Real$ense Prosperity Campaign

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Realense Prosperity Campaign

• Strategies to Build Individual Assets IDAs,
  EITC, and CSA
• Jessie Ball duPont Fund Building Financial Assets
  Conference
• October 25 - 27, 2006

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• With more income people get by.
• With more assets people get ahead.
• Welfare Reform and Beyond 32
• Ray Boshara, Director
• Asset Building Program
• New America Foundation

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Every year in our country, millions of people
live in poverty who dont have to

• Millions of dollars in spending power are lost
  from
• Unclaimed Earned Income Tax Credit
• Paying for tax preparation
• Refund Anticipation Loans

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Earned Income Tax Credit

• Established in 1975
• Refundable
• Designated for people
• Who have earned income
• Whose total earnings fall below a certain point
• Who meet other criteria (investments, dependants)
• Can equal more than withheld from paycheck
• Can be claimed for three years back

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Earned Income Tax Credit

• Qualifying Parameters
• Family w/0 children earning
• Family w/1 child earning
• Family w/2 children earning

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Is Poverty an Issue in Your Community?
All statistics are from 2004 data
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Is Lost Spending Power for those in Poverty an
Issue in Your Community?
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Poverty leads to
Desperation
Crime
Dropouts

• Decrease in Stability
• Families
• Neighborhoods
• Schools
• Lower Level Workforce

Stability
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Conclusion

• Lack of individual assets is not just an
• individual problem
• its a community problem
• and it takes the whole community,
• working together, to fix it

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How can a community work together to change this
trend?

• Set up task force to improve economic efficiency
  of your community.
• Task force should include local leaders from
• Government
• Business
• IRS
• Funding organizations
• Non-profit organizations
• Education
• Faith-based community

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Task Force Outputs Should Include

• Research on what is already being done and best
  practices
• Ask IRS about
• Other prosperity efforts in your state
• Local data you can use for business cases
• Seek out local non-profitsespecially United Way
• United Way of America has national initiative to
  help
• local United Ways
• Develop systems to increase economic
  self-sufficiency
• Create paths to reach target audience
• Improve accessibility of products for target
  audience
• Raise public awareness
• Promote policy change
• Monitor, track, and replicate

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Task Force Outputs Should Include

• Agreement on
• The issues to be solved
• The scope of the effort
• Lead organization(s)
• Funding
• Messaging

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Then what?

• You get to work

• Set up a committee structure
• Recruit partner organizations
• Establish project partnerships
• Assign specific roles
• Establish project purposes
• For client
• For community
• Establish project benefits and goals
• Set up tracking and reporting structure
• Develop messaging and outreach methods

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Then What?

• Do the work and
• celebrate results

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• Realense Prosperity Campaign

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Realense a Community Coalition

• Lead
• Partners
• AARP Tax Aide Bank of America
  Baptist Health
• Catholic Charities
  City of Jacksonville
  Clear Channel Communications
• Consumer Credit Counseling CTI
  Marketing/NASEMBA
  Dept.t of Children Families
• Department of Health Emergency
  Services Homeless Coal.
  Emilie Pennington Design
• Family Counseling Services
  Florida Community College, Jax. FDIC
• Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
  Flowers Bakery Fresh Ministries
• Headstart Housing Partnership of
  Jax.
  Human Services Council (lead)
• Interdenominational Ministerial All.
  Internal Revenue Service
  Jacksonville Area
  Legal Aid
• Jacksonville Childrens Commission
  Jacksonville Housing Authority
  Jacksonville
  Reg. Chamber Commerce
• Jacksonville Transportation Authority
  Jacksonville University
  Jacksonville Urban
  League
• Jessie Ball duPont Fund LinkDat
  Computers Mayors Hispanic Amer. Adv.
  Board
• Mayors Office of Jacksonville
  Nemours
  NE Florida Community Action Agency
• Second Harvest Food Bank St.
  Vincents Hospital Social Security
  Administration
• SunTrust Bank The Florida Star
  The Hester Group
• The Salvation Army
  United Way of Northeast
  Florida United Way 2-1-1

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Realense Funding Organizations
United Way of St. Johns County
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Three Year Realense Coalition Results

• 6.5 Million Earned Income Tax Dollars
• 2.6 Million Child Tax Credit Dollars
• 1.2 Million Money saved on paid tax
  preparers
• .6 Million Matched money on IDAs
• 10.9 Million Direct spending power
  returned to our community
• 40 ROI per grant dollar spent

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Contact Information

• Kaye D. Schmitz, Executive Director
• Realense Prosperity Campaign
• 180 Pinehurst Pointe
• St. Augustine, FL 32092
• Phone [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• Cell 904-673-7249
• Email kayedschmitz_at_bellsouth.net
• Web Site www.jaxprosperity.org