By Janet Byrd, Executive Director In 2006, the New York City Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) began to test a number of pretty radical concepts to “educate, empower, and protect individuals and families with low incomes.” This work was sparked by Mayor Bloomberg, financed in its early years by him personally, and by philanthropic and corporate […]
Asset Building
The Free, Easy-to-Use Toolkit for Financially Empowering Your Clients
Tackling money and credit problems is as much an emotional and psychological journey as it is a practical one. But it’s life altering when you take control of what has been out of control for so long. Transformation is at the heart of the Your Money Your Goals Toolkit designed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). […]
CFED Scorecard shines light on assets in Oregon
We know when more Oregonians with low incomes can save, build financial skills, own a home, get an education or start a small business our communities will grow and thrive. Asset building is a cornerstone for our economy and every year we get a scorecard on how Oregon is doing. The 2015 Assets & Opportunity […]
The simple secrets that can really change client behavior
How two Oregon nonprofit employees are taking the practical science of behavioral economics and making it work for them. By Matt Kinshella Let me tell you a story about how a tiny decision made by public officials has saved millions of lives in several European countries. And how understanding the science behind that change has helped two Oregonians bring […]
Oregon IDA Initiative releases latest evaluation report
The Oregon Individual Development Account (IDA) Initiative is pleased to release the latest evaluation of our efforts. The evaluation, conducted by Portland State University’s Regional Research Institute shows a continued track record of success and long term financial behavior changes by participants. Since 2008, over 1,775 individuals have successfully graduated from the Initiative and more […]
Join us to talk about asset building
Neighborhood Partnerships is convening a meeting on Thursday, October 31st to discuss what’s happening around asset building in Oregon. The meeting will include discussions of proposals coming forward to the 2014 and 2015 Legislative session, as well as discussions about what was passed in the 2013 session and is now being implemented. In addition, we […]
Oregon Legislature Considers how to Help Oregonians Save for Retirement
HB 3436, passed by the House of Representatives yesterday, June 24, proposes the creation of an Oregon Retirement Savings Investment Board. This Board would bring together key players to study the issue of retirement security and develop solutions. It would include representatives from the financial services industry, employers, the public, and the State Treasurer. The […]
Senator Merkley speaks at Oregon’s 2013 Asset Builders Conference
We were honored to have Senator Merkley speak to us at Building Oregon’s Future: 2013 Asset Builders Conference on Wednesday, April 24th. Sen. Merkley continues to be a champion of policies that strengthen pathways to the middle class for all our neighbors. He spoke about his own part in Oregon’s asset building history, beginning with […]
Creating Pathways to Opportunity
Today, the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) released their annual Assets & Opportunity Scorecard, which grades each of the fifty states on how well they are doing to create opportunity for their residents. Oregon received a “B” for its work, and this Scorecard reminds us that there is clearly more we can do to help […]
2013 Promises to be an Exciting Year for the Oregon IDA Initiative!
Neighborhood Partnerships is excited about the year ahead and our expanding opportunities to build household financial resilience through the Oregon Individual Development Account (IDA) Initiative. We wrapped up a successful year in 2012 by reaching our $10 million goal, thanks to the Oregon IDA 75% Tax Credit. We are grateful to the many individual and […]