Dear John,

Happy Black History Month! This month and every month, we celebrate Black history, lives, and communities by working toward racial and ethnic economic justice for all. As a lifelong racial economic justice advocate, I believe that everyone should be able to create, build and sustain wealth. In seeing the tremendous strides our team at Prosperity Now has taken to make this goal a reality, I am filled with hope about our ultimate vision for universal wellbeing and prosperity.

This newsletter covers some of our latest strides for economic justice. First, I hope you’ll join me alongside Darrick Hamilton and fellow advocates at A Brighter Future with Baby Bonds: How States and Cities Should Invest in Our Kids, produced in partnership with The New School’s Institute on Race, Power, and Political Economy (IRPPE). Together, we’ll discuss how Baby Bonds can provide children from low-wealth households, who are disproportionately Black, Latinx, and Indigenous, the opportunity to start their adult lives with a nest egg that allows them to build wealth and economic security.  View our full speaker lineup and register here.

Next, I invite you to read our new our series with Nonprofit Quarterly series The Promise of Targeted Universalism: Community Leaders Respond in partnership with NonProfit Quarterly, which continues to examine the use of targeted approaches to achieve universal goals and how this framework of targeted universalism can help close the racial wealth divide, community by community. I’m loving the robust conversations coming out of this series, especially with the latest pieces on universal banking, getting to equity by acknowledging differences, and forging paths to Native financial sovereignty.

The solutions and initiatives Prosperity Now develops are always rooted in evidence. That’s why the data collection and analysis we do is vital. Yesterday, we shared new Scorecard policy data to provide recommendations on how states can use this evidence to end the cycle of poverty and punishment.

I’m eager to discuss all of these efforts and more at our bi-annual Prosperity Summit coming up this September, for which we just released a Call for Proposals.  I encourage you to pursue the opportunity of being a Prosperity Now Workshop Presenter this year.

As we look toward this signature Prosperity Now national gathering, we are looking forward to maximizing our collective power to build an economy where every person, family, and community has the power to build sustainable wealth and prosperity.

The Hill: The Child Tax Credit saved millions from poverty — it must be expanded, Gary Cunningham, President & CEO

Detroit Free Press: Tax season anxiety is so high that even tax pros want relief, Rebecca Thompson, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships and Network Building

Yahoo! Money: Baby bonds: States plan their own 'trampoline into the middle class', Shira Markoff, Policy Fellow

Work Shift: New federal program extends training and ‘a compass’ to small business owners, Gary Cunningham, President & CEO

Yahoo! Finance: Taxes 2022: The neediest Americans must wait longer for tax refunds, Joanna Ain, Associate Director of Policy

LAST CHANCE: Join us TOMORROW to Create a Brighter Future with Baby Bonds
Register today for A Brighter Future with Baby Bonds: How States and Cities Should Invest in Our Kids, an exciting virtual conversation on how Baby Bonds can ensure a brighter future for all kids. The event will be held tomorrow, Feb. 17, at 12:30 pm EST. Get your unique link to attend by registering here!

2022 Prosperity Now Scorecard: Updated Policy Data and How States Seek to End the Cycle of Poverty and Punishment
Check out the newly updated policy data for the 2022 Prosperity Now Scorecard! Take a look at how states are adopting policies that bring us closer to racial economic justice. In addition to the policy data, our newly released policy brief is available. Last year, we introduced a new policy measure, Driver’s License Debt Suspension Protections, that assessed which states have ended the practice of suspending driver’s licenses for failure to pay fines and fees or failure to appear in court. While a few states are slowly eliminating this practice, now is the time for others to adopt it and end the cycle of poverty and punishment.

Submit Your 2022 Prosperity Summit Workshop Ideas Today!
Have you ever dreamed of presenting at the Prosperity Summit? Planning is underway for the 2022 Prosperity Summit, which will be held on Sept. 19-21 in Atlanta, GA. We want you to showcase the work you’re leading by submitting a proposal to be a conference presenter. From now until March 25, we encourage you to submit your application to design and lead a session for ~150 of your peers. This is a great chance to raise your organization’s profile at the conference, and there are many other perks. Don’t forget to review the guidance on how to craft and submit a workshop proposal before you submit!

The Fight for Economic Justice: Reflections on the Past, Present and Future 
The Civil Rights Movement is remembered for the efforts and accomplishments of a variety of Black individuals and groups to secure rights for Black Americans. This Black History Month, we want to uplift the economic vision that was a large part of the Civil Rights Movement. This vision demanded justice through an understanding of the ways the systems that make up the American economy impact working class and poor Black Americans. Read more.

An Interview with Joyce James, President of the Middleburg Institute
For many of us, Black History Month is also a period of reflection on this country’s history of racial injustice and institutional discrimination. It is an opportunity to learn about the impact of African Americans on our history, while recognizing that more policy change, community development and social transformation is necessary to create a fair and equitable society for everyone. To further discuss the importance of Black History Month and lessons for the nonprofit field, we sat down with Joyce D. James, President and Founder of the Middleburg Institute, and a Prosperity Now Community Champion and Community Steering Committee Member. Read more.

Check out Prosperity Now's 2022 Policy Priorities
The past few years have deepened the socioeconomic and racial inequities that have long existed in our nation. To transform our society, we must build a new economy that is just, fair and free from structural racism. The Policy Team at Prosperity Now recently shared a road map for 2022 that will help us get started on building a reimagined economy that allows for everyone – especially low-income, BIPOC communities – to build wealth, prosper and thrive with the full dignity of racial economic justice.

• Read our Federal Policy Priorities for 2022 here
• Read our State & Local Policy Priorities for 2022 here

NEW: A Brighter Future with Baby Bonds: How States and Cities Should Invest in Our Kids| Prosperity Now
This report by Prosperity Now and The New School’s Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy (IRPPE)  explains how Baby Bonds are an innovative solution to help narrow the racial wealth divide.

Investing in America Means Closing the Racial Wealth Gap | The Atlantic
This Atlantic article looks at investments by financial institutions to address the racial wealth divide.

The Federal Government Should Cancel at Least $30,000 of Your Student Loans. Here’s Why | The Aspen Institute
A new piece from The Aspen Institutes advocates for the cancellation of at least $30,000 in student loans one of the most powerful tools policymakers have to ensure that, when the pandemic ends, millions of people and families will be able to fully participate in the economic recovery.

How Post Pandemic Tax Cuts Can Affect Racial Equity | Urban Institute
A new report from the Urban Institute, uses the Tax Policy Center state tax model to analyze 2021 tax cuts passed in Arizona, Maryland, New Mexico, and Ohio and finds states that expanded refundable tax credits provided larger benefits to representative Black and Latino households.

This Valuable Data Tool Informs Policies that Shape Child Opportunity | Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
An article from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation discusses the ways in which data can inform efforts by local leaders to build a brighter, more equitable future for all children.

Wealth Building for Business Owners of Color: A Whole-Person Approach, Cynthia Terry and Ines Polonius 

“No One Is Coming to Save Us”: Forging Paths to Native Financial Sovereignty, Chrystel Cornelius and Krytal Langholz 

Achieving Universal Banking: Lessons from the Delta, Bill Bynum and Ed Sivak

Achieving Equity Amid Difference: The Promise of Targeted Universalism, Abigail Golden-Vazquez

Beyond Equity: Targeted Universalism and the Closing of the Racial Wealth Gap, john a. powell