We’re ready for more progress in 2023!
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John,
Thank you.
For your generous support of our fight to transform our economy, for sharing your expertise with us and a host of racial economic justice advocates, and for being an integral part of the Prosperity Now Community, I am grateful that you’re here. We know that the change we want to create is massive and, in 2022, you let us know that we’re not alone.
We’re proud of the progress and wins we’ve created this year. Just to name a few, we:
Hosted 1,200 movers and shakers and champions of racial economic equity in Atlanta for the 2022 Prosperity Summit. We learned from each other, we discussed the direction of our movement for racial economic justice, and we danced the night away in a historic and beautiful venue. If you had the opportunity to join us, I hope you left the Summit as energized and inspired as I felt by all of you.
Launched the Black Wealth Data Center with Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Greenwood Initiative with the aim to equip researchers and advocates with comprehensive and accessible data on education, employment, homeownership and more as we seek solutions to issues of racial and economic injustice.
Doubled down on our commitment to disrupting barriers to entrepreneurship by launching the 1 Million Entrepreneurs of Color Initiative alongside Avanade to further empower BIPOC entrepreneurs and stimulate business growth.
Continued to see traction in Baby Bonds programs. We know that opportunities to create generational wealth can get us closer to bridging the racial wealth divide, and policies and programs that provide young people with a nest egg help us get there. We’re proud to be part of the team leading the charge to create and refine Baby Bonds programs at the state and local levels.
For these reasons and so much more, this holiday season is filled with gratitude at Prosperity Now.
As we gear up to spend time with our loved ones, reflect on our accomplishments, and welcome the new year and all it can bring with open arms, I invite you to read on in this edition of our newsletter and be as inspired by my staff as I continuously am.
Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year,
Gary Cunningham
President & CEO
Prosperity Now
“We must ask, in the midst of climate change that is affecting Black and Brown communities the most, who is making the money? The very communities that are affected? Or the capitalists that have always been set up to succeed?”
Climate change and the innovation to combat it has quickly created a growing economy—the climate economy. But so far, the climate economy has largely left out Black and Brown entrepreneurs, while Black and Brown communities continue to face the brunt of the impacts of both environmental and economic injustice.
The success of both government and private sector efforts to respond to climate disasters and impacts, curb emissions and transition to a more sustainable future must include Black and Brown businesses and communities as critical stakeholders. Read our recommendations for increasing representation in the climate economy in our recently released brief and blog.
If we are to envision an economy that is just, fair and free from structural racism, we also need to change the way in which we frame our financial capability work. And to build power in communities and help families build sustainable wealth and prosperity, we must critically look at and reimagine the available pathways to wealth-building and understand the reality which underserved groups are forced to navigate. With support from the Target Foundation, we sought to do just that.
In a new report, we explore the financial security ecosystem through the lens of two target populations, Opportunity Youth and Immigrant Communities, and examine how service providers are currently addressing the groups’ needs.
All the Policy Things
Baby Bonds have continued to gain momentum at the state level, and with the most recent election, we are excited to see that voters have chosen to support several Baby Bonds champions across the nation, from Nevada to Massachusetts. In line with our goal to create pathways to wealth for all families and their children, Prosperity Now has created a toolkit that provides state and local policymakers and advocates with a legislative template and key elements needed to align new programs with their community’s unique needs. To learn more about the toolkit and the Baby Bonds wins we’re celebrating, read our full blog here.
Back in the 90s, the switch from AFDC (the Aid to Families with Dependent Children) to TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) ultimately hurt the lowest-income women, particularly women of color, just as the failure to reinstate the Child Tax Credit expansion is affecting the most vulnerable families. When Congress replaced the AFDC program with the more restrictive TANF program in the 1990s, we learned valuable lessons that we can apply to strengthening the Child Tax Credit (CTC) today. Prosperity Now hosted a Build Back for Justice Day of Action on November 17 and drafted a letter of support, with 130 signatures, urging Congress to reinstate the expanded CTC before the end of the year. For more on why strengthening the CTC is critical for families of color, read our blog post here and call on Congress to #BuildBackforJustice for all families, NOW.
Implementing policy that allows Black, brown, indigenous and other marginalized communities to buy homes and therefore create stability and build generational wealth is critical work. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has an opportunity to strengthen its commitment to first-time homebuyers, low-income borrowers and communities of color. Read Prosperity Now’s comment letter outlining the ways the FHA’s support for small mortgage lending could be improved to better fulfill its mission to underserved borrowers.
Did You Miss These?
Mark Your Calendars
Enterprising Black Orlando Roundtable Series | Prosperity Now | January 11-March 30, 2023
A discussion series on the strengths and needs of Black-led nonprofits and small businesses. Click any of the sessions below to register!
