Few people ever spend their way out of poverty. Those who escape permanently usually do so through saving and investing in personal assets to achieve long-term goals. United Way’s Individual Accounts Initiative (IDA) moves people from homelessness and poverty to being back on their feet—and staying there.
IDAs are incentive-based, market-oriented, and they encourage savings and
development of personal responsibility.
Those who qualify must be working and ready to save. They must
be willing to take four months of classes on managing finances. They
must commit to saving every month for a home, an education or to start
a small business.
They must be serious about making it on their own.
United Way currently has 36 account holders, 15 have graduated. A federal AFI grant, in partnership with the Workforce Development Council, will open the door this fall to 22 more families eligible for a 2:1 saving match for a micro-enterprise startup or education.