Dear John,

As you may already know, for the past year and a half, Prosperity Now has been engaged in an intensive strategic planning process. We will be sharing detailed information about our updated strategic framework with the Prosperity Now community over the next few months.

We are pleased to reaffirm that our organization remains dedicated to expanding and strengthening Children’s Savings Account (CSA) programs and that the Campaign for Every Kid’s Future will continue to be an integral part of our work. We look forward to sharing an update on the exciting ways the work will move forward with you soon.

Meanwhile, we are briefly pausing the Campaign for Every Kid’s Future newsletter. It will return in a few months in a new and improved format! In the meantime, since we have seen, as well as participated in, several wins around CSAs and wealth-building for children, we are reaching out today to share a few highlights with you:

California appropriated nearly $1.9 billion for statewide CSAs in its recent budget. Based on a proposal from Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), $1.8 billion in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan (COVID-relief funds) will go toward providing accounts seeded with up to $1,000 for approximately 3.7 million low-income, public-school students in first through 12th grades. An additional $107 million will go toward the state’s in-development, at-birth CSA program, CalKIDS.
The NYC Kids RISE Save for College program is expanding to all NYC public school kindergartners. With approximately 70,000 new kindergartners enrolling this fall, it’s set to be the largest citywide CSA program in the country!
Washtenaw County, MI, has committed $6.9 million to develop a new CSA program. The county, which includes Ann Arbor, plans to spend $2.9 million from the American Rescue Plan, along with general county funds, on the program.
A group of CSA experts outlined recommendations for a federal CSA program and accompanying changes to 529 college savings plans in two recently released policy briefs, The Case for a Nationwide Child Development Account Policy and Redesigning College Savings (529) Plans to Achieve Inclusive Child Development Accounts. Experts from the field, including Michael Sherraden and Margaret Clancy (Center for Social Development), William Elliott (University of Michigan), Treasurer José Cisneros (San Francisco), Julie Peachy (Pennsylvania Treasury) and others collaborated on the briefs that make the case for creating seeded asset-building accounts for all children in the United States as early as birth.
Connecticut and Washington, DC, are leading the way on Baby Bonds. On July 1, Connecticut launched its Baby Bonds program, after passing first-in-the-nation legislation. The program will invest $50 million annually in providing wealth-building capital for children born into poverty. In August, the DC Council unanimously passed the FY22 Local Budget Act (LBA), which includes funding for a proposed Baby Bonds program. The program will cost approximately $32 million dollars over the next four years.
Oakland Promise is searching for a new director for Brilliant Baby to succeed our wonderful partner, Amanda Feinstein. If you know anyone who would be great for this role, please encourage them to apply.

Thank you all for your steadfast support for the Campaign for Every Kid’s Future. We look forward to continuing to work together to bring CSAs to more children across the country.

Sincerely,

Shira Markoff
Policy Fellow