Workshop Descriptions
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
10:00 AM Workshop Breakout 1
Money Circle Toolkit & Financial Skill Scale
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently launched their “Money Circle Toolkit” which provides financial educators with a set of interactive exercises to help their clients understand how family and friends influence money decisions, and stay on track for their goals.
Problem Solving for VITA Volunteer Managers
Do you lead, coordinate or manage income tax program volunteers for your organization? Join us in a safe space to exchange ideas and share experiences with other volunteer managers. We will discuss volunteer recruitment, volunteer engagement and how to best recognize and celebrate your volunteers. We will also leave time for discussion, problem-solving and networking.
Savings Strategies
It is clear from multiple data sources that Americans are struggling to save. This workshop will provide participants with concrete ideas on how to help clients build their savings from both an effective marketing approach and from a savings vehicle perspective. Participants will leave knowing when and how to distribute savings messages, the details and benefits of Maryland ABLE accounts and how to use the tax code to promote savings.
The Ins and Outs of Financial Coaching
Over the last decade, financial coaching has gained momentum with programs being offered by a variety of local, state and national organizations. To contribute to this growing field, Prosperity Now recently developed its Financial Coaching Program Design Guide designed to provide program leaders the tools and resources they need to select and establish a participant-centered and participant-driven financial coaching program. In addition to developing the Coaching Guide, Prosperity Now leads the Financial Coaching Network, a network of over 2,000 practitioners, to create intentional space for programs to discuss strategies, think critically about how to center racial equity, and expand partnerships and networks.
In this presentation, Prosperity Now will showcase its learnings and reflections from these two endeavors and support participants in thinking about the strengths and limitations of financial coaching and the role financial coaching can play in addressing racial economic inequalities.
11:30 AM Keynote Plenary
The Power of Presence
How do you connect with a child when you can’t always be there? How can you be a good parent, have a career and stay healthy when you don’t have a partner to pick up the slack? Joy Thomas Moore, author of “The Power of Presence” says the answer is “presence”. Specifically, seven different ways of being a force in a child’s life, ensuring that they feel your influence.
In the “Power of Presence”, Moore explores seven pillars of presence – heart, faith, mind, courage, financial freedom, values and connectedness – that all parents can use to positively influence their children. Using compelling stories from women who have been there and practical advice on everything from savings accounts to mindfulness, Ms. Moore will share her take on what it takes to raise great kids even in less than ideal circumstances. These skills apply not only to parenting but to all relationships. Learn tools for yourself and to pass them along to clients.
1:15 PM Workshop Breakout 2
#countmein: Making the Census Count
The Census is a critical process that affects us all. Census data is used to apportion representation among states, draw congressional and state legislative districts, school districts and voting precincts, enforce voting rights and civil rights legislation, and distribute federal dollars to states (including CSBG, Head Start, Weatherization and many more!). Community Action is playing a key role in making sure that every person is counted.
The session will showcase how Community Action and other social service entities can play a role in ensuring that Hard-to-Count people and communities are included in the Census, and offer concrete tools and training to help front-line staff maximize Census participation.
An Introduction to Fintech and How the Industry Functions
Financial technology, or fintech, is a concept that is receiving a growing amount of attention from the non-profit sector. Fintech companies are creating innovative financial products that aspire to make our financial lives more manageable. However, we continue to hear questions from non-profit service providers about how and whether fintech can serve the needs of low income people.
This session will investigate the historical and macroeconomic context within which fintech is operating, specifically that of how financial services are and are not serving low-income people, and what role fintech is filling as a result. In order to understand fintech, it’s motivations, and how it operates, we will investigate the different stakeholders involved from funders, to fintech companies, to non-profit fintech providers. Ultimately, we will ask – where is fintech aligned with social service goals and motivations?
Being Inclusive in your VITA Program and new NDI Research
Adults with disabilities are more likely than others to face significant economic stress. Limited incomes coupled with extra costs of managing a disability leave them financially vulnerable and in need of financial capability services. This session will use data and examples to describe the unique challenges facing this population and strategies for providing services.
Investing in Yourself
Many people believe the myth that they need thousands of dollars in order to begin investing. This workshop will debunk that myth and show participants the benefits of investing, the basics of investing, ways to start growing your wealth and how to help your clients learn the power of investing.
2:45 PM Workshop Breakout 3
Improving Financial Capability of Affordable Housing Resident
Prosperity Now has partnered with four housing organizations to provide technical assistance as they integrate financial capability into their housing programs with the goal of improving the financial well-being of their clients/residents and improving their overall housing stability.
This session will go in-depth on how to design a successful financial capability program for housing residents, and how to implement that program with consideration to client and stakeholder feedback. Included in the session will be a primer on racial wealth inequality. Insights will also be shared from a local Housing Commission on implementing their financial wellness program.
Inspiring Change through Racial Equity Data and Advocacy
While the economy has improved for some according to national indicators, diving deeper in data on the financial security of households across the DMV, especially households of color and low-income households, reveal that many of the individuals we serve are living in a state of financial vulnerability in uncertain economic times. Yet, despite these underlying struggles, leaders within these communities continue to rise to meet challenges head on through innovative policy solutions and advocacy.
In this presentation, we will share state-and local-level data from the 2019 Prosperity Now Scorecard to lay out a charge for the need to drive change and policy solutions, particularly solutions that directly address racial wealth equity in DC, Maryland and Virginia. Participants will learn how these data, policies and their own real lived experiences or those of the people they serve can come together through advocacy to inspire both action and change in our neighborhoods, in our cities and across our region. We will share practical advice and best practices for identifying policy solutions within a racial equity framework, finding and using case- making data, engaging in advocacy directly and how to share these learnings back home to create an ever-growing network of informed advocates.
Nuts & Bolts of Professional Financial Capability Certification: How to Decide What’s Right for Me?
Pursuing professional certification(s) is always valuable to have in our work with clients. This workshop will cover different certifications within the financial service and related industries and types of practices that are available to practitioners across discipline, and range from financial advising, financial planning, financial coaching, financial therapy, and financial social work.
We will delve into the nuts and bolts of each of these and how to decide what is best for your practice. The trainers – each of whom is certified in different areas within this space – will discuss the pros and cons, overlapping content, and frequent areas of confusion when deciding which one(s) to pursue.
Tax Time Allies and Alternative Tax Preparation Models
This session will highlight activities and successes of the Tax Time Allies campaign to promote free IRS-sponsored tax preparation options for low and moderate income taxpayers.
Are you curious and other service delivery models? Have you tried other models and have questions? Come hear from programs that have used different models. This session will have plenty of time to ask questions and have an open discussion to learn from each other.
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
9:00 AM Plenary
Exploring Strategies to Succeed in Nonprofit Collaboration and Coalition Building
Becoming a high-impact nonprofit is not just about building a great organization and then expanding it to reach more people. Rather, high-impact nonprofits work with and through organizations and individuals outside themselves to create more impact than they ever could have achieved alone.
In this session, practitioners will learn strategies nonprofit leaders are using to innovate and keep their organization’s doors open provided the competitive finding environment and political changes. Moderator will share the strategies that have been taken to merge with other organizations, steps to securing joint grants to launch comprehensive city-wide project ventures focus on financial stability, and will gain an understanding of how to build relationships with for- profit companies to generate income for the organization while also ensuring social good for clients.
10:30 AM Workshop Breakout 4
Bank On Programs Build Financial Capability
Bank On Coalitions are locally-led partnerships among local public officials; city, state and federal government agencies; financial institutions; and community organizations that work together to help improve the financial stability of unbanked and underbanked individuals and families in their communities.
This session will discuss the data showing how having a relationship with a financial institution will help improve a person’s financial stability. The impact of Bank On programs in the District of Columbia, Maryland and the City of Gaithersburg will be explored.
Dude, Where’s My Meeting?
Sometimes referred to as, “How to Keep Boomers and Millennials from Killing Each Other,” this workshop will explore what has shaped each generation from the Traditionalists through Generation Z, look at rapidly changing demographics, and offer practical advice for making the most of each generation’s strengths, by minimizing conflict and maximizing appreciation. The topic is especially relevant to working with volunteers, increasing their engagement and creating a harmonious cross-generation experience for all!
How to Infuse Storytelling into Learning Programs in order to Entertain, Engage and Inspire
Everyone enjoys a good story. A list of facts read from a screen can be extremely boring. While PowerPoint is very useful, is it the answer to every presentation? How can we enliven financial education and make it more effective? Why now follow Harvard University’s recommendation and place storytelling at the heart of our learning programs? Science reveals that the brain processes stories far differently than facts – unlike facts, simple stories have the power to engage, educate, motivate and inspire. This is significant for financial education practitioners because the psychology of budgeting is often the toughest part for the people that we serve.
Latest Updates on Credit
Access to safe and affordable credit products and the building of a healthy credit score are key components of financial well being. The leader in the credit field, Credit Builder’s Alliance, will discuss the latest updates, nuances and regulations surrounding how Credit is an Asset along with tips for practitioners to help clients build their credit.
1:00 PM Plenary
Positive Psychology
Goal setting and goal achievement are at the core of both disability and financial empowerment services. We often know what we need to do to achieve our goals but we struggle to make the necessary changes to our habits and behaviors. Positive psychology offers tested, validated strategies for employers, customers and organizations to build upon their strengths and past experience to move from striving to thriving. National Disability Institute is working to bring positive psychology from theory to practice to further our mission of building a better financial future for people with and without disabilities.
