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Who We SupportFeatured Grants
Summer Camp Scholarships According to a recent study done by Johns Hopkins University, low income students lose 2.6 months of grade level equivalency in math and 3.0 months in reading during their summer recess from school. One of most recent initiatives supported by the Woman's Fund, the Summer Camp Scholarships are part of our continuing efforts to promote success in school, with the ultimate goal of higher high school graduation rates among girls in our community. This particular effort provided scholarships to low income, middle-school aged girls so they are able to attend various summer camps offered through Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart, Holy Angels Academy and Mount St. Mary's Academy. The expected outcome of the summer camp scholarship program is that the grantees will experience the advantages that a structured camp experience offers, such as strengthening academic skills, and providing athletic, social and cultural experiences that they would otherwise not receive.
CASH Coaches Coaches for Personalized Financial Education for Women Recently launched by the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County, CASH Coaches is a program that links families with a mentor to assist them in improving their financial management skills. Cash Coaches addresses specific financial concerns of high-need women through a personal, one-on-one approach. The coaches meet with their clients to identify three to five individual outcomes which are then tracked through the program. Examples of the individual outcomes range from opening a personal checking account and maintaining a household budget to learning to read, review and improve a credit report. This unique program will have a direct impact on up to 140 women in our community.
CASH (Creating Assets, Savings and Hope) Leveraging 2:1 Matched Individual Savings Accounts (IDAs) for Women Based on the success of the Asset Building Conference funded by the WNY Women's Fund in 2007, the Fund has committed $58,650 for women-owned Individual Development Accounts (IDAs). These funds are part of CASH's program that secured $148,000 in local funds to match $148,000 in federal funds for the establishment of IDA accounts in Western New York. Under the program, accounts are established by individual low-income women and their savings are matched 2:1 by these local and federal funds. The money in IDA accounts can be used to further a woman's education, buy a house or start a business. The IDA concept has been used successfully throughout the country. These programs grew out of the realization that income transfers, the primary mechanism of 40 years of welfare policy, had done much to ease the hardships of the poor but little to help the poor become more economically self-sufficient. As a result, several scholars introduced this alternative, asset-based strategy to promote both the accumulation of assets (including home and business ownership and post-secondary education), as well as a number of socially positive behaviors.
Free Tax Preparation Program In working with the Economic Self-Sufficiency Coalition, the WNY Women's Fund learned that in Erie County, low-income women and families are eligible for significant federal and state tax credits - real dollars that would flow back into our community - if they only knew how to access the funds.
The Fund addressed this need by helping to educate women in our community on the services provided by this program. With this help in 2006, the Free Tax Preparation Program received over a 160% increase in participation and secured $ 12 million in tax refunds and credits for thousands of low-income families. In 2007, 29% additional people received help in filing their income taxes and an estimated $ 14 million secured in tax refunds and tax credits for those with the greatest need.
According to those helped by the program: "As a single parent with child, I wasn't aware of these tax credits before now. Thank you! thank you! thank you!" "The program was of great help. A dollar saved is a dollar earned."
Asset Building Conference September 18-19, 2007 In response to issues identified by women in the Needs Assessment Surveys funded by the WNYWF, the Fund accelerated its support and sponsorship of a conference to explore strategies for helping low-income women and families acquire the assets needed to achieve self-sufficiency. The sold out conference: Understanding Asset Building: Strategies for Working Families and Individuals, was planned and hosted by C.A.S.H. (Creating Assets, Savings and Hope)* and featured national and local experts sharing programs that have been successfully employed in other communities.
Financial asset building is a relatively new approach to helping families achieve economic security. Drawing on a variety of innovative strategies, the goal of financial asset building is to increase opportunities to start a business, own a home or pursue further education. Many experts view asset building as a "Promising Practice" and the approach has proven effective in reducing the long-term impact of poverty in many localities.
The first day was primarily for policy makers, non-profit executive directors, financial institutions, and funders who attended several targeted sessions. The WNY Women's Fund hosted a special dinner for key decision makers at which Ray Boshara, Vice President and Director of the Asset Building Program at the New America Foundation, provided an outstanding explanation of the role played by asset acquisition in conquering poverty. More than 130 people attended the second day of the conference. Numerous workshopsfeatured programs by experts such as Inger Guiffrida, Director of The Asset Alliance, Anne Yeoman from Assets for Independence, and Ron Deutsch from MicroBiz New York, explaining the details of financial literacy programs, individual development accounts (IDAs) and related programs. An inspiring luncheon address by Lauren Breen, Esq. of SUNY/Buffalo School of Law and Chair of C.A.S.H. was also well attended.
This conference provided insight and excitement within the WNY Community around asset building. C.A.S.H. is actively pursuing follow-up projects and is beginning to pilot several financial asset building strategies. The WNYWF is closely monitoring these initiatives and looks forward to funding further programs that show promise for helping women acquire key assets for self-sufficiency.
* C.A.S.H. is a coalition of 60 area organizations and agencies, ably led by Diane Bessel and is an initiative of the United Way of Buffalo & Erie County.
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