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Northwest Area Foundation Announces $2.25 Million in Grants to 'Bank the Unbanked,' Build Job Skills, and Improve Public Policy

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ST. PAUL, Minn. (Dec. 21, 2011) -  It may be hard to imagine that in an age of online banking the FDIC says one in four families don’t have the money  to open a bank account or tap basic financial services.[i] Northwest Area Foundation’s grant to the Mission Asset Fund is designed to ‘bank the unbanked’ by replicating an innovative peer lending program. It provides low-income families the chance to get a loan, build credit scores, and become full banking consumers. The Foundation’s $200,000 award to Mission Asset Fund is meant to provide an alternative to payday loans, predatory lending, and check cashing services with high fees that make it difficult to build wealth. It is among $2.25 million in grants the Foundation announced in the fourth quarter of 2011 to further strategies of increasing assets and wealth, building leadership and capacity, and improving public policy to reduce poverty.

“When families are struggling to get ahead, the last thing they need is excessive bank fees that rob them of their chance to build assets,” said Kevin Walker, president and CEO. “The grants we have made are aimed at making prosperity possible for low-income people by providing access to banking, financial education, job training, leadership development, and improved public policies.”

Grants to support financial education:

• CFED (Corporation for Enterprise Development) of Washington, D.C., received $500,000 over two years to strengthen the ability of asset- and wealth-building organizations that work with low-income families. Grant dollars will be used to foster collaboration in the Assets and Opportunity Network, a national movement of advocates, practitioners, policymakers, and others working to expand the reach and deepen the impact of asset-based strategies.
• Iowa Caregivers Association of Des Moines, Iowa, received $215,000 over two years to work with its national partner, PHI, to provide asset-building programs for low-income direct care workers.
• Build Wealth MN of Minneapolis, Minn., received $75,000 for a two-year financial education program that teaches families budgeting and savings, and matches them with basic financial products, services, programs, and affordable housing resources.

Grants to provide vocational training:

• Rural Learning Center of Howard, S.D., received $100,000 for the Green Jobs training project to prepare low- and moderate-income workers for careers as wind turbine installers and energy technicians in the emerging renewable energy industry.
• Spectrum Resource Program of Des Moines, Iowa, received $60,000 for the Phoenix Project, which provides entry level job training for ex-offenders ages 18 – 21.

The following grants further the Foundation’s strategy of engaging leadership and building organizational ability:

• Headwaters Foundations for Justice of Minneapolis, Minn., received $75,000 to engage leaders in the Twin Cities African American Leadership Forum.
• Urban League of Portland of Portland, Ore., received $36,267 to support efforts of the Portland African American Leadership Forum.
• Native Americans in Philanthropy of Minneapolis, Minn., received $150,000 to develop leadership and organizational ability through engagement and knowledge sharing that will help build vibrant Native American communities in urban, rural and tribal areas.
• TakeAction Minnesota Education Fund of St. Paul, Minn., received $50,000 for organizing community leaders who will advocate for policies that reduce poverty.

The Foundation made two grants to advance the work of the State Fiscal Analysis Initiative affiliates, which conduct rigorous, independent research and analysis on policies, particularly those that impact low- and moderate-income working families:

• Montana Budget and Policy Center of Helena, Mont., received $200,000.
• South Dakota Voices for Children of Sioux Falls, S.D., received $175,000 for the South Dakota Budget & Policy Project. The Foundation also made a grant of $25,000 to support two statewide coalitions that advocate for policies that promote asset-building among low-income families.

For a detailed list of Northwest Area Foundation’s fourth quarter grants, visit www.nwaf.org/content/fourthqgrants11.

The Northwest Area Foundation is dedicated to supporting efforts by people, organizations and communities to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable prosperity. The Foundation’s service region includes urban, rural and American Indian reservation communities in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. The Great Northern Railway, founded by James J. Hill, served these states. Hill’s son, Louis W. Hill, established the Foundation in 1934. For more information, please visit www.nwaf.org.        

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[i] FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households. January 2009. http://www.fdic.gov/householdsurvey/