View in Web Browser [link removed] IN THE MEDIA SPOTLIGHT UPCOMING
WEBINARS & EVENTS
RESOURCES From our President and CEO
Dear John,
Hello from Austin, TX! I’m writing to you from SXSW, feeling energized and hopeful. On Saturday, I spoke at the conference with Daud Mumin from March For Our Lives, discussing how we combat gun violence and create economic mobility for all [[link removed]]. We talked about how gun violence is a part of a broader destructive cycle of racial and economic injustice in the U.S. — a reflection of the systems that make it more challenging for many young Black people to become distanced from both poverty and violence. I believe that it will take all of us, as a united multiracial coalition, to build a world that works for all of us and one that is free from brutality.
My recent conversations also helped me reflect on the harsh reality that women, especially women of color, remain most impacted by both violence and poverty. This Women’s History month and every month, Prosperity Now works to fulfill our vision of an economy that allows all women to prosper. In this month’s note, I’m eager to share with you all that we’ve been doing to make this vision a reality for each and every one of us.
With gratitude and in solidarity,
Gary L. Cunningham
President & CEO
Prosperity Now in the Media
The Washington Post: IRS rushes to hire 10,000 workers but giant backlog expected to persist through 2022 [[link removed]], Rebecca Thompson, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships & Network Building
Black Star News: State Of The Union: Biden Must Do More To Combat Wealth Divide [[link removed]], Gary Cunningham, President & CEO
The Bond Buyer: Baby bonds may gain national momentum [[link removed]], Gary Cunningham, President & CEO and Shira Markoff, Policy Fellow
Harlem World: Court Fines Contribute To Racial Wealth Divide With Predatory Drivers’ Fees From Harlem To Hawaii [[link removed]], Gary Cunningham, President & CEO
The Hill: The Child Tax Credit saved millions from poverty — it must be expanded [[link removed]], Gary Cunningham, President & CEO
Spotlight
Supporting Families in East LA with Basic Income
As service delivery programs continued to meet emergency needs created as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Prosperity Now partnered with Wells Fargo to create a direct cash assistance program to deliver funds to families on a monthly basis. In partnership with East LA Corporation (ELACC), a grassroots organization, we sought to deliver funds to meet the needs of their participants during this crisis. To learn more about the design, implementation, and impact of our program, read the full report here. [[link removed]]
For a behind-the-scenes look at the success of this project, check out a recent Instagram Live with Laura Yepez, one of Prosperity Now’s project leads, and Elba Schildcrout, Director of Community Wealth at ELACC. [[link removed]]
Celebrating Women’s History Month: An Interview with Lynn Weckworth
Women’s History Month is a time to commemorate the political and social achievements of women throughout our history and to commemorate the expansion of rights, liberties, and opportunities for women across our society. For the nonprofit field, it is also a time to reground us in the importance of gender equality and the pursuit of greater equity and fairness for all people and communities. We sat down with Lynn Weckworth, Director of Financial Stability, at United Way of Northern New Jersey to discuss the importance of women’s history month and learn more about her organization’s work. Read more. [[link removed]]
Happy VITA Awareness Day!
Thank you for joining Prosperity Now's Taxpayer Opportunity Network to promote VITA Awareness Day! This year we asked our Network and everyone who has been impacted by VITA to submit a video expressing why they volunteer for VITA and why VITA matters in their local community. Our Program Manager Justin Chu explains the contest and gives a great video example [[link removed]] using UNO! Check out our VITA Awareness Day coverage through our Twitter [[link removed]].
Resources
Designing a Responsive Program: Supporting Mariachi and Street Vendors in East LA [[link removed]] | Prosperity Now
A new piece discusses a short-term, basic income initiative that centered on families adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic [[link removed]], implemented by Prosperity Now and the East Los Angeles Community Corporation (ELACC) [[link removed]]
The Impact of COVID-19 on Debt and Credit Access in Low-Income Communities [[link removed]] | Prosperity Now
We are still experiencing the impact of COVID-19, but low-income families are bearing the brunt of the economic fallout. Read our new report that examines the financial struggles of low-income households during the pandemic.
Inflation Report Underscores Urgency to Extend Child Tax Credit Expansion [[link removed]] | Center for Budget and Policy Priorities
A new article from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities discusses how the January Inflation Report underscores the need for Child Credit Tax expansion. Due to an increase in prices, families with lower incomes continue to spend more of their incomes on groceries and electricity than higher-income families.
Disparities in Debt Drive in the Racial Wealth Gap [[link removed]] | Aspen Institute
A new brief from the Aspen Institute, Disparities in Debt, discusses how debt is unevenly experienced by different racial and ethnic groups, disproportionately harming families of color during the wealth-building process.
Credit Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic [[link removed]] | Urban Institute
A recent piece from the Urban Institute explains the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the credit health of people throughout the United States.
Cities Experiment with Restitutive Housing Programs. Do They Advance Reparations? [[link removed]] |The Center for Law and Social Policy
A new article from The Center for Law and Social Policy discusses how two cities, Santa Monica, California and Evanston, Illinois have created restitutive housing programs to compensate Black residents whose ancestors were affected by racist housing and land use policies.
Webinars & Events
Mapping the Road Toward Increased Accessibility to the Child Tax Credit [[link removed]] | Prosperity Now| March 22, 2022
Closing the Racial Wealth Gap: The impact of data driven solutions that advance economic justice [[link removed]] | Bank of America | March 17, 2022
Remaking the Economy: How to Design Democratic Management [[link removed]] | Nonprofit Quarterly | April 14, 2022
Policy Updates
President Biden shows up for low-income BIPOC households by signing the omnibus spending bill
Yesterday, President Biden signed the omnibus spending bill [[link removed]], and we’re excited to see funding for programs that support low-income BIPOC households. The bill provides $53.7B for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, $30M for VITA, $295M for mission-driven CDFIs, $55M for the Minority Business Development Agency, and $1B for the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Tax Tuesday
It’s tax season! To help navigate American Rescue Plan tax policy changes, Prosperity Now has created a video series with our tax experts to inform people on the different tax issues that affect the communities we work with, including the need for refundable tax credits, resources for community tax prep, and changes needed to the current tax code that leave out millions of working families. Check out our #TaxTuesday video series below and look out for more videos every Tuesday!
Making Tax Policy More Inclusive [[link removed]] What you might not know about the Earned Income Tax Credit [[link removed]] 3 Things You Need to Know About the Child Tax Credit [[link removed]] In Case You Missed It
Revisit our discussion from last month, on a Brighter Future with Baby Bonds: How States and Cities Should Invest In Our Kids.
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