Tuesday July 12th, I had the pleasure of attending an online webinar hosted by the National Equity Atlas aimed at creating awareness for a recently released update which added poverty and the working poor as new economic vitality indicators, essentially meaning these subjects can now be measured. National Equity Atlas is a comprehensive data tool developed by PolicyLink and the University of Southern California’s Program for Environmental and Regional Equity and provides extensive pools of data to be used by community leaders and policy makers in an attempt to create equal opportunities for the commonly disenfranchised such as low income individuals, people of color, and immigrants. In this way the National Equity Atlas hopes to help drive the change to make the economy more equitable, sustainable, and resilient.

The National Equity Atlas is an extremely useful tool for organizations like the Indiana A&O Network as it provides graphs and other images to better clarify poverty across America. For instance, the recent updates provides two entirely new indicators to their dataset allowing the measurement of poverty and the working poor. This data can then be broken down further by dividing it into several different levels, such as race/ethnicity, ancestry, age, poverty level, and more. Other methods of interacting with the data are looking at datasets for a specific city, state, and eventually country which can further be compared with other cities, states, and counties thereby providing state and local community organizations with even more relevant data to use at their disposal.

By using the National Equity Atlas to look at Indiana’s poverty trends, we are able to see that poverty has risen since 2000 for all races and ethnicities but that the Asian and Pacific Islander population has managed to remain relatively unscathed with only 36.92% of households living below 200% of the poverty level when compared with the percent of other races/ethnicities living below 200% of the poverty level such as Native Americans (45.48%), Blacks (55.68%), and Latinos (57.78%). However upon further investigation and distinguishing by ancestry, we see that 83.5% of Indiana’s Burmese population is living below 200% of the poverty level-the highest in the state. This is significant due to Indiana’s historical connection with Burmese refugees as a location for resettlement. Through this analysis we can see that although households are struggling with poverty across the board in quite frankly staggering numbers, the Burmese population has been hit especially hard and require particular attention.

We at the Indiana A&O Network are constantly working towards strengthening the financial knowledge of vulnerable Hoosiers statewide. Luckily, with tools like the National Equity Atlas, we are better positioned to advocate the necessity of asset building strategies to policy makers and consumers alike.

To learn more about the National Equity Atlas, please visit http://nationalequityatlas.org/.

The Indiana Assets & Opportunity Network, in partnership with Indiana Legal Services Inc. (ILS), invites you to attend a training on Your Money, Your Goals (YMYG), a financial empowerment toolkit. YMYG is a financial education tool developed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) containing extensive resources to provide consumers with impartial information about the financial marketplace and tools to help them make informed financial decisions.

The training is aimed at equipping legal service and social service staff with resources to help clients and consumers build financial capability and work through short-term and long-term financial issues; however, registration is open to all individuals attempting to bring financial empowerment to their communities. Trainees will leave with a certificate of completion and the resources needed to help clients set goals, choose financial products, and build skills in managing money, credit, and debt.

This training is free of charge and will be an interactive opportunity to learn from certified trainers from the social service and legal services sector on how best to incorporate financial planning tools into your everyday interactions.

Breakfast, lunch, and refreshments will be provided!

Your Money, Your Goals trainings will also be held at the following locations and dates. Please click these links to reach each event's registration page.

Evansville, IN      August 4            Click Here to Register

Indianapolis, IN  August 18          Click Here to Register

Crown Point, IN  August 23          Click Here to Register

Fort Wayne, IN    August 29          Click Here to Register

Indianapolis, IN  September 14     Click Here to Register

 

To view the Your Money, Your Goals toolkit for social services programs, please click here.

To view the Your Money, Your Goals toolkit for legal aid organizations, please click here.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Kelan at kfong@prosperityindiana.org

Hey there! If we haven’t met yet, then I am sure we will soon! My name is Kelan Fong, and I am a recent addition to Prosperity Indiana and the Indiana Assets & Opportunity Network (Indiana A&O Network) family as part of my year-long service through the AmeriCorps VISTA program. At the Indiana A&O Network, I hope to develop a much more personal connection with every partner, new and old alike. In doing so, I will hopefully further progress the Indiana A&O Network itself into a more thriving, social, and educational community in order to more efficiently  achieve our mutual goal of eliminating poverty through the process of asset-building. I will also be heavily involved with many of the asset-building trainings designed for social service providers and legal aid staff around the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Your Money, Your Goals financial empowerment toolkit.

Personally, I am a recent graduate from Butler University with a B.A. in Political Science and International Relations and have a passion for travelling. Recently I experienced a summer abroad in Guangzhou, China, and completed a summer internship working for a green NGO in Hong Kong, China. Domestically, I joined a number of longtime friends in bicycling around Lake Michigan earlier this month and currently have plans to visit Milwaukee and Denver this upcoming July. In addition, I enjoy reading during my spare time, especially when it’s with a novel from my favorite author and Indiana’s own, Kurt Vonnegut.

I am excited to continue learning about nonprofits through Prosperity Indiana and the Indiana A&O Network, which will hopefully provide me with the technical background and knowledge necessary to begin a fulfilling postgraduate career. Please visit http://www.indianaopportunity.net/governing-committee/ to learn more about my personal biography and the biography of other Indiana A&O Network Governing Committee members. Further, please feel free to contact me at kfong@prosperityindiana.org anytime if you have any questions regarding our Indiana A&O Network, Prosperity Indiana, AmeriCorps, travel, books, or life in general!

CONTACT: Kelsey Clayton, 317-454-8540 kclayton@prosperityindiana.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Prosperity Indiana is pleased to announce an award of $45,000 from The Indianapolis Foundation, a Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) affiliate, to support the Indiana Assets & Opportunity Network (Indiana A&O Network) in creating a Financial Capability Learning Cluster.

As a statewide coalition working to build assets for low-wealth Hoosiers, Indiana A&O Network has found that lack of access to financial planning resources is a major obstacle to achieving financial stability. Integrating financial capability – understood as knowledge + skills + access – into existing programs may be the best way to provide the recommended intervention.

The Indiana A&O Network will work with a single cohort of five Marion County nonprofit organizations for 15 months, beginning September 2016.  The purpose of the program is to integrate financial capability services within various programs to better support the well-being of low-and moderate-income clients. The selected organizations are Connected by 25, Families First, Dress for Success, EmployIndy, and Coburn Place.  Organizations that successfully integrate financial capability services into their programs will each receive a $5,000 grant to their organization to help offset the cost of their time and catalyze new thinking and ways of doing business.

Over the duration of the project-based Learning Cluster, the organizations will participate in facilitated workshops and peer learning activities. Each organization will convene a group of financial capability integration change-makers within their organization to design, implement, and coordinate services.  Their organizations will receive one-on-one technical assistance and support from the Indiana A&O Network to complete a series of implementation planning activities, ensuring their time in the Cluster leads to actionable changes in their programs. Ideally, the Cluster participant will each launch financial capability integration projects within their organizations’ programs that further the goal of helping families achieve financial security.

“Lack of financial education is the result of complex social problems that require commitment and input from many community partners to correct. As our community responds to the increasing need to have a more comprehensive approach to financial inclusion and economic opportunity, it is essential for community organizations to turn their program design toward a more integrated approach to service delivery,” said Kelsey Clayton, Indiana A&O Network manager. “The Network seeks to bring these partners together and carry out the positive change needed.”

To join the Indiana A&O Network, sign-up for Earn, Save, Invest, a monthly e-newsletter here; and for more information on initiatives, visit indianaopportunity.net.

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ABOUT THE INDIANA ASSETS & OPPORTUNITY NETWORK:

The Indiana Assets & Opportunity Network aims to increase asset acquisition for low-wealth Hoosiers and to strengthen local economies through policy advocacy and capacity building, in partnership with local organizations and coalitions. It is co-led by Prosperity Indiana, which is a member organization skilled at coalition building and connected to local Indiana communities, and the Indiana Institute for Working Families (IIWF), skilled in research, policy analysis, and advocacy. The Indiana A&O Network is the state lead for Washington D.C.-based Prosperity Now Assets and Opportunity Network.

ABOUT THE INDIANAPOLIS FOUNDATION:

Established in 1916, The Indianapolis Foundation was one of the first community trusts in America. The Foundation is a public charity and an affiliate of Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF), a collaborative effort between the community foundations serving Marion and Hamilton Counties.

ABOUT CENTRAL INDIANA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION:

Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) is a $700+ million public foundation transforming the lives of central Indiana residents in three ways: consulting donors, family foundations and their professional advisors on charitable giving; awarding grants to effective not-for-profit organizations; and providing leadership to seize opportunities and address community needs. CICF was established in 1997 as a partnership between The Indianapolis Foundation, serving Marion County since 1916, and Legacy Fund, serving Hamilton County since 1991.

Poverty rates in Marion County have increased by nearly 90% in the past decade. This is our opening discussion that frames the picture of poverty and sets the stage for our other three CTD shows in June, as part of WFYI's Chasing the Dream Coverage. Guests: Katharine Byers, former co-director of The Institute for Family and Social Responsibility at Indiana University; Kelsey Clayton, manager of the Indiana Assets and Opportunity Network.

Listen here.

Kelsey Clayton is interviewed on Bloomington Community Radio discussing proposed revisions to better regulate the payday loans industry.

Listen here.

Indiana advocates for low-income people say proposed federal rules aiming to tamp down on the payday loan industry would be a good first step at stopping the “debt trap.”

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s rule—released Thursday, though it is open for public comment through September—would force payday loan providers to determine if the borrower has the ability to repay short-term advances and debts. It would also restrict lenders from making repeated debits from delinquent borrowers’ bank accounts.

“This is a great first step about opening up a discussion about reasonable lending,” said Kelsey Clayton, manager of the Indiana Assets & Opportunity Network. “The CFPB should require payday lenders to do what other lenders do, which is to make loans that borrowers can afford to repay.”

Read full article.

For immediate release

Contact: Kelsey Clayton

317-454-8540, kclayton@prosperityindiana.org

Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) unveiled a proposal for a new national rule on payday lending that has the potential to save Indiana residents millions in fees if changes are made before the rule is finalized, said Kelsey Clayton, Manager of the Indiana Assets & Opportunity Network.

“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposed rule on payday lending is a good beginning, but there is still much work to be done to ensure this rule truly protects consumers from an industry who preys on vulnerable Hoosiers,” Clayton said.  “Fortunately, this is just the opening offer. Our community will be working hard over the next few months to help the CFPB understand the importance of closing loopholes in what is otherwise a well-thought out proposal. In doing so, they can shut the debt trap once and for all.”

Payday loans with interest rates that average more than 300 percent drain $70 million in fees annually from the pockets of Hoosiers who can least afford it, according to a report by the Center for Responsible Lending.

Advertising as a way to meet short-term financial needs, the actual business model of these loans is designed to trap borrowers in debt for years on end, extracting fees that quickly add up to far more than the amount borrowed.

The Indiana Assets & Opportunity Network and advocates around the state and country have been pushing for a rule that simply requires these lenders to do what any responsible lender does already – to determine whether a borrower is likely to be able to pay back the loan, without defaulting on basic necessities like rent and groceries, and without immediately taking out another loan.

While the CFPB rule does create such an affordability standard, the rule also allows for too many exemptions and leaves open too many loopholes for that standard to meaningfully reduce the harm of predatory lending.   A more detailed analysis of what works and what doesn’t about the CFPB’s proposal is available here: http://bit.ly/25CNL0H

The CFPB will be seeking comments from the public until September 14, 2016, after which they will review before making the rule final in 2017.  In the meantime, consumers are encouraged to comment and suggest changes to the final rule that will close loopholes and remove exemptions. Comments can be offered at www.stoppaydaypredators.org.

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On Indianapolis’ south side, there’s one corner with three payday lending locations.

That East Street corner isn’t the only one. In Marion County, there are 92 payday lending locations. That’s more than the number of Starbucks and McDonald's locations combined.

Hoosiers lose $70 million each year from high interest rates from payday loans.

Read full article.

For Immediate Release: April 29, 2016

Contact: Kelsey Clayton, Indiana Assets & Opportunity Network Manager, kclayton@prosperityindiana.org, 317-454-8540

Contact: Cheryl Koch-Martinez, Indiana Legal Services, Inc. Project Director, cheryl.koch-martinez@ilsi.net, 317 631-9410

Contact: David Mayorga, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 202-435-7170

Indianapolis, IN –The Indiana Assets & Opportunity Network (Network) and Indiana Legal Services, Inc. were accepted as members of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Your Money, Your Goals cohort. The cohort includes 20 partners who were selected to deliver financial empowerment toolkit trainings throughout 2016. The Your Money, Your Goals toolkit is a comprehensive and interactive guide designed for organizations that serve low-wealth consumers. It covers topics like budgeting for daily expenses, managing debt and avoiding common financial traps. Indiana organizations will be trained on versions of the toolkit designed for social service staff and legal aid organizations. The cohort will receive technical assistance from the CFPB.

Because financial coaching and counseling are essential to helping individuals reach financial goals, social service programs across the country are taking steps to integrate financial empowerment into their work with clients. The Indiana partnership will highlight best practices for frontline staff and clients to identify financial barriers and access resources and assistance to address legal obstacles encountered on the path toward self-sufficiency.

“The partnership between the Network and Indiana Legal Services, Inc. will lend a unique approach by bringing together human and legal aid service providers to create referral opportunities for successful client outcomes,” said Indiana Legal Services, Inc.’s Cheryl Koch-Martinez.

Participation in the cohort is an ideal avenue to help enhance knowledge about the importance of financial coaching, legal assistance, and access to other resources to achieve financial stability. Over 15 individuals will be trained in 2016 to facilitate Your Money, Your Goals workshops across Indiana.

“We are excited to see how participation in the cohort will change the way we serve low-wealth Hoosiers in a more holistic way, said Kelsey Clayton, Network Manager. “We will be arming service providers with tools to improve their clients’ financial futures.”

For more information about the CFPB’s Your Money, Your Goals visit: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/your-money-your-goals/

About Indiana Assets & Opportunity Network

The Indiana Assets & Opportunity Network is a statewide coalition working to build assets for low-wealth Hoosiers. It is co-led by Prosperity Indiana, which is a member organization skilled at coalition building and connected to local Indiana communities, and the Indiana Institute for Working Families (IIWF), skilled in research, policy analysis, and advocacy.

About Indiana Legal Services, Inc.

Indiana Legal Services, Inc., a not-for-profit law firm, provides free legal assistance on civil legal matters to low-income persons, seniors and victims of domestic violence in all 92 Indiana counties. ILS staff handle a variety of cases that often threaten an individual’s ability to obtain (or to retain) basic necessities relating to families, housing, employment, public benefits, health care and consumer law matters.