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Organization: Montana Credit Unions for Community Development (MCUCD)
Focus of activity - Education
Year the initiative began - 2002
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
Description of Initiative - What is the main focus (products, services, etc.) of your initiative and how does it contribute to ending or preventing domestic violence? What principal aspect of domestic violence are you addressing? What activities does it involve for your organization? Who are your primary beneficiaries and target groups? BSAFE,”Building Security through Assets and Financial Education,” is an Individual Development Account (IDA) program located in Missoula, Montana. An IDA is a savings account that helps low-income people purchase assets by matching deposits with community contributions. The volunteer Advisory Council helps low-income survivors of domestic violence gain economic self-sufficiency through financial education and asset attainment. Financial education helps survivors to purchase assets that supply additional sources of income, which increase survivors’ capacity to provide safety and stability for themselves and their families. BSAFE allows participants to save for a home or vehicle, home improvement or vehicle repair, higher education or training expenses, and small business start-up or expansion. BSAFE is committed to ending the cycle of poverty and abuse by empowering survivors of domestic violence with sustainable, financial tools.
BSAFE participants save up to $2,000 within three years, attend a series of financial education class, and an asset-specific workshop. The participant is expected to deposit at least $20 every month to reach the amount needed to purchase her asset goal. BSAFE matches the deposit at a rate of $3 for every $1 deposited by the participant. This means that a $20 deposit would be matched by a contribution of $60 from BSAFE funds for a total of $80 in that month. The BSAFE participant completes the program with financial education and $8,000 dollars for an asset. MCUCD serves as the facilitator for the Council and connects credit unions’ services in Missoula to BSAFE participants. MCUCD, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is the catalyst to improve the social and economic well-being of Montana consumers through Montana’s Credit Unions that. As the charitable arm of the 65-year old Montana Credit Union League, MCUCD is the sole statewide organization that provides resources and support to credit unions that serve Montanans of modest means. Innovation - Demonstrate how your approach differs from other programs in the field? Which specific components of your initiative are particularly effective, novel, or unique (e.g., the products and services, the technology used, the delivery, or financing mechanism)? In Montana, 13% of domestic violence victims return to their abuser due to financial instability. Economic abuse can leave women helpless, with no foundation for self-sufficiency and ultimately no secure or safe way to leave an abusive relationship. Victims of this type of abuse are especially likely to be economically dependent on their partner, and thus remain in abusive relationships. For example, many battered women do not have ready access to cash, checking accounts, or charge accounts: 27% of battered women have no access to cash, 34% have no access to a checking account, 51% have no access to a charge account, and 22% have no access to a car. One-third of survivors were prohibited from working. Economic abuse disrupts financial independence over a number of generations because victims and their families cannot cultivate assets over a long period of time. Poverty, a lack of financial education, and financial dependence are cyclical: each factor feeds the others. Financial education and asset-development opportunities are two solutions to this problem.
Survivors face common problems due to economic abuse, yet each face different barriers to resolving their financial instability. Since economic abuse destroys stability, there are no financial solutions to survivors’ specific needs. BSAFE provides the tools and jumpstart needed to financially empower survivors of domestic violence. The BSAFE Program will not only award the matched funds to survivors to purchase assets, but also give the tools to cultivate assets over a long period of time. Assets offer additional income to survivors that can help rebuild careers, act as a safety-net or even provide the seed money for deposit on tuition. Depositing in a matched savings account allows survivors to learn how to make long-term financial plans. Financial education and IDAs provide the skills and guidance that participants need to plan for enduring stability. Delivery Model - How does your initiative reach its target populations? What communications mechanism(s) do you have in place? How do you measure their impact? The Missoula BSAFE Program relies heavily on the community outreach and fundraising efforts of the Advisory Council members to attract new applicants and donors. Professionally, all Advisory Council members work with the BSAFE target population. Publications, fundraising and promotional materials are distributed by the Advisory Council to explain the BSAFE Program to both financial contributors and potential applicants. In addition, the BSAFE website explains program requirements, expectations and policies: http://www.mtbsafe.org. The Missoula BSAFE Program and Program Coordinator will contact the Missoula community media outlets to advertise the program once the Program has adequate funds to support participants.
The Advisory Council defined objectives for the BSAFE Program to accomplish within the next two years. By July of 2007, the Advisory Council has the goal of establishing financial education workshops open to the community as well as build relationships between pre-existing financial educators in Missoula, Montana. The Council will also elect an Advisory Council member as the Community Coordinator and incorporate an AmeriCorps*VISTA as Program Coordinator to join BSAFE. By July 2007, the Council aims to raise at least $12,000 to support two program participants. By July of 2009, the BSAFE Program aims to have funds for ten participants and periodic financial education workshops. To ensure the BSAFE Program’s sustainability and success in Missoula, both the Advisory Council’s performance and participants’ performances are evaluated throughout the BSAFE program process. The Program Coordinator, Advisory Council and financial education instructors are evaluated in written and verbal quarterly reporting sessions with each participant every three months. In addition, program participants will be required to take pre- and post-financial education tests to evaluate their level of experience and literacy. Key Operational Partnerships - What key partnerships have you established to make your model possible or more efficient? Who are your partners (business, social, government, other) and what are their roles? How central are these partnerships for your initiative. While the BSAFE Program is new in Missoula, BSAFE is also a successful initiative in Helena, Montana. In July 2006, an AmeriCorps VISTA sponsored by MCUCD, Missoula’s credit unions and Montana Legal Services Association formed an Advisory Council in Missoula with 13 community partners. Consumer Credit Counseling, Gateway Community Federal Credit Union, Montana Educators’ Credit Union, Missoula Federal Credit Union, Montana First Credit Union, Missoula Job Service and Workforce Center, YWCA and a former survivor of domestic violence joined the Missoula Advisory Council. The members of the Advisory Council bring a diverse array of resources and expertise in the areas of asset development, financial education, and domestic violence to BSAFE and its participants. Advisory Council members provide counseling, financial education, and guidance to each BSAFE participant.
After conducting a community assessment, the Advisory Council created the program design, policies, and procedures needed to aid Missoula’s domestic violence survivors attain financial self-sufficiency. The Missoula BSAFE Program replicated the mission and framework of the Helena program, but also designed the match structure, eligibility, and asset opportunities specifically for Missoula’s community needs. The Missoula BSAFE Program will also replicate the Helena program’s method in sharing resources and clients with pre-existing organizations and services dedicated to financial education. Financial Model - Which mechanisms do you have in place to ensure that your beneficiaries can afford your products or services? Do you have financial schemes or arrangements for low-income and marginalized populations? BSAFE triples participants’ savings and empower participants with the skills necessary to own a productive asset in IDAs. An IDA is a savings account that helps low-income individuals purchase assets. IDA participants make monthly deposits to establish a savings pattern. Participants’ deposits are matched – dollar for dollar – by contributions fundraised within the community. Asset-development strategies help low-income Montanans how to improve their financial situations through concrete practice. Each asset is an opportunity to break the cycle of poverty. BSAFE IDA accounts earn interest and have no operating fees attached. The BSAFE IDA accounts are free to participants.
Service providers and financial institutions are challenged by Montana’s expansive rural counties in providing assistance to low-income Montanans. To effectively help survivors of domestic violence, accommodations must be made per community needs to deliver accurate services. For example, Missoula’s survivors cannot afford to buy a home due to high property rates and low-wage jobs. In this case, the Missoula Advisory Council increased the match dollars (3:1) for the participants to help participants realistically achieve their saving goal. In the Helena BSAFE, homes are much more affordable and the BSAFE savings match is lower – 2:1.The ability to make the program more accessible or flexible to domestic violence survivors enables BSAFE to better serve survivors. In addition to depositing regularly, participants attend a basic financial education course. Participants also attend an asset-specific workshop, such as a homebuyers’ class, that will give the participants tools to maintain their asset after completing BSAFE. The Advisory Council provides counseling and connects BSAFE participants to financial education services in the Missoula area. All counseling, education and workshops are free.
Effectiveness - What has been the concrete impact of your project to date? How many people have benefited from your program in total? What policies, communities, or institutions have been influenced to make fundamental changes because of your work? Since July 2006, the Missoula BSAFE Program has engaged thirteen community partners to implement the BSAFE Program. The Council has established the program design, account structure, outreach and fundraising strategies. The Council plans on electing a Community Coordinator from within the Council to serve as a resource and mentor to participants. The Council will also incorporate another AmeriCorps*VISTA to work as Program Coordinator from July 2007 to July 2008.
While the Missoula BSAFE has yet to enroll participants, the Helena BSAFE Advisory Council has led seven participants through the program. One participant has withdrawn from the program. The Helena BSAFE Program has a 15% drop-out rate compared to 65% in IDA programs nationally. One participant has successfully completed the program and five survivors are still participating in BSAFE.
Scaling up Strategy - What is your priority for the next 3 years and please describe why. The Missoula BSAFE Program is in the developing phases of program implementation. The Advisory Council is currently fundraising $12,000 by July 2007 to enroll two participants into the program. The Council aims to enroll 10 participants by 2009. Enrolling participants and successfully graduating participants from BSAFE is the priority for the Missoula Advisory Council.
The BSAFE Program can be replicated in any community. Four years after the implementation of the Helena BSAFE Program, MCUCD successfully replicated the program in Missoula, Montana. This program can be replicated because the Advisory Council, represented by key community stakeholders, defines the eligibility requirements, policies, and procedures to make the program work for their community’s survivors of domestic violence. This year, an AmeriCorps*VISTA worked on recruiting Advisory Council members to replicate the program starting in July 2006. The VISTA and Advisory Council created a Policies and Procedures Manual that can be used in any community. The Manual includes program policies, program procedures, forms, and participant tracking materials. This Manual is available to the public on the BSAFE website: http://www.mtbsafe.org.
Origin of the Initiative - Tell the personal story that will help people connect to your work. How did the initiative start? Was there a particular individual or event driving the idea? Tell the reader the story behind the innovation. BSAFE gives financial options to survivors. The Helena BSAFE participants have many stories that show their struggles to regain self-sufficiency: “Cathy” endured years of emotional and sexual abuse by her husband. After fleeing, Cathy got back on her feet and has been raising her six school-age children. Cathy’s credit was ruined by her ex-husband who made purchases in her name. Because of her poor credit history, the Council granted two secured loans from a partnering credit union to rebuild her credit. She has steadily deposited an average of $50 a month in her IDA account. Cathy attributes her success to the budgeting class that she took through BSAFE. Cathy is planning to use her IDA savings to purchase a home.
The Missoula BSAFE is an opportunity to invest hard-earned dollars in productive assets. We transform the dream of a more stable, secure future into a reality. Main Obstacles to Scaling Up - List the two (2) main obstacles to scale up your innovation (policy, legal, organizational, people, financial, etc.)? Funding for matched savings accounts is the biggest challenge - and constraint - for BSAFE. Since the program is easily replicable in Montana's communities, it's vital that we secure funds for our participants. Unfortunately, domestic violence still carries a heavy stigma in Montana. Through asset development, we hope to expand possibilites to our funders and eradicate ignorance of domestic and economic abuse.
Main Partnership Challenges - What are your major challenges with partnerships? (E.g., identification of partners, implementation of partnerships, relationship management, etc.) Thankfully, both service providers and financial institutions are interested in offering solutions to economic abuse. Our partners are readily available, mobilize their resources, and offer their time willingly. An AmeriCorps*VISTA in the Helena and Missoula BSAFE Programs has ensured that communication and decision-making in the Councils are consistent over a number of years. In addition, the Helena BSAFE Program recently recieved a Rural Grant to fund a two-year Program Coordinator position in Helena for BSAFE. The sustainabilty of the program is a testament to the strong relationships forged in the Councils.
Contact Information:
Caitlin Allen
AmeriCorps*VISTA, Economic Advocacy Project Coordinator Montana Credit Unions for Community Development (MCUCD) (Non-Profit) callen@mtlsa.org 1243 Burlington Ave. United States Tel: (406) 529-4226 Website: http://www.mtbsafe.org Discussions about this entry |
Building Security through Assets and Financial Education, a savings program helping survivors of domestic violence BSAFE.
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On behalf of the National Credit Union Foundation, we support your innovative efforts to provide solutions to the financial issues that too often force battery victims to return to their abusers. Congratulations on your well-deserved recognition!
- Steve Bosack
Deputy Director
National Credit Union Foundation
Very impressed! Hope I completed the voting properly (website a bit confusing....) The best of luck.
Great Falls Teachers FCU
I am thrilled that Caitlin and the BSAFE Program are receiving this important recognition.
Caitlin's passion for the BSAFE Program is contagious. As a result she has been able to create an Advisory Council of community leaders and advocates who share her commitment and vision for the BSAFE Program in Missoula.
BSAFE's focus on asset development as a vehicle for empowerment provides survivors of domestic violence an opportunity to transform their lives.
Great job Caitlin! You make us Montanans proud. Tammy Hatfield
a wonderful cause...
Hello!
Thank you for the opportunity to share our program with you! Please feel free to contact me with any questions, suggestions or concerns. If you'd like more information on this program, please visit: http://www.mtbsafe.org.
Defeating economic abuse is a priority in two of Montana's communities: Helena and Missoula. An abuser often uses financial power, or economic abuse, as a means to control the victim. Economic abuse can mean the abusive partner controls all the money or will not allow the victim to work, get an education or learn about personal finances. Bankruptcy, garnishment, ruined credit and identity theft are some of the results of economic abuse. A lack of financial education, little access to consumer protections, and no economic opportunities are deterrents for victims hoping to escape abusive relationships. Economic abuse is a threat to the safety and economic self-sufficiency of domestic violence victims. BSAFE helps survivors to combat their financial difficulties in an inclusive method: asset-development. Assets give survivors the tools to regain healthy financial lifestyles.