd. . Many y stru rugg ggle le to o get ahe head. ad. March 16-17, 2015  Environments vary • Some live in struggling communities Advancing Economic Success • Some struggle in thriving communities  Special obstacles in rural and low-income areas • Limited opportunities • Hard to find appropriate supports 5 • Easy to find predatory practices

How do community struggles affect family struggles? Many communities face tough transitions March 16-17, 2015  Old economic drivers have lost their engine  New economic drivers are slow to develop Advancing Economic Success  Economic gains increasingly bypass the middle class • The average income for non-supervisory, non-farm private employees has seen no real growth since 1965. 6

How do community struggles affect family struggles? Many communities face tough transitions March 16-17, 2015  Changing spatial realities • The world is flat – the market is global Advancing Economic Success • Virtual connections are required • Regional connections are critical – especially in rural America  Stressed communities (economically, socially) + stressed families => heightened vulnerability 7

How Are Kids Doing?  More than 22%, 16 million, of America's March 16-17, 2015 children lived in poverty in 2013 • Up 5 points since 2000  23% more lived in working poor families Advancing Economic Success (at 100-200% of poverty)  That means nearly half of all kids (32.3 million) live in families that struggle to get by, let alone get ahead. 8

What would Family Economic Success look like? Families getting by and getting ahead today Building strong financial futures for tomorrow Contributing to and buoyed by thriving communities

The FES Framework 13 Family-Focused Results Required to Advance Family Economic Success

What does it take to increase Family Economic Success? March 16-17, 2015  Ear Earn It n It – Increase earnings and income  Keep It eep It – Stabilize financial lives Advancing Economic Success  Gr Grow It w It – Acquire assets and build wealth in thriving communities 11

The whole is greater than the sum of the parts March 16-17, 2015  Quilted together Advancing Economic Success  Families at the center  Intentional, targeted & sustained 12

Earn It Make work work. Make work pay. Confident, predictable, sufficient earnings and income.

Earn It: Desired Results 1. Qualify for a job  Readiness to earn. Skills match jobs. March 16-17, 2015 2. Establish pipelines to a job – or to creating your own!  System and people links to available jobs. Advancing Economic Success 3. Land and keep a job  Work infrastructure: transportation, dependent care. 4. Advance in job quality and a career  Access to new skills and credentials 14  Ladders to better paying jobs  Jobs with benefits.

Some Earn-It It Examples Today  Qualify for a Job March 16-17, 2015 • CREATE CF’s Free Community College  Pipelines and Pathways • PACF’s Civic Leadership Fellows Advancing Economic Success • GNOF’s New Orleans Works  Child Care for workers • West Central Initiative’s regional child care effort  Business Start-Up, Retention, Transition, Expansion • CU’s Keep It Local 15

Keep It Lower “the high cost of being poor” Avoid “ money traps” Tap all available and earned benefits Financial stability Families get by and begin to get ahead

Keep It: Desired Results 1. Build financial capability and health  Set goals and budgets March 16-17, 2015  Reduce debt and repair credit. 2. Establish financial footings  Get banked. Advancing Economic Success  Avoid predators. 3. Protect income / Decrease costs  Make good purchasing choices.  Options are available for fairly priced goods. 4. Close the gap 17  Access all benefits and tax incentives.

Some Keep-It It Examples Today March 16-17, 2015  EITC Campaigns and VITA Sites • Barry County CF’s VITA site – and spin off • West Central Initiative’s regionwide EITC effort Advancing Economic Success  Getting Banked, Avoiding Predatory Loans and Improving Credit • United Way of Chittenden County’s Working Bridges: business collaborative to help employees 18

Grow It Help families help themselves Double Bottom Line for Communities and Families Families get ahead. Communities thrive.

Grow It: Desired Results 1. Build an emergency cushion  At least three months of standard family expenses March 16-17, 2015 2. Save regularly towards goals  Consistent and increased savings habit  Save for retirement Advancing Economic Success 3. Accumulate family assets  Purchase assets: homes, businesses, autos 4. Leverage toward future assets  Finance for entrepreneurship and family education 5. Increase value of family assets in the community  Maintain/improve homes and property 20  Participate in community!

Some Grow-It It Examples Today  Matched Savings Accounts March 16-17, 2015 • Barry County CF’s Children’s Savings Accounts • Arizona CF’s IDAs Advancing Economic Success  Affordable Workforce Housing • Rochester Area CF’s First Homes  Children’s Education • Boulder’s El Paso Program • Napa Valley CF One Napa Valley citizenship initiative 21

Two Big Obstacles for CF success with FES March 16-17, 2015  CF Readiness Advancing Economic Success  Siloed approaches: The way we have tended to organize and fund things! 22

CF Readiness  Understand your region’s primary economic March 16-17, 2015 drivers and trends  Understand the specific conditions and challenges of your targeted low-income families Advancing Economic Success  Understand what the community infrastructure “ system ” provides – and does not – in relation to those specific challenges  Have a clear commitment to flex and sustain your foundation tools to address the gaps 23

The Traditional “ Siloed ” Approach March 16-17, 2015  Build or fund separate and distinct programs to address each E-K-G challenge or need Advancing Economic Success  Fix what’s “broken” today (symptoms)…move from crisis to crisis…  Regard for the long-term, but little to address it 24

Instead Quilt It Stitch things together to help families thrive ! Wrap families in a “quilt” of supports so they move up and out of poverty – and build assets to keep from sliding back!

Quilt It Quilt It Quilt It: Desired Result Organize the pieces into a pattern  Use FES Goals to guide your planning! March 16-17, 2015 Stitch the pieces together  Break down program silos Advancing Economic Success  Create synergies between efforts – by addressing more than one E-K-G result with families at the same time Create a protective quilt to nurture families  Focus an array of supports on specific families  Sustain the supports until the family thrives 26

Quilt-It It Examples March 16-17, 2015 Listen to today’s stories for quilting examples – where does aprogram or initiative improve Advancing Economic Success more than one FES result for the target families at a time? And think about how one or two more FES “results” might be quilted in…. 27

Eight Philanthropic Strategies 1. Convene and educate about FES March 16-17, 2015 2. Benchmark FES Status 3. Examine systems / determine gaps Advancing Economic Success 4. Coordinate / support FES planning 5. Support the “Quilting” coordination 6. Fill specific gaps that “stitch” the quilt 7. Measure outcomes / adapt strategies 8. Identify and celebrate successes 28

… a few FES Resources  AECF – Lots of FES resources & materials aecf.org - search FES and RuFES March 16-17, 2015  RuFES – an FES Network and framework with a rural spin rufes.org Advancing Economic Success  CFED – Individual and Family asset development resources cfed.org  AssetPlatform – FES resources for service providers assetplatform.org  NCTC – EITC and tax help resources 29 www.tax-coalition.org