Reinvest in your future through the IDA program
For months now Making Connections with the City of San Antonio as the front line, has been promoting the Individual Development Account Program. Today we tell you in urgency you may miss out on this great opportunity if you don’t sign up by May 3rd.
This is a savings account that can be used toward a down payment on a home, tuition money, or used to expand small business. You save one dollar and the city will match it with four dollars. You save $1,000 and it will be matched with $4,000. It’s easy money, but as of May 3rd the funds that have been given specifically for just Edgewood Residents will be taken away. The IDA program only asks that you live within the Edgewood area and have an earned income, whether it is full-time or part-time. The program does not affect any public assistance being received such as welfare, child support, WIC, etc. It is a win-win situation. Take it from Nadia Bernal, 29 years-old, who owns a small table and chairs renting business based out of her home called “La Fortuna.” Mrs. Bernal applied for the small business IDA program about six months ago and is happy to say she is about to pull out her money from the savings and expand her business. “I began my business about 8 months before I found out about the IDA program and started by renting to neighbors and friends and little by little it was growing but I couldn’t expand because I didn’t have the sufficient funds,” said Nadia. Nadia and her family will very soon be pulling out there money and were able to save $1,000, so they will have $5,000 to reinvest into their business. They plan on purchasing more tables, chairs, a moonwalk, snow cone machine and other equipment, and she also plans to find somewhere within the community where she can run her business outside of her home. She shared, “The program is really great and hopefully all families can take advantage of it, it’s something easy that can help you grow economically and to help your family live a better life.” It’s just as Ron Morales, CHAPSS (Children are Healthy and Prepared to Succeed in School) Coordinator and Community Liaison said “children do well when families do well, and families do well when they live in supportive communities.”
Located at the Neighborhood Place at 3014 Rivas Street, know that Making Connections is here to support you. Take advantage of this great opportunity and know that it may be hard to save that one dollar or even $1,000, but in the end you will see four times more that amount and be on your way to a new home, better education, or an expansion of your long time small business. To apply you can call Julissa Mendoza, Community Service Specialist with the IDA at (210) 431-7505 or email her at Julissa.Mendoza@sanantonio.gov.
Family Assets
The future of our community depends on our families creating, protecting, and growing wealth. Not only is homeownership part of the American dream, but it also builds equity for families. A well-managed savings account helps families plan for future expenses such as college or medical bills. And using credit cards wisely can lead to a difference of thousands of dollars for families when purchasing an automobile, a home, or taking out a loan.
Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of San Antonio and City of San Antonio, Department of Community Initiatives lead our Asset Development and Protection efforts. In addition to coordinating the Asset Development and Protection Strategy, the Partners offer a blend of services, support and opportunities. Input and guidance from those being served have influenced program development and implementation. The community provides input and development for each program and services are periodically adapted to meet the changing needs of families and the neighborhood. Families are able to build their own capacity to solve problems, address community issues, and foster a connected community.
Making Connections-San Antonio (MC-SA) Assets Results Area is established to support the overarching goal of ensuring that Edgewood Independent School District (EISD) third grade reading is at the commended level. Asst Development, in support of all CHAPSS efforts, seeks to provide opportunities for residents of the Edgewood Independent School District (EISD) to create and protect wealth. The two primary strategies for Asset Development include increasing savings for EISD residents and protecting wealth. These strategies are focused on for creating wealth among families of EISD.
MC-SA primary strategies for Asset Development are savings and protection of wealth for EISD families. MC-SA identified four factors restricting residents’ ability to save and plan for the future: 1) high cost of living for low income households, 2) the necessity for knowledge and skills financial planning, 3) education and utilization of bank products and low cost financial services, and 4) housing insecurity either through home foreclosure or rental mobility.
Our strategies directly address these factors by stabilizing families, increasing financial education, promoting and providing access to bank products and low cost financial services, and supporting resident security by predatory lending prevention and housing and rental security. These strategies are complimentary to the efforts of the newly created COSA-DCI Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) and the Alamo Community Coalition for Economic Self-Sufficiency (ACCESS, previously known as the VITA Coalition) Coalition to produce maximum impact for families in the MC-SA area.
Asset strategies for 2010 include:
- Stabilize families through provision of emergency services connected to CWF
- Provide income support through Earned Income Tax Credit and VITA
MC-SA promotes free tax preparation through the Volunteers in Tax Assistance (VITA) Campaign, conducted every year at more than half a dozen locations throughout the West Side. For more information visit www.vitasa.org
- Promote financial planning through financial education and financial coaching
- Promote utilization of bank products and other low cost financial services
- Establish a car ownership program
- Ensure asset protection by promoting protection products and services
- Align MC-SA Results Table work with established strategies of the newly created Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) within COSA-DCI and the ACCESS steering committee to maximize efforts.
Assets Partners:
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