initiatives

Elizabeth Curtis
Tue, 04/01/2008

Boston Held Up as Example in Foreclosure Prevention

Work in our own community is cited by The New York Times

On March 30, The New York Times, published an article about steps Boston has taken to prevent foreclosures. Last weekend Mayor Menino organized a workshop with five different mortgage companies working to restructure loans for families imminently facing foreclosure. Participants said that the face-to-face
meetings with mortgage companies were helpful in making them feel at ease and sure that they wanted to help.

One organization participating in the session was United Way affiliate, Urban Edge. Check out Kory's post from a few weeks ago where he interviewed Bob Credle from Urban Edge who was also mentioned in the Times article. Organizations like Urban Edge, and the effort from the City are having a meaningful impact on individual families' lives.

Donna Stiglmeier
Wed, 12/05/2007

Building Wealth in Lower-Income Communities

Tools so hardworking people can climb out of poverty

On Monday, December 3rd, I presented on a panel at “Working Together to Build Wealth in Lower-Income Communities” held at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and sponsored by Massachusetts Community and Banking Council. Wealth and Poverty, Products and Services for people who are low-income, Financial Education Program Models, and Increasing Collaboration were all explored via panel presentations and Q & A.  read more »

Donna Stiglmeier
Mon, 01/14/2008

Building Wealth in Lower-Income Communities: Follow-Up

Great examples of families, organizations, and communities at work!

In December, some great examples of how organizations are assiting families and communities to build wealth were presented at a Strategies Forum called, "Working Together to Build Wealth in Lower-Income Communities." (See previous blog) I wanted to highlight just a few of many insightful presentations...  read more »

Donna Stiglmeier
Thu, 03/13/2008

Economic (In)Security: Report Released

The Experience of the African-American and Latino Middle Classes

 I wanted to post about a couple of segments that caught my attention from the recent report "Economic (In)Security: The Experience of the African-American Latino Middle Class." The report says:

"African-American and Latino families are less likely to be part of the middle class, and those who have entered the middle class experience significantly less economic security.  This stark reality is dramatically out of sync with where we as a nation need to go in the future."

"Past investments to build a middle class have not benefited African Americans and Latinos to the same extent that they have benefited whites." 

(Click the post title to read more)  read more »

Carly Moskowitz
Thu, 01/03/2008

Housing First, and then what?

Uprooting homelessness in our region

Yesterday I read an article (Amid Growth, No Place to Go) regarding the increase of homelessness in Plymouth. It discussed both the response of local merchants in the Plymouth downtown area, as well as those struggling on the streets. Business owners–and this is not strictly the sentiments of those in Plymouth–feel that customers are less likely to spend money at a store where a homeless person is hanging around the outside. They cite safety issues as their greatest concern including general vagrancy and drunkenness.  read more »

Donna Stiglmeier
Thu, 04/24/2008

Teachable Moments

Financial Moments

April is Financial Education Month…so in this spirit…

On Monday, a Financial Education Summit took place in Chicago (see video-on-demand of the hour long summit ) focusing on “Millennials” or Generation Y, and more specifically, young adults in college…graduating with an average debt of $23,000! Including a college student, the business owner who inspired the movie “Pursuit of Happyness”, and heads of government, higher education, financial services, and national not-for profit entities, the panel conveyed many messages (not shared by all panelists): Some are...  read more »

Donna Stiglmeier
Fri, 02/15/2008

The Economy on the Presidents' Weekend - Past and Future

Meeting the Challenges

I, for one, am grateful for the “economy-focused” message that is being prioritized in the Presidential Campaign and its coverage right now. No matter where you stand politically, economics impacts all…from an individual’s or household’s budget to global shifts in the trade of goods and labor. (See here, here, and here).  However, economic downturns rest disproportionately on the most vulnerable among us....  read more »

Donna Stiglmeier
Wed, 05/21/2008

The Income Outcome

The Common Good: Promoting Financial Stability

In response to my colleague, Meghan's post "what gets measured, gets done"  and the interview that she linked us to, I thought about my benefit bike ride last summer (it is Springtime!).  In training, I needed to "measure" miles per ride, rides per week, etc., so I could "get done" the benefit ride - my goal.  Some people might relate to measuring calories, carbs, fat, sugar, and/or protein for the goal of good health...or measuring progress toward writing a research paper in school...narrowing focus, doing research, connecting with experts and practitioners, then, writing the paper and have someone else review it before the due date - so eventually, you can pass the class, receive the degree, and get a decent job...  read more »

Syndicate content