Asset Building

This brief fact sheet outlines the importance of asset building for low income families and provides a few key statistics.

This is a comprehensive overview of various strategies local communities are using to increase assets and economic stability. Topics include access to financial education and counseling, income supports and tax credits, and the policies and systems change needed to successfully implement the strategies.

This Applied Research paper discusses asset building programs, including some of the benefits of asset ownership and the importance of such programs for domestic violence survivors. The lack of literature on asset building and domestic violence issues is highlighted, implying a need for further research.

In this podcast, Sheetal Rana of the Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse interviews Cynthia Sanders, author on the VAWnet Applied Research paper: Asset Building Programs for Domestic Violence Survivors. Dr. Sanders discusses the importance of asset building to domestic violence survivors, key themes from the research, and implications for new directions in policy, programs, and practice.

This toolkit includes ideas on how to integrate economic empowerment into your work with survivors of domestic violence through the use of a strengths-based model, an introduction to credit and the importance of credit as an asset, information about Matched Savings Accounts and Individual Development Accounts, and a resource guide to guide you as you start incorporating asset building strategies into your work.

This paper provides an overview of the importance of savings and asset accumulation for survivors, and details surveys of survivors participating in IDA programs.

This Applied Research paper reviews and critiques the existing literature on economic abuse experienced by domestic violence survivors and selected economic empowerment programs designed to address such abuse and its aftermath.

The WISP provides scholarship money to survivors of domestic violence interested in furthering their education, and to advocates working in domestic violence programs, to increase professional development (eligibility criteria apply). The site also has a comprehensive list of financial aid sources, on the Links page.

This is a summary of new research examining various types of economic capital (assets) and the connection to predicting whether individuals of low and moderate income attend and succeed in college.

This index details the number of microenterprises in the United States, and their geographical distribution. Also included is a comparison of traditionally owned versus 'underserved' microenterprises, and the impact of microenterprises on the U.S. economy.

This study highlights nine organizations and their work with disadvantaged women entrepreneurs between 2001-2004. Included are details about how the organizations were funded, the cost of services, and real outcomes for the women served.

This research brief provides a summary of a larger study examining the trends of post-secondary education saving among in American Indian communities.

This fact sheet provides statistics about immigrants in the United States, the relationship between race, gender and wealth, and a number of ways that immigrants build assets. The paper concludes with recommendations for federal policies.

As a result of regular meetings between community development organizations, disability service organizations, universities, and federal agencies, research was undertaken to understand asset accumulation for people with disabilities, and to leverage existing community development resources and adapt existing asset building programs to meet the needs of this group.

This study describes outcomes in the first large-scale CDA demonstration in the U. S. The research examines connections between savings outcomes and incentives in an asset-building program for children and highlights implications for CDA policy and design.

This paper reviews the relationship between assets and children's long-term educational attainment, and highlights Child Development Accounts (CDAs) as an important asset in this equation.

This summary report details the experience of over 1100 children in 12 states, working with the SEED program. Included is information on related state and federal policy, market development, and communications. The results of this research have implications for the design of a larger system of CDAs.