Meeting Halfway

MEETING HALFWAYA Primer for Community Groups

on Partnering with Banks

A Training Program of

The Center for Place-Based Initiatives

MEETING HALFWAYA Primer for Community Groups

On Partnering with Banks

A Training Program of theCenter for Place-Based Initiatives

1

Partnerships

between financial institutions and community groups

are now commonplace. When framed properly, these partnerships can serve both sides well.

As part of their commitment to low-income communities, nearly every major financial institution

engages in some forms of partnership with community-based organizations. Once viewed as

extensions of the bank’s charitable donations or public relations activities, these partnerships

have taken on a second dimension, cultivating low-income customers for lines of business.

Community-based organizations can help branches with customer cultivation, acquisition,

retention, or cross selling. They can also supply banks with refined market intelligence and lend

the bank trust and credibility as it penetrates new customer segments.

Community-based organizations also benefit from the partnerships. Their constituents access

the financial mainstream, addressing the economic marginalization that is at the root of so many

social problems. And a warm hand-off from a community group to a bank ensures that the

organization’s financial education efforts will lead to actionable next steps for the participant. At

its best, it provides an opportunity to leverage abundant capital for the poor.

It is no accident that double bottom line partnerships are increasing in number. Their

proliferation has been impelled by the deepening economic divide between rich and poor,

the precipitous drop-off in saving behaviors among American consumers, the recognition that

financial literacy alone does not change behavior, and the current economic recession that has

exposed the vulnerabilities of a non-saving public. At a time when the banking industry as a

whole is confronting a reputation crisis, these partnerships provide a way for banks to reassert

their relevance for low-income families.

But as timely and relevant as these partnerships are, negotiating them is not easy. In fact, when

community groups are unprepared for the complexity of the partnership formation, things may

not go well at all.

With that in mind, the Center for Place-Based Initiatives has designed a training and capacity-

building program for community groups that are contemplating bank partnerships. The program

includes six modules, each one comprised of group workshops for cohorts of organizations in the

same geographic area as well customized coaching and technical assistance for the individual

organizations.

The content of these modules is described below and more fully developed in the six

corresponding sections to follow:

Module 1: Choosing to Partner: How do we know if a bank partnership is right for our organization? How do we avoid “mission drift” or manage the philosophical opposition that may emerge in our group?

Module 2: Finding Your “Value Proposition”: What is our “value proposition” to the bank? How do we determine which competencies to build on? How do nonprofits differ from informal associations?

Module 3: Understanding Different Forms of Partnership: What do these partnerships look like for our clients or members? How do we integrate the activities into our other programming? What new programs might we carry out?

2

Module 4: Referrals: Staying on the Straight and Narrow: What rules and guidelines do we need to know in order to preserve our nonprofit status and not run afoul of tax law? If we refer clients to banks, what does the process look like? Are we liable for negative consumer experiences?

Module 5: Accumulating Impact: Community-wide Partnerships: How should we be cooperating with other community groups in our geographic neighborhood when forming partnerships with banks?

The final section proposes a comprehensive strategy for carrying out this program in underbanked

communities in five major cities; New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, and Dallas. In the

attachments are: a work plan and timeline; tentative target area recommendations in these

five cities; and a preliminary list of community-based organizations that would be invited to

participate.

MODULE 1: CHOOSING TO PARTNER

The first module helps the organization’s leadership decide if bank partnerships are right for them.

Too many community-based organizations pursue bank partnerships only to discover that some

of their leadership or staff, or even clients or members, are philosophically opposed to the idea.

There remains enormous resistance to the notion that the private sector can participate in

poverty alleviation; and the foreclosure crisis has led to a singular distrust of banks, in particular.

To begin, community-based organizations need to have a base of knowledge about the financial

services industry, one that provides a window into what a bank really needs in order to succeed.

The groups should also master some key concepts and vocabulary words that are central to the

financial services industry, so that they may engage in thoughtful partnership negotiations.

The organization must then identify areas of potential partnership -- areas of overlap between

the organization’s mission and the goals of the bank. Not everything that a bank does will align

with the organization’s mission. Conversely, not everything that the organization does will be

consistent with a bank’s business development. The aim is to find the point of shared interests.

For organizations promoting home ownership or entrepreneurship, the shared interest may be

obvious: the creation of new homeowners and business owners. In other cases, leaders will need

to analyze the economic root causes of the problems they address, formulating a simple logic

model for how a bank can help resolve that problem. It must be broadly agreed upon that a

partnership focused on this point of intersection will not lead to “mission drift.” Underlying

reluctance or outright opposition must be worked through deliberatively, not papered over.

A group focused on improving educational attainment outcomes, for instance, may find that a

partnership with a bank can help middle school parents save for their child’s college education.

An environmental group may partner with a bank on a loan fund to help small businesses

eliminate toxic practices. A social service agency for single mothers can partner with a bank on a

companion matched savings program to a household budgeting workshop.

3

Module 1 helps organizations make an informed decision about whether to partner with:

• A basic orientation to banks: their role in improving communities, the success indicators they seek, and the problems they confront in low-income neighborhoods.

• Facilitated sessions where the organization’s stakeholders articulate a “logic model” that identifies the economic root causes for the problems they address, and a role for banks.

• A planning session where leaders identify potential points of intersection between their logic model and the interests of banks.

• A process of validating the idea of a bank partnership through communication with stakeholders throughout the organization.

MODULE 2: FINDING YOUR “VALUE PROPOSITION”

Once the organization has identified the value of the partnership to its mission, it must ascertain

the value it will in turn bring to the bank. Before meeting with a banker, the leaders will need a

clear understanding of what they can bring to the table that is consistent with their mission while

also being useful to the bank in meeting their business goals. This is the purpose of Module 2.

It surprises many community-based organizations to learn that they possess numerous capacities

that help banks profitably penetrate untapped low-income markets. These include access to

customers, knowledge of their needs and behaviors, cost-effective communications channels; the

capacity to support bank customers and help them succeed financially.

A helpful framework used in Module 2 is the array of basic core functions that any bank branch

must perform: customer education, local marketing, acquisition of customer referrals or sources

deals, deposit process, and ongoing customer support If a community group can use its existing

capabilities to help a bank branch perform one or more of these functions more efficiently or cost

effectively – while remaining consistent to their social mission – then it has a value proposition.

In practical terms, what a community-based organization brings to the partnership depends on

whether it is a nonprofit agency or an informal association. (See Exhibit A)

Nonprofits Nonprofits, especially community development corporations and social service agencies, are the

most common bank partners. Community development corporations are fluent in financial industry

language and understand the kinds of results banks expect. Many provide job training or homebuyer

counseling, a natural platform on which to construct asset-building programs. Social service agencies

employ full-time, certified counselors and case managers to assist clients. And financial education or

credit repair can be integrated into the other interventions provided in a case management model.

Both types of organizations are sophisticated in their ability to negotiate partnerships.

What’s more, the nonprofit sector has adopted a “financial stability” orientation in the last

decade that has enhanced its value proposition for banks. Specifically, nonprofits have adopted

4

Exhibit A: Comparison of Non-Profit Agencies and Informal Associations

Staff Leadership Are staffed by permanent, full-time, professional executive directors and support staff in compliance with federal occupational laws, overseen by a board.

Are staffed by a rotation of volunteer leaders, sometimes given a stipend for their extra effort and often elected. Commonly agreed-upon division of labor for volunteers are essential.

Organizational Status

Are legal non-profit corporations and are subject to rules and regulations of the IRS code 501(c)(3), including board governance and financial audits.

Are informal groupings that typically do not have legal status, unless they are churches or merchant associations.

Overhead Expenses Operate with high overhead expenses to cover facility rentals, salaries, benefits, etc.

Operate with little or no expenses, unless they are available. Meeting locations are usually donated, as are food and material expenses.

Funding Prepare written proposals to private foundations and government agencies. They must retain financial systems and fiscal controls.

Typically cover costs of their activities through member dues, fundraisers, and in-kind and material donations from local businesses. When grants are available, they are often received by a non-profit willing to act as a fiscal agent.

Basic Relationships with Residents

Treat residents as consumers in a service provider/client relationship. The board of directors typically determines the services offered.

Treat residents as members in a democratically governed group or volunteer adherents to common value-based activities.

Sustainability Are infrastructure-heavy and require considerable effort to maintain. Full-time paid staff helps to ensure self-perpetuation, but they are unlikely to survive when funding does not exist.

Are lightweight structures that are sustained by personal commitments. As long as leadership renews itself, they can continue whether or not funding exists.

5

programs and services that connect their clients with the financial mainstream: financial literacy

classes, budgeting workshops, credit repair counseling, matched savings programs, campaigns to

promote public benefit utilization, home ownership seminars, small business startup assistance,

tax preparation assistance, and other programs aimed at helping working families to accumulate

wealth. (See Exhibit B) Where possible, the full array of strategies is consolidated in a single

nonprofit called a “one-stop.”1

As a best practice, nonprofits often incorporate asset building programs organically into existing

services, rather than simply adding them on as something new. For example, a network of

school-parent centers, in partnership with a county human services agency, organized an annual

eight-week potluck series aimed at helping families with academically at-risk children. Each

potluck was hosted by one of the families and attended by both parents and children. It included

facilitated group discussions led by a social worker, followed by separate conversations among

the parents and children. When parent leaders decided to bring financial education peers, they

simply introduced the new content into the same structure.

Unfortunately, the same traits that make nonprofits logical partners for banks also inhibit their ability

to achieve scale. Strict training requirements and professional standards placed on counselors and

case managers inherently limit the size of their caseloads. Therefore, while they are often the best

hope for a household in need of high levels of attention and customized services, they can only serve a

limited number of households. In fact, while community development corporations and social service

agencies may be perceived as the primary engines of social change in many communities, they can

seldom serve more than a hundred clients at a time and are unlikely to achieve results commensurate

with the scale of the neighborhood’s challenges.

Associations The second set of potential partners, informal associations and natural helping networks, are

often overlooked. But we find them to be superior to nonprofits in a number of respects. These

include church congregations, school-based parent associations, block clubs, neighborhood

watches, tenant associations, or local merchant associations. In some communities, there are

Lions Clubs, Rotary Clubs, Masons, and their women’s auxiliaries. Others are held together by

hometown associations, high school alumnae associations, sports leagues, or extended families.

The strongest associations and networks share three common attributes: they aggregate large

numbers of people, often in the thousands; they are trusted by their members; and they maintain

contact information for tracking those members. They are ideally suited for communicating

quickly and effectively to large numbers of people, delivering popular education, or carrying out

guerrilla marketing. They can identify those individuals and families in the greatest and refer

them to professional services, and they can mobilize peer support to help people achieve goals.

From their ranks, they can identify influential individuals to be trained as para-professional

financial coaches or to host financial workshops or support groups.

1 Already, these financial one-stops have produced promising, occasionally impressive results. The philanthropic sector played a key

role in this movement, especially a few key institutions that actively promoted financial stability programs among nonprofits. Among

the first was the Annie E. Casey Foundation which established “Center for Working Families,” United Ways of America, which

created “Financial Stability One Stops,” and LISC, which has set out to form “Financial Opportunity Centers.”

6

Clearly, nonprofits and associations do not represent an either/or choice, but rather two organizational

forms that are in fact highly complementary. On one hand, activities like widespread dissemination

of financial information, peer counseling, support group formation, and social marketing aimed at

banking the can and should be carried out through the more lightweight and flexible structure of

informal associations. On the other hand, the more costly and labor-intensive functions like case

management and the operation of formal asset-building programs necessitate a formal nonprofit

organization.

Nonprofits can provide technical assistance to informal associations – training association members

to be financial education trainers, coaches, or peer group facilitators and providing curriculum

and other resources. Informal associations, for their part, can drive client traffic to the nonprofits,

recruiting and referring those clients in particular who have more complicated problems or need

professional services. The arrangement can set up a culture clash between the bureaucracies of

formal nonprofits and informal associations that have a loose, freewheeling style. But together,

they are worth more than the sum of the parts.

Module 2 helps organizations to define their “value proposition” with:

• A workshop on the relative attributes between nonprofits and associations, and how nonprofits and associations can work together to combine assets.

• Worksheets designed to create an inventory of the organization’s core competencies and assets, ranking them in terms of value to banks

• Training session focused on the core functions of a bank branch and the capability of your organization to serve these functions.

• A professional communications consultation for each organization, so that it can practice presenting its assets to bank leaders.

7

Exhibit B: Programs That Increase an Organization’s Value to Banks

To be a more productively partner with a bank, an organization can develop a number of programs. They can be established in-house or offered to its clients in cooperation with an intermediary.

Financial Coaching: Financial coaches are usually para-professionals who engage in a coaching relationship with individuals to help them formulate and follow through on personal financial plans. Distinct from a professional financial counselor, these coaches do not make specific recommendations for products, service, or investment opportunities. Instead, they help their clients establish their own goals and then coach them in meeting them. Case managers may be trained to add financial coaching to their repertoire, or an organization’s members and clients can be trained to coach one another.

Financial Support Groups are an increasingly popular way to provide financial education to youth and adults. A group comes together (preferably with a previous relationship established, a church group for example) and agrees to meet for a number of sessions to learn about finances, get their finances under control, or mutually support one another in meeting a personal financial goal. The sessions are structured and led by an expert or group leader and are hosted by local organizations. When members have completed their sessions their achievement is recognized through a graduation or certification.

Credit Repair Counseling: Many nonprofits offer credit repair counseling to clients, either through in-house staff or through counselors that are out stationed on-site at the nonprofit by large regional or national credit counseling agencies. Credit counselors help clients find out their current credit scores and take measures to repair them. Counselors often negotiate with creditors on behalf of clients for lower interest rates or more realistic payment schedules. Given the length of time required to repair credit, counselors are often called upon to coach clients for extended periods, monitoring progress and adherence to negotiated debt repayment arrangements.

Entrepreneurship and Micro-Loan Programs: Recognizing the important role of small businesses in the large economy, economic development corporations and CDFI’s offer loan capital to the lowest tier of borrowers -- individuals with start-up or home-based businesses. Frequently, these micro-loans come with companion training or technical assistance and focus on “graduating” borrowers into regular bank customers. Sometimes, borrowers are organized into peer lending groups for mutual accountability and support. Small dollar loans are also provided to individuals.

Homebuyer Counseling: Historically, homebuyer counseling, down payment assistance, and packaged homeownership financing have been a primary asset-building strategy for low-income households. More recently, the foreclosure crisis necessitated a shift from home finance counseling to foreclosure prevention, mediation, and the negotiation of “work out” strategies that help families keep their homes or responsibly extricate themselves from mortgages. An organization may have an on-staff counselor who is certified by a Homeownership counseling agency or host counselors provided by an intermediary.

Tax Preparation Assistance/EITC Campaigns: Tax season is pivotal to asset-building, because tax returns are frequently the largest one-time cash infusion that low-income households will receive all year. Free or subsidized tax preparation assistance services, such as Volunteer Income Tax Preparation (VITA) sites, help consumers maximize their returns. Split refunds make it easier for consumers to direct some of their return to a bank account. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a widely underutilized tax credit especially for low-income working families, pumped $50 billion into poor households.

Individual Development Accounts (IDAs): These structured matched savings programs assist low-income consumers in establishing realistic savings goals, facilitate the opening of a dedicated savings account for that purpose, and incentivize savings through a matched contribution from a foundation, government agency, or bank. They are most commonly offered to individuals who have decided to start a small business, save for a college education, or pursue homeownership. Various programs experiment with the level of match and its relative effectiveness at promotion savings. According to the United Way, there are 500 IDA programs in existence today.

8

MODULE 3: UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENT FORMS OF PARTNERSHIP

The third module presents six template partnership formats that groups can use in envisioning

their own relationships with banks. Each one is defined in terms of the function it can perform

for the bank branch, so that the community group may speak in the bank’s language and in terms

of the bank’s needs.

These roles include “referral agent,” where community groups source new customers for the

bank; or “customer aggregator,” where the groups gather together their members or clients

to create economies of scale for the bank. Other roles include that of “off-site host,” where

community groups provide convenient, familiar locations for bank to meet customers; or

“customer cultivator,” where groups help individuals acquire the skills needed to be successful

bank customers. In rare cases, a community groups can even be an “account administrator” or

“account custodian” playing a more direct role in the management of accounts. (See Exhibit C)

Whatever the form of the partnership, the goal is to make it sustainable and self-regulating. That

means there needs to be regular communication between the bank and the community group.

There must also be mechanisms for joint governance of the partnership to ensure that it is working

for each side. This entails identifying the right counterpart individuals in the organization as well

as the bank and establishing success measures, tracking systems, and communication protocols.

It is important for all parties to measure the outcomes it considers important and to engage in

ongoing collaboration aimed at improving those outcomes over time. There are varied evaluation

strategies that can be employed, although all are limited by the fact that customer information

can travel (with customer’s consent) from the nonprofit to the bank, but never in the reverse

direction. These systems may be as rudimentary as sign-in sheets and self-reported client data to

coded promotional coupons that can be tracked and reported in the aggregate within the bank.

Finally, having a familiarity with these different types of partnerships prepares the leaders of

community-based organizations to negotiate in a constructive way with banks. Many partnerships

will be a combination of types, so community leaders will want to feel comfortable mixing and

matching elements in the context of exploratory conversations with a banker.

Module 3 helps organization to choose the partnership form that is right for them. It does so with:

• Group presentations on the different partnership types, examining the advantages and disadvantages of each, as well as well as alternative forms of joint governance.

• Program design workshops, complete with sample curricula, for financial coaching, financial education, financial support groups., etc.

• Customized coaching on the partnership format that best fits each organization

• Customized consultations on systems for joint governance and accountability, including recommendations for simple tracking tools.

• A clinic-style session on partnership negotiation, with bank representatives..

9

Exhibit C: Six Partnership Formats

Community-based organizations can perform a number of roles for banks:

Referral Agent: A nonprofit can refer its clients to open accounts. In some cases, the nonprofit may help customize accounts, tailor the way it is introduced or marketed, ensure that customers stay with it and adopt savings behaviors, and overlay additional incentives (like bonuses for meeting savings goals) that the bank would find difficult to offer.

Customer Aggregator: Since low-income customers typically have little to save or invest, it is hard for a bank to profitably serve them. However, if a large organization, like a church or large employer, can aggregate customers, the bank benefits from economies of scale. Some banks assign a relationship manager to the organizations.

Off-site Host: In cases where unbanked individuals are too intimidated to come to the branch, bank personnel can be out-stationed at a familiar environment, like a church or community center. For individuals without social security numbers, consulates can set up mobile operations in churchyards to issue identification cards to immigrants that can be used to open accounts.

Customer Cultivator: A nonprofit agency can address the barriers preventing their clients from accessing mainstream financial services. Case managers incorporate credit counseling into general case management and help clients obtain a secured credit card or other transitional products.

Account Custodian: Some community partners actually assume custodial responsibility for customer accounts, acting on behalf of customers who, for whatever reason, are unable to manage on their own.

Account Administrator: In rare cases, a CDFI can be an official vendor to a bank, handling select customer service and account administration functions ordinarily carried out by branch bankers: collecting federally-required “know your customer” information, managing enrollment paperwork, and sometimes monitoring account performance.

10

MODULE 4: REFERRALS: STAYING THE ON THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW

As partnerships evolve from idea to implementation, valid concerns arise about the organization’s

neutrality and integrity. It is crucial for the organization to avoid any appearance of being co-

opted or exploited by a particular bank. This is not only essential for maintaining credibility

among constituents, but also for keeping the door open for other banks with which they may wish

to partner someday. In fact, it is often advisable for the organization to partner with multiple

banks at the same time as evidence that it is not beholden to one in particular.

In that vein, community leaders will want to familiarize themselves the helpful concepts of “co-

opetition.” Co-opetition, a merging of cooperation and competition, happens when corporations

in the same industry cooperate to grow a market, and then compete for market share within

it. Banks that work together to increase the financial readiness of unbanked individuals are

one such example. As long as the organization is clear that it is developing a neighborhood as a

potential market for all banks – and that the business opportunities are of generalizable benefit

to all financial institutions, it is performing public good.

These issues are particularly salient when discussing customer referrals. There is no reason why

a community group cannot refer its members or clients as prospective customer to a bank. But the

organization must be able to demonstrate that the referrals support their overall mission; there

can be no evidence that individuals are being steered to a certain product that is not in their best

interest. And the process must be made completely transparent to the individuals being referred.

By making referrals to multiple banks, the organization can remain focused on providing

clients with the information they need to make their own choices. Referral arrangements,

typically funded through marketing dollars, provide financial incentives to the organization for

every referral made. If referrals are made to only one bank, the organization should be able to

demonstrate that it has conducted basic due diligence on the products offered. And there can be

no coercion involved.

The organization is permitted to financially profit from this referral process. As long as the

referrals are consistent with the organization’s goals and the amount remains a limited percentage

of total income, the profits may be treated as “related income” and will not run afoul of nonprofit

tax law. However, the client should be made aware of that fact that the nonprofit is benefiting

from the referral; and the case manager or coach should clearly state the limits of the community

group’s responsibilities and liabilities.

Module 4 will familiarize the leadership of the participating organizations with this nuanced

subject matter through:

• A classroom session on the different types of funding or compensation available to partnerships, and the legal or tax liability implications of each.

• A legal analysis of standard contracts and vending agreements that banks may use to guide referral arrangements.

• A review of standard disclaimer forms that a community group can use to manage client/member expectations about referrals

11

• One-on-one consultations with a tax attorney who can provide specific guidance to each organization with regard to the partnerships they are pursuing.

MODULE 5: ACCUMULATING IMPACT: COMMUNITY-WIDE PARTNERSHIPS

The final module is perhaps the most important in demonstrating the potential of community

groups to make a significant difference to bank performance. As community groups track the

contributions they are making to a branch’s performance, it becomes apparent that a single

group can only do so much. To present the greatest value proposition to banks, community-based

organizations may first need to partner with each other, forming a consolidated infrastructure for

customer cultivation, referral, and support.

In such a system, organizations need to define specialized roles in relationship to one another so

that a full array of capabilities is in place. They can explore a variety of partnership configurations

that can be explored, from decentralized networks to hub and spoke models with the financial

one-stop at the center. And in a real sense, the bank is not partnering with an individual nonprofit

or association, it is partnering with the neighborhood, as represented by a community-wide

infrastructure of groups functioning as a system.

Unit Five will put this concept into a practice through:

• The assembly of a cohort of community-based organizations in a specific geographic area with high concentration of unbanked households.

• Group presentations on: the area’s financial landscape and the collective needs of the local banks.

• Facilitated large-scale planning aimed at identifying shared target goals, collective resources for meeting those goals, and negotiated divisions of labor.

• Recommendations for shared governance and accountability, including memoranda of understanding and more agreements that can hold partners together over time.

PUTTING THE CURRICULUM TO WORK: A FIVE-CITY DEMONSTRATION STRATEGY

Over an 18-month period, the Center will deliver this capacity-building program in

five metropolitan markets. These cities were selected, because they are most often cited as

primary markets by the ten largest financial institutions: New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas,

Chicago, and Miami.

By choosing sites where banks are already invested, we are maximizing the number of partnership

opportunities that could result. In each market, the Center for Place-Based Initiatives will

work intensively with a cohort of 20-25 organizations. Ideally, these will be clustered in a

few geographic areas containing high concentrations of unbanked individuals so that we can

maximize the results observed at a community level and optimize synergies across groups.

12

To cast the widest possible net for participants, we will enlist a local advisory board representing

regional institutions or networks familiar with community organizations. The United Way, for

instance, can reach out to its financial security grantees; and city or county agencies can provide

access to their nonprofit partners. To reach below the radar screen, VITA and AARP can provide

lists of groups hosting tax preparation days. School districts and education funds can offer access

to parent associations; and inter-faith alliances can reach out to churches, mosques, and temples.

As suggested above, participating organizations will participate in a variety of learning formats

that balance general and customized learning: group orientations and workshops for the entire

cohort, individual coaching and technical assistance for executives managers, organization-wide

workshops and trainings for board and staff, and strategic planning sessions that enable multiple

organizations in the same area to negotiate divisions of labor and form neighborhood-wide

systems.

Given the growing interest in creating financial one-stops, financial empowerment centers,

centers for working families, and the like; one aspect of the capacity-building process will address

how groups can situate themselves in these systems and connect with nonprofits providing the

full array of financial stability programming. The aim is to ensure that these systems achieve

saturation levels within the most disinvested neighborhoods.

CPBI’s Training and Support Capacity

The Center for Place-Based Initiatives (CPBI) is a nonprofit intermediary that carries out

geographically-targeted capacity-building efforts aimed at increasing the financial capacity

of low-income neighborhoods. Through a contract hybrid structure, CPBI is a partner with

Emerging Markets, Inc. which works directly with financial institutions to expand into these

same low-income neighborhoods. This dual capacity means that we can cultivate synergies

between community groups and banks and foster mutually-beneficial partnerships between them.

The Center has worked with the corporate foundations at Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank,

JP Morgan Chase, Union Bank, US Bank, Wachovia, Capital One Bank, Prudential Financial,

HSBC, and others. It has also been funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Robert Wood

Johnson Foundation, California Endowment, Lawrence Welk Foundation, Sony Pictures

Entertainment, CBS Television, and numerous other private, family, and corporate funders. It

has worked directly with several United Ways and municipal governments on the development

of the financial stability initiatives or one-stop strategies.

ATTACHMENT 1Work plan and Timeline

15

Months 1-3: Determining Organizational Fit

(1) Convene Group Session: “Why Partner with Banks?”: The process begins with a series of general orientations for all interested organizations. It will provide an overview of current financial education and asset-building programs; and the retail banking industry (its history, role in neighborhood revitalization, success measures, and challenges). We will also put forth illustrative examples of community/bank partnerships that exist today and respond to questions about the advantages and disadvantages of such ventures. Organizations should be represented by at least two leaders as well as their board chair, if they are an incorporated nonprofit.

(2) Assign Each Organization a Coach: After this session, organizations are invited to opt in. Those that choose to continue are assigned an organizational coach to work with them on a monthly basis throughout the program. These coaches are local individuals with experience in organizational development and community economic development. Ideally, they have experience working in community organizing and the function of informal associations. They undergo training together with their counterparts at the Center for Place-Based Initiatives.

(3) Assess Each Organization’s “Value Proposition” to Banks: This step enables the organization’s leadership to understand what assets it possesses that could be of value to a bank. The assessment focuses on the organization’s: aggregator function, earned trust, and client or constituent tracking systems. There is also a functional analysis of the group’s capacity for: counseling and advising, communication and social marketing, social support and client barrier removal, etc. This stage will also include a rigorous assessment of the organization’s general strength and capacity to take on new activities.

(4) Identify the Link to Financial Stability: This is a process undertaken within each organization, with the assistance of the coach. It enables each organization to discover its own connection financial stability and to formulate its logic for pursuing bank partnerships. To help its leadership make informed, evidence-based decisions, the group may survey clients or members to better understand their financial behaviors and challenges. For nonprofits, the coach may facilitate or help design board-level policy discussions. NOT about forcing it. Find natural connections that address root causes.

Months 3-9: Program Design

(5) Convene Group Session: “The Array of Asset-Building Strategies”: This session will focus on the range interventions and strategies that comprise the financial education and asset-building movement: benefits enrollment, income-generation and entrepreneurship programs, financial education, budgeting and financial planning workshops, tax preparation assistance, foreclosure prevention counseling, credit repair counseling, savings or IDA programs, assistance opening a bank account, and programs aimed at increasing the utilization of public benefits. This session will be followed by optional modules, held over the course of six weeks, focused on each type of intervention. A special workshop series will focus on the application of community organizing tactics to community-driven bank attraction and retention strategies.

16

(6) Help Organizations to Choose/Adopt Strategies: Using the earlier analysis of the organization’s key assets, client/constituent needs, and mission alignment; organizational leadership will select one or more interventions that it can adopt. Once organizational leadership has determined which asset building programs to incorporate into its ongoing programs, coaches will help plan the implementation. Coaches will help the organization to undertake budget planning and resource development, as well as integration strategies with the organization’s existing programs and services.

(7) Hold Inter-Group Planning Sessions: We will hold small group planning sessions among organizations in order to establish a division of labor among those groups with complementary asset-building programs. For most households, just one program or service will not suffice. They need a bundle of services, delivered simultaneously or in an appropriate sequence and sustained over a multi-year period. This will typically require inter-organizational referral arrangements in order to simulate a comprehensive one-stop experience.

Months 9-18: Partnership Formation and Implementation

(8) Convene Group Session: “Partnership Formats”: This session will review the taxonomy of prototype formats for partnerships between community organizations and financial institutions. The session will focus on the advantages and disadvantages of each format, and illustrative examples of successful partnerships. Representatives from financial institutions will be invited to discuss what they consider to be the broad partnership opportunities in the local market.

(9) Partnership Formation: With the support of individual coaching, each organization will pursue a formal partnership based on one of the templates. Coaches will not advocate for particular financial institutions as partners. They will provide direct technical assistance and facilitation around the partnership the organizational leadership has selected. Each partnership will include a tracking system that monitors both the community outcomes of interest to the organization, and the business results accrued by the bank.

(10) Ongoing Support and Assessment: The coach will remain engaged in the implementation of the partnership for the duration of the program period, providing assistance as needed. The coach will also assess the impact of the partnership in the organization and assist with local funding raising and trouble shooting. Finally, the coaches will prepare a summary report on the capacity-building process.

ATTACHMENT 2Neighborhood Maps

A l l a p a t t a h


Li

be

rt

y

Ci

ty

Corpus Christi Catholic Church

Abundant Living Citi Church

Bethel Christian Church

Church of the Open Door

New Mission Worship Center

Iglesia Bautista EfeseoIglesia de Dios Pentecostal

Iglesia de Dios Rio-Agua Viva

Lebanon Seventh Day Adventist Church

Tabernacle of Praise

Lindsey Hopkins Tech. Ed. Center

Allapattah Middle School

Carrie Meek EEC

Comstock Elementary School

Northwestern High School

Miami Jackson High School

Miami-Dade Medical Center Campus

TACOLCY

U of Miami Jackson Memorial

Allapattah Business Authority

Allapattah Community Action

Allapattah Village

CHURCHES

SCHOOLS

COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

MIAMIALLAPATTAH, LIBERTY CITY


Service Layer Credits: Sources: Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, TomTom, Intermap,increment P Corp., GEBCO, USGS, FAO, NPS, NRCAN, GeoBase, IGN, KadasterNL, Ordnance Survey, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), and the GIS UserCommunity

V e r n o n - C e n t r a lB

oy

l e H

ei g

ht s

KIPP College Prep Academy

Bridge Street Elelmentary

Euclid Avenue Elementary

First Street Elementary

Sheridan Street Elementary

Soto Street Elementary

Roosevelt High School

Second Street Elementary

SCHOOLS

Dolores Mission Church

St. Mary’s Catholic Church

Santa Isabel Church

CHURCHESEmmanuel Church GIC

Holy Cross Church

Phillips Temple CME Church

Iglesia Cristiana Casa de Dios

CHURCHES

Ascot Elementary School

Hooper Avenue Elementary School

LATTC

Jefferson High School

Maya Angelou High School

Synergy Charter Academy

CD Tech

A Place Called Home

Beyond Shelter

The Brotherhood Crusade

South Central Family Health Center

Community Financial Resource Center

Coalition for ResponsibleCommunity Development

Concerned Citizens of SouthCentral Los Angeles

Estelle Van Meter MultipurposeCenter

SCHOOLS


Puente Learning Center

White Memorial Hospital

East L.A. CC

Jovenes, Inc

Proyecto Pastoral


LOS ANGELESVERNON-CENTRAL, BOYLE HEIGHTS


Service Layer Credits: Sources: Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, TomTom, Intermap, increment PCorp., GEBCO, USGS, FAO, NPS, NRCAN, GeoBase, IGN, Kadaster NL, Ordnance

FairPark

LancasterCorridor

Pinkston High School

Frazier Elementary School

Lisbon Elementary School

Paul Dunbar Learning Center

West Dallas Coomunity School

Sidney Lanier Expressive Arts Vanguard

Dallas VA Medical Center

Builders of Hope

Cross Family Center

Dallas Urban League

Lakewest YMCA

EDCO

ICDC

Juanita Craft Rec Center

Mary R Saner Child Development

McMillan Community Center

Southfair CDC

West Dallas Community Center Offices

Bataan Community Center

God’s Holy Temple

Abundant Faith Church GIC

Carver Baptist Church

Greater Mt. Hebron Baptist Church

St. Mary of Carmel Church

Holmes Street Church GIC

New Leaf Baptist Church

Mt. Zion Church GIC

West Dallas Community Church

Telstar Baptist Church

True Lee Church

CHURCHES

SCHOOLS


W e s t D a l l a s

DALLASWEST DALLAS, LANCASTER CORRIDOR, FAIR PARK



Qu

ad C o m m u n i t i

es

S o u t h C h i c a g o

Big Shoulders Fund

Claretian Associates

El Valor Rey Gonzalez

St. Elizabeth Elementary School

Holy Angels School

Kenwood Academy High School

Phillips Academy High School

SCHOOLS

Genesis Housing Development Corp

Quad Communities CWF

Quad Communities Development Corp

Centers For New Horizons

Chicago Urban League

Dawson Techincal Institute


New Covenant Mry. Baptist Church

Apostolic Church of God

CHURCHES

James Bowen HS

James Thorp Elementary

New Life Covenant ChurchOur Lady of Guadalupe School

SCHOOLSCOMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

Masjid al-Faatir

Metropolitan Community Church

Al Sadiq Mosque

Grant Memorial AME Church

Kenwood United Church of Christ

CHURCHES

New Community Church

St. Elizabeth Catholic Church

Metropolitan Family Services Our Lady of Guadalupe ChurchSt. Michael’s School

Southeast Chicago DC Pilgrim Baptist Church

St. Michael Catholic Church

CHICAGOQUAD COMMUNITIES, SOUTH CHICAGO



Me l r o

se

Ja

ma

ic

aHarriet Tubman Charter School

KIPP Academy

Peace & Diversity Academy

PS 55 Benjamin Franklin

Ss. Peter & Paul School

Al Smith High School

Bronx Elementary School

Bronx Leadership Academy II

Catholic Charities Comm. Services

Morrisania Revitalization Corp.

Nos Quedamos CDC

St. Anthony of Padua

St. John Chrysostom

CHURCHES

SCHOOLS


Congregation Bene Naharayim

Immaculate Conception Church

Praise Tabernacle Church

York College - CUNY

York Early College Academy

Immaculate Conception School

Jamaica High School

Queens HS Sciences

CHURCHES

SCHOOLS

Islamic Citcle of North America


NEW YORK CITYMELROSE, JAMAICA


The Center for Place-Based Initiatives1024 N Orange Drive, Suite 120Los Angeles, CA 90038323.465.0406

www.centerforplacebasedinitiatives.org

Meeting Halfway

Documents

Transcript of Meeting Halfway