Assets for Independence grants

Posted by on January 28, 2013

Funding Available for Financial Education and Wealth-Building Programs for Low-Income Populations

The Office of Community Services at the Administration for Children and Families is now accepting applications for funding for the Assets for Independence (AFI) program. The 2013 grant application deadlines are March 25 and May 24.

The AFI program provides funding to eligible organizations to provide Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) and related supportive services for qualified individuals in their area. Participants in an IDA program receive matching funds on their savings, for investing in purchasing a home, furthering education, or starting a business.  To date, over 80,000 families participating in AFI-funded projects across the nation have used their IDA savings to acquire a long-term asset and are on their way to long-term economic success.  In addition to IDAs, grantees also provide participants with money management training, assistance resolving credit and debt issues, and other supports.

Applications for AFI grants of up to $1 million are currently being accepted. Eligible applicants include non-profit organizations, qualified state and local governments, low-income designated credit unions, community development financial institutions, and other community-based organizations. Applicants must commit a non-Federal cash contribution of an amount equal to their Federal grant size at the time of application.

Webinar Series for Prospective AFI Grantees – The AFI Resource Center will host a fall  webinar series for prospective grantees and project partners.  The series includes several webinars featuring an overview of the AFI program and suggestions for developing strong projects; the AFI application process; and strategies for building partnerships with community organizations for bigger impact.  You will also have the opportunity to participate in interactive question and answer calls to receive answers regarding your specific project design questions. We encourage prospective applicants to attend the webinars in order.  If you have missed any preliminary webinar, you can listen to the audio recording prior to participating a future webinar.  Information on accessing audio recordings is below.

·         Tuesday, January 29: Prospective Grantee Webinar 1: Planning an AFI Project
·         Wednesday, February 13: Prospective Grantee Webinar 2: Preparing a Successful Application
·         Thursday, February 28: Prospective Grantee Webinar 3: Developing Resources and Partners
·         Tuesday, March 12: Prospective Grantee Webinar 1: Planning an AFI Project
·         Thursday, March 28: Prospective Grantee Webinar 2: Preparing a Successful Application
·         Wednesday, April 10: Prospective Grantee Webinar 3: Developing Resources and Partners

Each webinar is at 2:00 pm ET. To register and learn more about the webinar series visit the AFI Calendar of Events online: http://idaresources.org/Calendar.  Pre-recorded versions of the webinars can be accessed at http://www.IDAresources.org/Apply.

Contact the AFI Resource Center for technical support with your application at: [email protected] or 1-866-778-6037.  Visit the Resource Center website at: http://www.idaresources.org for more information on the Assets for Independence program, Individual Development Accounts, and other asset building strategies.