What is EARN?

Helping low-wage families save to invest in homes, education, small business

Providing money management training and coaching to help families achieve their dreams.

Working to effect policies that increase asset-building opportunities for workers.

EARN breaks the cycle of poverty and creates new cycles of prosperity by helping low-wage families build assets. We accomplish this by:

Who EARN Serves How They’re Doing 2000+ Savers are Bay Area

residents who dream of achieving financial security using IDAs;

Average income is under $20k/year per household when they start

83% people of color, 65% women

25% Latino

64% are from households with children

17,000 newly banked San Franciscans through Bank on SF

300+ Alums with access to financial coaching and planning

EARN Savers put aside 5% of their gross income

EARN Savers have put aside over $2.2 million of their own hard earned dollars.

300+ Alums have invested over $2 million 67 Savers have

purchased homes! Nearly all EARN homeowners

have 30 year fixed rate mortgages

EARN disallows predatory mortgage products

EARN Alumni Association Additional Suite of Products and Services

Financial Coaching and Planning Pilot in San Francisco

Micro-lending for credit card and medical debt SAFE Accounts

3:1 match for education Very popular among Latino families

Networking + Additional Learning Governed by Alumni Leadership Council

Determine annual focus Produce annual event

Bank on San Francisco Learnings This is working!

Over 17,000 newly banked San Franciscans

Keys to Success Understanding Demand vs. Need Getting granular and focusing on branches in key parts of San Francisco

Aligns incentives for branch managers Circumvents community affairs staff

Remaining focused on a simple goal: get people banked

Linking to Financial Literacy has been very challenging Banks not built to deliver training Incentives and structure finally worked with CBOs

Lessons Learned - General

Meet Latino Families where they really are

Distinguish between need and demand Ex. Bank on SF focus group finding Ex. Need for incentives for training

Segment the market Ex. Don’t assume IDAs will work for all poor folks

Be thoughtful about how people actually obtain information to make key decisions Word of mouth Ethnic Media

Lessons Learned – SAFE Accounts

Important to Involve Entire Family in Orientation and Training

Children are often the lead translator for parents on educational, employment, legal, banking issues

Introduces children to importance of budgeting, saving, etc and creates dialogue between children and parents around saving and investing

Lessons Learned – IDAs/Homeownership

Identifying institutions that accept ITIN for mortgage loans developing good referral relationships with

loan officers is also important

Understanding how to improve, build or begin a good credit history.  

Being clear about obstacles that Latino immigrants may face around homeownership (ITIN, stated income, credit history, HOA dues, etc.)  Allows people time to identify resources to address issues.

Lessons Learned – IDAs/Homeownership – cont’d

Partnership with agencies like MEDA, Consumer Credit Counseling Services, and financial institutions is important.

  Internal policies that protect low-income clients around

risky mortgages We believe this paternalism is justified

EARN’s Alumni Association is an important channel for staying in touch with Savers.  Continuing education and networking provides

information on potential hazards around refinancing, changes in income of household, etc.