The Office of Community Services has awarded 15 AFI grants totaling nearly $4.1 million to community-based organizations and government agencies under HHS’ Administration for Children and Families. Funded projects will provide low-income individuals and families with access to IDAs as well as training on financial education.

“These special savings accounts give participants an opportunity to accumulate assets,” said George Sheldon, HHS acting assistant secretary for children and families. “This means they can reach milestones such as owning a home, a small business or going back to school. Those are some of the important goals we set in life, and AFI savings accounts provide a way for individuals and families to achieve them.”

Grant Recipient	City	State	Award
Crawford-Sebastian Community Development Council, Inc.	Fort Smith	AR	$137,000
Arizona Board of Regents, University of Arizona	Tuscon	AZ	$1,000,000
Juma Ventures	San Francisco	CA	$420,000
YWCA Delaware, Inc.	Wilmington	DE	$19,411
Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority	Indianapolis	IN	$1,000,000
The Family Conservancy	Kansas City	KS	$141,176
The MIDAS Collaborative, Inc.	Allston	MA	$403,400
Montana Credit Unions for Community Development	Helena	MT	$95,000
Alternatives Federal Credit Union	Ithaca	NY	$64,706
Community Action Agency of Oklahoma City & OK/CN Counties	Oklahoma City	OK	$70,000
Lakota Funds, Inc.	Kyle	SD	$42,353
Upper East Tennessee Human Development Agency, Inc.	Kingsport	TN	$100,000
Covenant Community Capital Corporation	Houston	TX	$300,000
Goodwill Industries of San Antonio	San Antonio	TX	$100,000
United Way of Abilene, Inc.	Abilene	TX	$200,000

 

We are delighted to announce that we have expanded our ability to offer scholarships for the AFI Grantee Institute and the 2012 Assets Learning Conference (ALC), September 19-21, 2012 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC. You can now take advantage of two new opportunities:

1. Now, both AFI grantees and subgrantees are eligible for scholarship assistance. Previously, only grantees were eligible. If you have already registered for the conference without a scholarship and would like to receive one, please contact 2012alc@cfed.org.
2. In addition, we have lifted the one-person-per-organization limit. If you have multiple staff who would like to attend the Institute and Conference, they are now eligible for a scholarship. If you have already registered more than one staff person for the conference, but only received a single scholarship, please contact 2012alc@cfed.org so that additional scholarships may be applied.

The 2012 ALC will begin on Wednesday, September 19 with a full-day AFI Grantee Institute covering a range of topics. Day Two of the conference will feature two plenaries and four sets of concurrent sessions followed by an evening reception. The final day of the conference will include two plenaries and two sets of concurrent sessions. There will be numerous sessions of interest to AFI grantees, as well as time for you to meet with AFI Program Specialists and network with one another.

Registration Access

If you would like to receive financial support to attend the AFI Grantee Institute and Assets Learning Conference, please do not register on the main Assets Learning Conference website, because as an AFI Grantee, your registration process is unique. Instead, please at the AFI Grantee registration site. The password is ALCAFI.

Eligibility

OCS is providing support to cover the cost of conference registration for AFI grantees (a $600 value). Travel, lodging and other expenses are not covered by this support.

Financial support for attendance is limited, and will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

Finally, please note that all those who receive OCS support to attend the Assets Learning Conference must attend the AFI Grantee Institute on September 19. There are other pre-conference institutes taking place on that date, so if you plan to apply for AFI support and also wish your organization to be represented at more than one event on September 19, please plan to send more than one staff person to the conference.

AFI will be hosting a webinar to provide more information to grantees about the AFI² transition. AFI will be discontinuing AFI² after September 2012. AFI is committed to assisting grantees with exploring alternative systems, exporting data entered into AFI² to-date, and providing tools to assist grantees with the completion of the annual data report. The webinar on Thursday, July 26 will provide an overview of the AFI² transition and details on alternative systems and tools to replace AFI². The same webinar will be held again on August 2. Please review the information below regarding the dates, times, and topics that will be covered in the webinar. You can register by clicking on the hyperlink below.

Topics:

• Understanding the discontinuation of AFI²
• Description of alternative Management Information Systems and data collection tools
• Presentation of decision trees to assist grantees with choosing an alternative system
• Timeline for transition from AFI²

Register Today!

• Thursday, July 26, 2:00 p.m. EDT
• Thursday, August 2, 2:00 p.m. EDT

Mobile technologies have the potential to transform how consumers access financial products and how they make decisions about their finances. Use of mobile devices is growing rapidly, including among traditionally underserved consumers. In addition, the expansion of access to data about financial products is creating new opportunities for innovators to create data-­‐driven tools and services that empower financial consumers. These advances in technology make possible a new class of apps that allow consumers to search for and access financial products on demand, manage their finances, and set and stick to financial goals. In order to foster innovations that capitalize on this opportunity, the Treasury Department, in partnership with the D2D Fund and Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI), has launched the MyMoneyAppUp Challenge.

The MyMoneyAppUp Challenge is a contest offering cash prizes intended to motivate American entrepreneurs, software developers, the public, and students to propose the best ideas and designs for next-­‐generation mobile tools to help consumers make smart financial choices, access high quality financial products and services, and ultimately control and shape their financial futures.

The Challenge is accepting two types of app ideas from competitors:

The IdeaBank: The IdeaBank will issue a call for ideas, in 140 characters or less, for app-­‐based solutions from the general public (such as industry leaders, academics, and consumer advocates). Ideas will be submitted on the Challenge website. IdeaBank submissions will be put to an open crowd-­‐sourced vote and a panel of judges will pick the final winners from the top 10 vote-­‐getters, with winners receiving cash prizes ranging from $250 to $1,000.

App Design Challenge: The App Design Challenge will solicit comprehensive design proposals for apps from companies, individuals, and teams of individuals. Contestants will complete an online submission form on the Challenge website detailing their design and how it will improve financial access and/or capability. Contestants are encouraged, but not required, to use ideas from the IdeaBank as inspiration for their proposals. A small panel of judges will review and score the proposals with the winners being announced at an awards event and receiving cash prizes ranging from $2,500 to $10,000.

To learn more about the Challenge or to submit your idea, visit MyMoneyAppUp.challenge.gov.

CFED wants to know what Americans are saving for this summer. Three winners will be rewarded with contributions towards their savings goal, whether it be a college fund, car or fridge. First prize is a $500 Visa gift card and the two runners up will receive $100 Visa gift cards.

How to enter:

Take a photo in front of an object, be it a new car, home, or even a university you’d like to attend. Along with the photo, please include a 100 word description of why you’re saving for this item and why you consider it an asset.

From July 1st to August 1st, submit your photo to CFED’s Facebook page, tweet it at @CFEDNews with #savingsphoto or send it over to photocontest@cfed.org.

A panel of judges will select the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners based on composition, originality, and overall appeal. In the end, CFED will announce the winners at the 2012 Assets Learning Conference. The winners, along with other entries, will be featured on CFED’s website, social media sites, and will be on display at the conference photo gallery.