Community Impact Focus Area: Financial Stability
Goal: Empowering families with the knowledge and tools to become financially stable
As the saying goes, "Sometimes, there's too much month left at the end of the money." And for far too many Central Texas, this is the reality: work hard, make a little money, pay for the bare minimums, then do it all again with the next paycheck.
The result? Almost half of us are living in poverty or teetering precariously on the brink of it. In fact, 40% of Central Texas families live below the Family Budget Estimator (FBE)---the real and basic costs of living in our region.
The United Way Strategy
When it comes to making families financially safe, we are focused on employment, housing, and financial management initiatives. By doing so, we hope to help families make more money and increase their assets.
| Maximize & Increase Income Strategies | Build Saving & Assets Strategies | |
| Employment | Workforce Development/Training Literacy/Adult Basic Education English As a Second Language | Higher Education Small Business Development |
| Housing | Transitional or Rental Housing Emergency Financial Assistance | Home Ownership |
| Financial Management | Earned Income Tax Credit Banking the Unbanked Access to public benefits Financial Education | Credit repair and debt reduction Matched savings products/IDAs |
Defining Success
We're committed to measuring the success of our efforts. If something works, we pursue it. If something doesn't, we change it or find a new approach. It's really that simple. And here are some examples of how we'll gauge our overall success…
- Significant increase in the number of individuals employed at wages above the "Family Budget Estimator"
- Greater percentage of individuals and families living in safe, affordable housing
- Larger percentage of individuals and families effectively managing their resources/incomes
- Increased number of institutions that provide services that support the financial needs of low-income and low-asset families
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