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Community Development Events

RAISE Texas Summit 2016

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

Hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and RAISE Texas

There are still too many Texas families struggling to make ends meet, and they see savings as a luxury they cannot afford. Without savings, what financial options are available when families are faced with an emergency or want to try to plan for the future? To answer these questions, the 2016 RAISE Texas Summit showcased asset-building programs offered in schools, the workplace and across our communities to help more Texans build financial success.

Who attended: community development organizations, nonprofit service providers, government agencies, foundations and financial institutions

Funder Roundtable: Promising Models for Children’s Savings Accounts
Funders attended a special briefing and roundtable discussion May 11 hosted by the Asset Funders Network, RAISE Texas and the Dallas Fed. It highlighted the growth and replication of promising Children’s Savings Account models in different parts of Texas and across the U.S.

Agenda

Wednesday, May 11

Funder Roundtable

9:00 a.m.–noon

For funders only: Promising Models for Children’s Savings Accounts
Learn about the growth and replication of promising Children’s Savings Account models in Texas and several other states. Full agenda

Plenary Sessions

11:30 a.m.

Check-in and Networking

Noon

Lunch

12:20 p.m.

Welcome and Introductions

  • Roy C. Lopez, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
  • Woody Widrow, RAISE Texas

12:35 p.m.

Opening Address

  • Rob Kaplan, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
  • Moderated by Alfreda B. Norman, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

1:15 p.m.

Break

Breakout Sessions

1:30 p.m.

Intensive Workshops: Session 1

A Look at the Current Financial Coaching Field
Financial coaching is one proven method to help families achieve their financial goals. Many organizations have implemented financial coaching, but how are these programs developed to be successful and what challenges do they face? Experts provided a detailed overview of what is currently happening in the financial coaching field around the nation and in Texas.

  • Hallie Lienhardt, University of Wisconsin–Madison
    Presentation
  • Becca Fritze, WiNGS
  • Rushka Tcholakova, United Way of Greater Houston
  • Wende Burton, Communities Foundation of Texas
  • Moderated by Regina Salliey, Annie E. Casey Foundation

Get Involved in the Expansion of Small-Dollar Loan Alternatives
Advocates who want to promote a fair consumer credit market for low- and moderate-income Texans have had limited success at passing strong legislation at the state level. But despite the state-level setbacks, 31 cities across Texas have passed ordinances to reign in high-cost payday and auto title lending practices. Beyond these local actions, a growing movement of successful alternatives is reaching more Texans, allowing them to get the short-term funds needed at fair costs and terms. Now, we need to extend the reach of these alternative small-dollar loans to every part of the state. Panelists discussed how these loans can be offered in communities and what steps to take to get started.

3:00 p.m.

Break

3:15 p.m.

Intensive Workshops: Session 2

Financial Wellness Programs in the Workplace
There is a wealth of research and information demonstrating that financial stress can impact employee performance and reasons for employers to provide financial wellness and asset-building products and services to their employees. So why has it not grown on a larger scale across the state and country? What is stopping Texas organizations from utilizing the workplace as a platform to reach more low- and moderate-income workers? This workshop explored what types of financial wellness programs employers are willing to offer and highlighted some of the programs and services offered in Texas to help employees avoid financial stress.

  • Meredith Covington, Washington University in St. Louis
    Presentation
  • Angie Lingle, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
    Presentation
  • Paul Turney, Brazos Valley Affordable Housing Corporation
    Presentation
  • Raquel Valdez, BCL of Texas
    Presentation
  • Moderated by Lauren Gates, RAISE Texas

Expanding Children’s Savings Accounts for College in Texas
This workshop provided information about OpportunityTexas’ strategy to expand Children’s Savings Accounts for college in Texas and how organizations can get involved. Speakers provided an overview of the strategy and current activities to expand these accounts in Texas and advised on what it would take to launch a college savings initiative.

  • Amanda Stephens, First National Bank Texas and First Convenience Bank
  • Greg Mangum, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas
  • Laura Ewing, Texas Council on Economic Education
    Presentation
  • Laura Rosen, Center for Public Policy Priorities
    Presentation
  • Moderated by Debbie Taylor, Citi Community Development

Reception

5:00 p.m.

A Toast to 10 Years of RAISE Texas

  • Alfreda B. Norman, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
  • Woody Widrow, RAISE Texas

Thursday, May 12

Plenary Sessions

8:30 a.m.

Check-in and Continental Breakfast

9:00 a.m.

Welcome and Opening Remarks

  • Roy C. Lopez, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
  • Woody Widrow, RAISE Texas

9:30 a.m.

Expanding Children’s Savings Accounts for College in Texas
This session highlighted OpportunityTexas’ strategy to expand college savings in the state. Panelists shared outcomes of the Dollars for College savings pilots in Richardson and Pflugerville and discussed next steps for this work and how to get involved.

  • Greg Mangum, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas
  • Laura Ewing, Texas Council on Economic Education
  • Brittney Guthrie, A+ Federal Credit Union
  • Moderated by Laura Rosen,  Center for Public Policy Priorities

10:05 a.m.

Financial Wellness Programs in the Workplace
The workplace has become a popular platform for offering financial wellness programs to low- and moderate-income employees. Leaders in the asset-building field shared their experiences about several different employer-based programs in Texas.

  • Bill Langley, QAR Inc.
  • Rushka Tcholakova, United Way of Greater Houston
  • Tim Morstad, AARP Texas
  • Moderated by Lauren Gates, RAISE Texas

10:35 a.m.

Break

10:45 a.m.

Growing Alternatives to Payday Loans While Expanding Support for Small-Dollar Reform
How have the growth of alternative loan products and the expansion of market reform efforts helped provide relief for thousands of Texans in the last two years? Speakers were leaders in advancing product development.

  • Howard Porter, Texas Community Capital
  • Larry Garcia, NALCAB Board
  • Jennifer Carr Allmon, Texas Catholic Conference
  • Moderated by Ann Baddour, Texas Appleseed

11:20 a.m.

The Financial Coaching Field in Texas
Financial coaching has empowered many Texans to reach their personal financial goals through resources, mentorship and accountability. In this panel discussion, speakers described current initiatives in the state’s financial coaching field and how organizations can take steps to develop successful financial coaching programs.

  • Becca Fritze, WiNGS
  • Richard Simonds, Family Services of Greater Houston
  • Erika Leos, Foundation Communities
  • Moderated by Lauren Gates, RAISE Texas
Noon

Lunch Presentations

One Crisis Away
Local public broadcaster KERA presented an overview of its award-winning One Crisis Away initiative, exploring life on the financial edge, with a focus on recent chapters “At the Holidays” and “Rebuilding a Life.”

  • Presentation
  • Courtney Collins, KERA
  • Jeff Whittington, KERA
  • Introduction by Woody Widrow, RAISE Texas

 

Consumer Engagement
Many Texas organizations work hard each year to provide resources and services to help low- and moderate-income individuals and families reach financial stability. But how can we get more consumers to use the programs they need? The luncheon speaker discussed a new brief from the Asset Funders Network that introduces consumer engagement as an effective strategy to move consumers to access the tools and services that will help them build financial assets, skills and confidence.

  • Timothy Flacke, Doorways to Dreams (D2D) Fund
    Presentation
  • Introduction by Annika Little, Asset Funders Network

1:45 p.m.

Break

Breakout Sessions

2:00 p.m.

Group Discussions
Discussion of potential next steps and priorities to expand or implement financial capability activities in 2016–17.

Small-Dollar Loan Alternatives

  • Ann Baddour, Texas Appleseed

Children’s Savings Accounts

  • Laura Rosen, OpportunityTexas

Workplace

  • Tim Morstad, AARP Texas

Financial Coaching

  • Lauren Gates, RAISE Texas

Consumer Engagement

  • Timothy Flacke, Doorways to Dreams (D2D) Fund

3:00 p.m.

Adjourn