opportunity and hope 25 years: putting dreams to work
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Opportunity and Hope25 years: Putting Dreams to Work
Statewide economic development organization25th year!501 © 3; founded in 1987Offices in Milwaukee, Madison, Racine and KenoshaLocal, Regional, National and International PartnershipsEmphasis: women, low-income individuals and minorities
Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC)
We assist men and women!
Services WWBIC Offers
Quality Business Education
Access to Fair Capital
Economic Self-Sufficiency
Business Assistance Start Smart Graduate
Disability and Poverty
• People with disabilities are more likely to be unemployed and live in poverty than any other single demographic group in the United States today
• In 2010, for individuals in between the ages of 18-64– 12.8% of people without disabilities had income
below the poverty level– 27.3% of people with disabilities had income
below the poverty levelSource: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 American Community Survey
Economic Empowerment-What is It?
• Economic Empowerment is a series of strategies designed to:
– help people with disabilities improve economic
stability– decrease stress and financial crisis in an individual’s
life– expand opportunities for community participation, and – positively impact an individual’s quality of life
experience.
The notion that employment is one goal NOT the only goal.(NDI, 2012)
Economic Empowerment-Why is It Important?
• For people with and without disabilities, saving money and developing assets produces choices that directly impact quality of life, especially regarding:
– mental and physical health
– positive self-concept and level of community participation
– expectations and status with other community stakeholders
(NDI, 2012)
5 Principles of Asset Development & Economic Empowerment
1. Self-determination/Self Direction2. Asset-Building3. Full Accessibility to Services and Supports4. Peer Support/Recovery5. Leverage available Infrastructure
Individual Development Accts(Traditional)
IDAs are matched savings accounts that enable low-income American families to save, build assets, and enter the financial mainstream.
IDAs reward the monthly savings of working families who are building towards purchasing an asset.
2:1 Match
Asset Building
Home ownership, education, business
Pilot Program
• Offered to people with disabilities
• Up to 8:1 matcho You save $500.00= $4,500.00
• Expanded asset goalso Automobile/Transportationo Pay down debt o Start a businesso Collegeo Assistive Technologyo Other
• In partnership with State of WI/UW-Stout
Money Management Series
• Make Your Money Talk, a Financial Education Series designed to educate, motivate, and assist you in creating a spending and savings plan.
• We Focused on:¤ Determine Need vs. Want¤ Consumer Rights and Responsibilities¤ Creating a Savings and Spending Plan
• Met monthly for 2 hrs
• One-on-One Counseling
Participant Reflections
Empowerment & Pride“It really brought me from nothing to something”
“My confidence has grown considerably”
“..it’s made me look at myself and my spending habits and my finances more closely, and realize that I’ve got more control over them than I might have thought”
Participant Reflections
Important for Youth
“I would try to make it available for high school kids. They should have this-then all their life they wouldn’t have to, you know, learn the hard way. I wish I knew this before I ever left high school.”
Participant Reflections
Need for better collaboration
“I learned more about what’s available-I had no idea that service was out there”
Initiatives in Wisconsin
• AEI, Alliance of Economic Inclusion, partnership with FDICo 2nd chance checking and savings accounts
• Wisconsin Saves o Social marketing campaign o www.wisconsin-saves.org
Initiatives in Wisconsin
• Money Smart Week 2013o April 20-27, 2013o www.moneysmartwi.org o Statewide!
• Money Conference o April, 2013o www.assetbuilders.orgo Statewide! o Madison, Milwaukee, Appleton, Racine/Kenosha, Shawno &
Wausau
Next Steps & Goals
Follow-Up on Participant Recommendations:– Improve asset development awareness with
disability “system partners”– Expand Enhanced IDA option in Wisconsin– Empower more people with disabilities to save
in traditional IDA accounts
Questions?
Amber Miller, MBA, MHEAProject Director
Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp.2745 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr.
Milwaukee, WI 53212Office: 414-263-5450
Email: [email protected]
Check us out at www.wwbic.com