North Carolina Saves (NC Saves)
Did you know that less than 43% of all Americans are not saving money? Did you know that of those 43%, most do not have more than $1,000 in a savings account? People are not saving money and this has caused a society where people are accumulating debt and not cash.
In an effort to address this savings crisis, AmericaSaves in partnership
with the Consumer Federation of America has made it a priority to
help people save money. Through AmericaSaves, a nationwide campaign that began
in 2000 as a collaboration between the Consumer Federation of America Foundation
(CFAF) and the Ford Foundation.
The statewide launch of the North Carolina Saves Campaign took place on September 27, 2005 as part of the Statewide Conference on Financial Literacy and Asset Building in Chapel Hill.
North Carolina is a partner in the AmericaSaves initiative. The IDA and Asset Building Collaborative of North Carolina (NC IDA Collaborative) in partnership with the Office of the North Carolina State Treasurer and NC Cooperative Extension formed the statewide coalition, the North CarolinaSaves Coalition. The coalition is chaired by the NC State Treasurer, Richard Moore and works together to help individuals and families save and build wealth by developing and disseminating information and educational resources related to personal financial management and investing. Through information, advice, and encouragement, we assist those who wish to pay down debt, build an emergency fund, save for a home, save for an education, or save for retirement through North CarolinaSaves.
The North Carolina Saves model consists of community based asset-building programs to expand their current services to provide low-moderate wealth citizens in North Carolina access to no fee savings accounts through local financial institutions. North CarolinaSaves program practitioners will assist program participants in establishing these accounts and provide them with financial literacy education. These no fee savings accounts will act as a catalyst to assist low-moderate wealth citizens in taking the first step to building assets and saving for the future. We hope you will join us as we implement this valuable tool to enable North Carolinians to gain financial stability.
In 2007, the North Carolina United Way joined in as a statewide partner helping to coordinate the activites of the Saves campaign in conjunction with IDA and Asset-Building Collaborative of North Carolins, Office of the State Treasurer and NC Cooperative Extension. Together these agencies will spearhead the efforts of NC Saves week.
If you would like additional information about the NC Saves Week, the NC Saves campaign and how you can get involved or enroll as a saver, please visit our website at www.northcarolinasaves.org.