Savings and Asset-Building Grants

With support from the Ford Foundation, The Insight Center awarded grants for research to inform the savings and asset-building field by incorporating the knowledge, perspectives, and experience of experts of color. This community includes scholars, policy-makers, practitioners, and others. The following grantees for the 2006-2007 period were selected by a committee of reviewers because of their ability to carry out innovative and valuable research and practice that will positively impact the asset field:

  • Buder Center for American Indian Studies at Washington University was granted $100,000 to support “Dialogues on Assets in Native Communities: Recording a Native Perspective on the Definition and Benefits of Retaining and Building Assets.” This project offers Native communities the opportunity to share definitions of financial assets, prioritize assets, and strategize ways to build assets while building the capacity of these communities for conducting research.
  • Korean Churches for Community Development was granted $78,080 to support “Planning for the Golden Years!” This project will assess retirement planning patterns and barriers for intergenerational Korean Americans, and develop a report based on the findings to design a culturally and linguistically appropriate asset-building program and policy.
  • New Economics for Women was granted $50,000 to support the “Immigrant Asset Initiative.” This pilot program will conduct survey research and focus groups to explore the impact of legal status on immigrant assets.
  • PolicyLink was granted $100,000 to support “Developing Winning Strategies to Bridge the Asset Gap for Low-Income Working Families in the Philadelphia Region.” This project aims to bridge the racial wealth gap in Greater Philadelphia by increasing the ability of low-income individuals to own homes in opportunity-rich neighborhoods by advancing employer-assisted housing policies and practices.
  • Professor Ngina Chiteji of Skidmore College was granted $39,579 to support “Black but Not in the Black.” The project will analyze data to examine borrowing patterns among African Americans and the effect that their borrowing behavior has on their ability to accumulate wealth.
  • The Department of Community Initiatives of the City of San Antonio was granted $32,341 to support “KEYS to Asset-Building.” This program will assist low-income people of color in refinancing subprime and predatory interest rate automobile loans and in using freed-up household disposable income for building assets. It will also document and share lessons learned and create a plan to secure sustainable funding.
  • Women’s Initiative for Self Employment was granted $50,000 to support “Microenterprise as an Asset-Building Strategy for Low-Income Women of Color.” The project aims to deepen research on microenterprise as an asset and identify best practices for promoting asset development among low-income women of color through microenterprise.

Please click here to review a report which summarizes the key findings of this research.