Pre-Conference Workshops

Tuesday, October 13

Introduction to Money Smart
October 13, 2009 | 9:00-11:00
 Speaker: John Meeks, Community Affairs Specialist, FDIC
This session is aimed at individuals and organizations that provide personal financial education.  The session will provide the opportunity to learn about the FDIC’s free personal financial education curriculum, Money Smart, including the topics covered and formats available.  Each participant will receive a copy of the curriculum.

Advocacy for Asset Building in Your Community
October 13, 2009 | 9:00-11:00
Speakers: Sorien Schmidt, Senior Vice President, Action for Children North Carolina; Susan Lupton, Senior Policy Associate, Center for Responsible Lending
Learn the techniques for building grass roots support in your community for housing and asset building issues and policies.  Included are the laws and regulations related to lobbying for nonprofit organizations.

Asset Building for Persons with Disabilities
October 13, 2009 | 9:00-11:00
Speakers: Elizabeth Jennings, Program Associate, National Disability Institute; Michael Roush, Program Associate, National Disability Institute; Greg Gonthier, Community Work Incentives Coordinator, Easter Seals/UCP North Carolina
The presenters will discuss asset building programs for persons with disabilities and how they can be leveraged as to not affect public benefits and achieve optimal financial impact and asset accumulation.  Programs discussed include IDA’s, PESS, and PASS.

Opening Luncheon
11:30-1:00
Presiders: Donna Gallagher, Executive Director, IDA and Asset Building Collaborative of NC; Joanna LeClair, Vice President & Community Development Officer, Wachovia Social Responsibility Group; Sharon McLendon, Regional Emerging Markets Consultant, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage

Welcome
Mayor William V. "Bill" Bell, Mayor of Durham, NC

Workshop Series 1

Hands On Banking®
October 13, 2009 | 1:15-2:45
 Speakers:Pamela Erwin, Senior Vice President, Wells Fargo Foundation; Sharon McLendon, Regional Emerging Markets Consultant, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage; Joanna LeClair, Vice President & Community Development Officer, Wachovia Social Responsibility Group; Gladys Everts, Vice President, Wells Fargo Foundation; and Mark Rich, Assistant Vice President, Wells Fargo Foundation
Participants in this session will experience this fun, free program and its wealth of resources for working with individuals, families and students to help them create a brighter, more secure financial future. Every participant will receive free program materials.

“Taking Charge”: An Asset Building Model for Creating Long Term Financial Behavior Change
October 13, 2009 | 1:15-2:45
 Speaker: Reeta Wolfsohn, Director, Center for Financial Social Work
Financial Social Work, a discipline founded in North Carolina for non-social workers and social workers, is a psychosocial, multidisciplinary, experiential model incorporating education, motivation and on-going support as best practice for engaging men and women in long-term financial behavioral changes.  This session will demonstrate the process for “Taking Charge” of your money, your life and your future for creating emotional and financial stability.

Testing the Long-term Impacts of Individual Development Accounts and Asset Building on Social and Economic Well-Being
October 13, 2009 | 1:15-2:45
 Speakers: Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; William Rohe, Professor and Director of the Center for Urban and Regional Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Beadsie Woo, Senior Fellow, Family Economic Success Unit, Annie E. Casey Foundation; Dan Kornelis, Director of Housing, Forsyth County, North Carolina
This session will present findings from the first long-term, large-scale assessment of an IDA program, using data from fourth waves of data collection conducted as part of the American Dream Demonstration.  This study followed over 550 participants in an IDA program for over 10 years and an equal number of control group members.   Two of the lead researchers will discuss the long-term economic, social, and psychological impacts of participation in this IDA program.  In addition, Beadsie Woo from the Annie E. Casey Foundation will provide the funder perspective on IDA research and its contribution to the growing field of asset building.  A community housing expert will bring the practice perspective and provide his assessment of the long-term impacts of IDAs.

Understanding How the Community Reinvestment Act Impacts Bank Lending in the Current Economy
October 13, 2009 | 1:15-2:45
 Speaker: Peter Skillern, Executive Director, Community Reinvestment Association of North Carolina
The Community Reinvestment Act encourages financial institutions to make capital available to borrowers throughout the community.  Skillern will discuss the affects that recent economic events and the Community Reinvestment Act have had on bank lending, and how communities and citizens can best navigate these impacts.

Workshop Series 2

Pathways to Prosperity for Persons with Disabilities
October 13, 2009 | 3:00-4:30
 Speakers: Elizabeth Jennings, Program Associate, National Disability Institute; Michael Roush, Program Associate, National Disability Institute
How best to engage and educate the disabilities communities in Asset Building? Presenters will explore the “how to’s” of successful and innovative approaches, including local Asset Summits and Financial Fitness Expo’s.

Student Debt Research at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and a New Model for Closing the Wealth Disparity Gap
October 13, 2009 | 3:00-4:30
 Speakers: Mark McDaniel, Senior Research Associate, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Center for Community Capital; William Hawn, Coordinator of Operations at the Center for Social Research, Southern University and A&M College; Dr. Gwen McFadden-Wade, Associate Professor, North Carolina A&T State University; Alma Thornton, Ph.D., Director, Center for Social Research, Southern University and A&M College; Iman-n-lah Rasheed, Credit Analyst/College Coordinator, North Carolina Institute for Minority Economic Development
The social and economic cost of student debt at HBCU’s exacerbates the racial wealth gap.  Intervening at the college level holds the potential to transform an individual’s life-time financial prospects.  Presenters will cover recent research and the Southern University and A&M College collaboration model funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to be implemented at 7 HBCU’s across the nation which will integrate VITA, EITC, and IDA’s. Recent activities around student debt in North Carolina will be included.

The CFED Assets and Opportunity Scorecard and the 2009 North Carolina Assets Alliance Report: “The Prosperity Grid for North Carolina:  Connecting Households and Communities to Prosperity”
October 13, 2009 | 3:00-4:30
Speakers: LeElaine Comer, State Policy Specialist, CFED; Alexandra Sirota, Director of Policy and Research, Action for Children North Carolina
This session will highlight the recent publication of two seminal asset and wealth building reports. CFED’s Assets & Opportunity Scorecard uses the latest data on range of measures that are vital to families’ financial success to see where each state is strong, vulnerable and whether policies help or hinder people in moving to better financial position. This presentation will focus on NC’s outcomes  and provide recommendations for steps NC can take to improve financial stability of families. The North Carolina Assets Alliance Report: The Prosperity Grid for North Carolina, examines how North Carolina families experience the shifting nature of economic life, and the recommendations for how the network of institutions across the state can make prosperity possible.

The Role of Foreclosure Intervention Counselors in Working with Mortgage Servicers and Homeowners to Renegotiate Troubled Loans
October 13, 2009 | 3:00-4:30
 Speakers: David Andrew Smith, Research Assistant, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Center for Community Capital; Louis Perwien, Research Assistant, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Center for Community Capital
The Center for Community Capital has engaged counselors from 16 agencies across the country in a qualitative study to understand better the role of foreclosure intervention counselors in renegotiating troubled loans.  The findings of this study will be presented and includes information on the value that counselors bring and the challenges they face in working with homeowners and mortgage servicers to rework loans.

Roundtable Strategy Discussions

The North Carolina Assets Alliance
October 13, 2009 | 4:45-5:45
 Speakers: Donna Gallagher, Executive Director, IDA and Asset Building Collaborative of North Carolina; Alexandra Sirota, Director of Policy, Action for Children North Carolina
Connect your citizens, organizations, and communities to the vibrancy of diverse and expert practitioners across the state.  The discussion will cover tools for staying connected, along with recent and planned North Carolina Assets Alliance activities.

Creating an Asset Building Coalition for your Community: The experiences of the Cape Fear Asset Building Coalition
October 13, 2009 | 4:45-5:45
 Speakers: Greg Gonthier, Community Work Incentives Coordinator, Easter Seals UCP North Carolina; Emila Sutton, Policy and Program Associate, IDA and Asset Building Collaborative of North Carolina
How can an Asset Building Coalition benefit your community, and how do you get it off the ground?  Learn from one community’s experience and share you own.

Bank on NC and NC Saves
October 13, 2009 4:45 - 5:45
Speakers: Derwin Dubose, Director of Financial Literacy, NC Department of State Treasurer; Tami Hinton, Director of Consumer Affairs, Office of the Commissioner of Banks; Jill Cox, Government Relations and Communications Director, United Way of North Carolina
Learn about the Bank on NC initiative and how it can serve the unbanked and underbanked in your community. Also hear about NC Saves campaign and how these initiatives are working together to help strengthen the financial security of North Carolinians.

Developing an Individual Development Account Program for Your Community
Speakers: Tina Morris-Anderson, Director, Research and Policy Division, North Carolina Department of Labor; Keir Morton,Program Development Officer, North Carolina Housing Finance Agency
Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) are tools that are used in combination with other supportive services to assist families in achieving self-sufficiency. This discussion will cover the core elements of an IDA program; available funding for the IDA savings match; and answer questions about how to begin.

October 14, 2009

Breakfast
8:00-8:45
 The Economic Forecast for North Carolina
Speaker: Rick Kaglic, Regional Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

Workshop Series 3

Federal Legislation and Asset Building Opportunities: The Economic Recovery Act and President Obama’s Asset Building Priorities
October 14, 2009 | 8:45-10:15
 Speaker: Carol Wayman, Federal Policy Director, CFED
This session will discuss the plethora of opportunities for federal legislation to enable low-income families to build wealth through homeownership, college education, microenterprise and for retirement.  Included are opportunities included in the Economic Recovery legislation, President Obama’s budget priorities related to savings and asset accumulation, and proposed Congressional legislation.

Assets for All: Louisiana’s Statewide Individual Development Account Program
October 14, 2009 | 8:45-10:15
 Speaker: William Hawn, Coordinator of Operations at the Center for Social Research, Southern University and A&M College; Alma Thornton, Ph.D., Director, Center for Social Research, Southern University and A&M College; Mary Joseph, Program Manager, Louisiana Asset Building Initiative
The Southern University Center for Social Research has implemented a statewide individual development account (IDA) program that utilizes TANF funds to assist low-income families to develop savings accounts targeted to homeownership.  This program provides a 4:1 match up to $1000 per family, provides financial literacy, and first time homeownership seminars.  Only 2 ½ years old, they have 1000 participants, and have had 170 home purchases.  Issues of recruitment, motivation, and program completion for participants are included.

Financial Education for Children: Research and Practice
October 14, 2009 | 8:45-10:15
 Speakers: Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Andréa Taylor, Research Coordinator, School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Lissa Johnson, Director of Administration, Center for Social Development, Washington University in St. Louis; Fred Ssewamala, Associate Professor, Columbia University; Alexandra Sirota, Director of Policy and Research, Action for Children North Carolina
This session will cover the latest research on financial education for children including impacts of parental money management instruction on their children's future financial behavior and the impact of an elementary school-based savings program on financial knowledge and behavior. In addition, the session will provide an international perspective focused on the implementation of financial education for orphans in Uganda. Finally, participants will learn about the state of financial education for children in North Carolina, both policy and practice, and materials and resources available to increase or improve their financial education services.

Asset Building in the Underbanked Community
October 14, 2009 | 8:45-10:15
 Speakers: Erika Bell, Vice President of Strategy and Services, Latino Community Credit Union; Vicky Garcia, Vice President of Operations, Latino Community Credit Union; Pilar Rocha, Executive Director, El Centro Hispanico
Financial conditions in the Latino community are improved through the delivery of affordable financial services, and with financial education programs targeted to underserved immigrants in North Carolina.  Founded in Durham in 2000 as a grassroots response to a wave of robberies and muggings of Latino immigrants, Latino Community Credit Union is a national model for credit unions and community development financial institutions seeking to serve immigrant communities and the unbanked. 

Workshop Series 4

Saving for North Carolina’s Future:  The Role of Children’s Savings Accounts in Promoting Child and Community Well-being
October 14, 2009 | 10:30-12:00
 Speakers: Carl Rist, Vice President of Programs and Director of SEED (Savings for Education, Entrepreneurship and Downpayment), CFED; Alexandra Sirota, Director of Policy and Research, Action for Children North Carolina; Paul Stock, Executive Vice President & Counsel, North Carolina Bankers Association
The panel will provide an in-depth overview of a proposal for children’s savings account policy in North Carolina developed by a public-private Task Force in 2008-2009.  The presentation will share evidence of the need, design elements, and the business case, with perspectives from child advocates and private financial institutions.  Lessons learned from the first national pilot, SEED, will also be shared as well as an update on current national practice in this arena.

Strategies for Preserving Assets: Bankruptcy and the State Home Foreclosure Prevention Project
October 14, 2009 | 10:30-12:00
 Speakers: Mark Lindblad, Research Director, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Center for Community Capital; Rich Lee, Foreclosure Prevention Team Leader, North Carolina Housing Finance Agency; Tami Hinton, Director of the Consumer Affairs Division, North Carolina Commissioner of Banks Office; Rebekah O'Connell
This session examines bankruptcy filings and how bankruptcy can protect assets, focusing on homeownership and describing the experiences of low-to-moderate income homeowners who are contemplating bankruptcy.  A North Carolina Certified Housing Counselor describes bankruptcy’s logistical, financial, and social stigma challenges from the viewpoint of the borrower.  The session includes information on how the the State Home Foreclosure Prevention Project and Home Protection Program works to protect family assets.

Building Community Financial Assets
October 14, 2009 | 10:30-12:00
Speakers: Yolanda Burwell, Senior Fellow, North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center; Christina Rausch, Program Manager, MDC, Inc.
The presenters will provide a framework to think about community wealth building as an important economic development tool. Strategies and examples for engaging the community in asset building, and limiting asset loss, will be explored.  The work of the Rural Center in the economic development of low wealth communities across the state, and the work of MDC in the recovery of hurricane stricken communities in the south will be highlighted.

Models for Integrating Asset-Building Activities with Free Income Tax Preparation
October 14, 2009 | 10:30-12:00
 Speakers: Ken Long, President, Fiscal Progress; Mary Quinn, Executive Director, Charlotte Saves
VITA and Tax Aide programs provide a valuable free service for low and moderate income families.  These programs also provide a unique opportunity to help these families improve their financial situation and build assets.  Models are examined for using credit reports as a bridge from tax preparation to asset building. On-site counseling, seminars, off-site referrals, and community events will be compared as methods for expanding outreach and linking taxpayers to community services.

Luncheon
12:00-1:15
General Session - 12:00 -12:15
Speakers: Honorable Janet Cowell, State Treasurer, North Carolina; Benita Melton, Program Officer, C.S. Mott Foundation; Ray Boshara, Vice President and Senior Fellow, New America Foundation

Workshop Series 5

The Epidemic of Black Land Loss in the South: the Pitfalls and Opportunities of Heirs Property
October 14, 2009 | 1:15-2:45
Speakers: Chris Brook, Staff Attorney, Southern Coalition for Social Justice; John Cooper, MDC, Inc.; Christina Rausch, Program Manager, MDC, Inc.; Savonala Horne, Executive Director, Land Loss Prevention Project
The panel will define Black Land Loss and present factors that have perpetuated Black Land Loss in the South.  It will discuss present challenges for stemming the tide of Black Land Loss for property owners, advocates, and policy makers.  It will also provide examples of promising strategies for overcoming hurdles to asset preservation and potential outcomes.

Asset-Building for Microenterprise
October 14, 2009 | 1:15-2:45
 Speakers: Nancy Stark, Director of Field Development, CFED; Leslie Scott, Director of Entrepreneurship, North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center
As an extension of VITA sites, this session discusses CFED’s Self Employment Tax Initiative (SETI) project and how providing free tax preparation helps build assets for small business owners.  The needs of small business, sole proprietorships will be explored, along with practical links and supports for microenterprise development.   

Behavioral Economics and the Lessons for Financial Education and Asset Building
October 14, 2009 | 1:15-2:45
 Speakers: Alexandra Sirota, Director of Policy and Research, Action for Children North Carolina; Caitlyn Brazill, Office of Financial Empowerment, City of New York; Amy Brown, Senior Consultant with the Aspen Institute's Economic Opportunities Program (EOP)
The burgeoning field of behavioral economics, the study of how people make personal financial decisions, can provide important insights in the design of asset building programs and policy.  The panel will cover the research findings in behavioral economics and share applications of these findings to financial service regulation and asset building programs and policies.

Ask the Experts Panel: Providing Sound Advice for Clients—financial education, IDA’s and business startups
October 14, 2009 | 1:15-2:45
 Panelists: Mike Tucker, Director, Small Business Center, Mitchell Community College; Barbara Johnson, IDA Program, Experiment in Self Reliance; Harvey Reid, Financial Literacy Consultant, H.R. Consulting
Ask the Experts!  This session will provide practical advice and tools for IDA and asset building program participants.  IDA’s can be used for homeownership, business startups, or education and training.  Hear from experts on best practices: starting a business, financial counseling financial counseling and financial education in all IDA programs. Also, how IDA programs support participants’ savings goals.  Time is set aside for questions and answers of this panel.

Workshop Series 6

Loans resulting in wealth stripping:  Refund Anticipation Loans and Auto Financing
October 14, 2009 | 3:00-4:30
 Speakers: Peter Skillern, Executive Director, Community Reinvestment Association of North Carolina; Chris Kukla, Senior Counsel for Government Affairs at the Center for Responsible Lending
Financing can result in the loss of wealth instead of the building of assets, and two prevalent types are refund anticipation loans (RAL’s) and auto financing.  The Center for Responsible Lending recently released the report “Car Trouble:  Predatory Auto Loans Burden North Carolina Consumers”.  Their findings explore how kickbacks to dealers cost consumers over $665million per year, and “yo-yo financing” results in a more expensive loan. The pitfalls of Refund Anticipation Loans (RAL’s) provided by paid tax preparers will be examined, with alternative strategies for education and asset building within VITA sites.

Exploring the online Asset Platform:  What it can do for your Asset Building Programs
October 14, 2009 | 3:00-4:30
Speakers: Lucy Gorham, Director EITC Carolinas, MDC, Inc.; Amy Brown, Aspen Institute, who is one of the site designers, and Lauren Leimbach, Executive Director, Community Financial Resources
This session will walk participants through the online Asset Platform at www.assetplatform.org and explain how it can help asset building programs become more effective with the support of a broad array of resources. Tools offered at the site include a debit card, budgeting, savings, debt, credit, and insurance.

The Social Impact of Homeownership: Lessons from the CAP Study
October 14, 2009 | 3:00-4:30
 Speakers: Kim Manturuk, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, and Clinton Key, Center for Community Capital and School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Carolina Reid, Manager, Research Group, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco; Chris Estes, Executive Director, North Carolina Housing Coalition
This session will include presentations on the recent evidence of the social impacts of low-income homeownership, including social capital, parenting practices, neighborhood satisfaction, and civic engagement.  The research presentations will be followed by an overview of how this research can be evaluated in light of the current debate about homeownership policy and the housing crisis. The session will conclude with an interactive discussion with the audience. 

Using The Benefit Bank® for Benefits Screening and Enrollment
October 14, 2009 | 3:00 - 4:30
Speakers: Ralph Gildehaus, Senior Fellow, MDC, Inc., former director of the Ohio Benefit Bank
Outreach using a Web-based service called The Benefit Bank helps low and moderate-income Americans to complete and electronically file federal and state tax returns and applications for work supports such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), food stamps, health insurance, home energy assistance, child care assistance, student financial aid, etc. Once established in a state, use of The Benefit Bank is free to participating organizations. This workshop provides an overview of outreach using The Benefit Bank and efforts underway to implement this outreach in both N.C. and S.C.