Financial Wellness Partnership Update
June 2022
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United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona circulates this monthly newsletter focused on financial wellness topics. In this edition, learn about our upcoming network meeting, ongoing work from our focus teams, eviction prevention efforts, and more. |
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Join us at our next Financial Wellness Partnership Meeting
Thursday 6/16, 1-2:30pm
This session will center on voter outreach and education. Ensuring that everyone in our community can participate in decisions around resources is a key component of financial wellness, and voting is one opportunity to lend a voice. Guest speakers for this meeting will include:
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League of Women Voters, who will share information about changes affecting Pima County voters this year (including redistricting, vote centers, and early voter lists) and resources to support education efforts.
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Pima Youth Vote will also be on hand to discuss their 2020 campaign, plans for 2022, and opportunities for partnership.
*Note: In a departure from our usual Zoom-only meetings, this meeting will be hybrid – meaning that you are welcome to attend in-person at our United Way office (330 Commerce Park Loop, Suite 200) or join remotely via the usual Zoom link.
If you plan to attend the meeting in-person, please let Lisa know via email by Friday 6/10 – we plan to offer a light lunch (starting at 12:30pm) and an estimated headcount would be helpful!
Network meetings are designed to build awareness, trust, and capacity among local partners offering financial wellness resources. All interested individuals are welcome to join! Email Lisa Floran (lfloran@unitedwaytucson.org) to receive the link.
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Financial Education and Coaching Team Updates |
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In May, the Financial Education and Coaching team continued their work around barrier mapping. Previously, the group identified a variety of barriers they face as practitioners, which were organized into the following categories: |
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- Addressing Client Motivation and Behavior Change
- Incorporating Inclusive, Diverse, Equitable, and Accessible (IDEA) Strategies
- Measuring Impact
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- Developing Coaching Expertise
- Developing Subject Matter Expertise
- Conducting Analysis and Program CQI
- Addressing Staff Burn-out
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With these categories in mind, the group began discussing solutions they've implemented in the past as well as new ideas they're interested in exploring. Going forward, the group plans to focus on one or two categories at a time for more involved discussion before moving on to barriers facing their participants. At the May meeting, we also heard from Lisa Atkinson, Robyn Austin, and Miguel Cruz from Tucson Federal Credit. The Tucson FCU team offers individual coaching on financial wellness topics and employment support, curriculum/teaching support for community partners, and space for partner workshops, classes, or events at their Multicultural Empowerment Center.
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The Financial Education and Coaching group will next meet on Thursday 6/23 at 1pm - Contact Lisa to receive the link, notes, and meeting agendas.
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Public Policy Team Updates |
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The Public Policy team continued exploring the topic of savings during their May meeting. Their centering idea is that when people have savings to handle an unforeseen expense, they are better positioned to meet basic needs, maintain self-sufficiency, and avoid the risky and predatory financial services that often bring long-term consequences.
The group completed an activity from the Center for Evaluation Innovation, which helped a few questions emerge - ex. what do we already know about the savings experience of low and moderate-income (LMI) and BIPOC people in our community? What do we assume the public, influencers, and decisionmakers already know about needs and opportunities related to savings? And what do we assume about existing will of the public, influencers, and decisionmakers to shift the current situation? In future meetings, the group will use these questions - and available data relating to each - to guide next steps.
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Below are some other articles and opportunities flagged by policy group members this month:
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Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2021 - Federal Reserve, May 23, 2022
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Striking Increase in Americans Unable to Cover Emergency Expenses Using Cash - Economic Security Project, May 23, 2022
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What a $400 emergency expense tells us about the economy – Minneapolis Federal Reserve, June 11, 2021
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Tucson Norte-Sur Survey - The City of Tucson was awarded a federal grant to develop a strategic plan to guide future land use and real estate investments, infill development, and growth within the communities surrounding an important regional North-South transit corridor. Feedback for the project is currently being collected.
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As Juneteenth becomes a federal holiday, the US needs a culture of reparations - Forbes, June 16, 2021
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The Public Policy group will next meet on Wednesday 6/29 at 1:30pm - Contact Lisa to receive the link, notes, and meeting agendas.
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BIPOC Loan Fund Re-Opening |
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Household wealth data suggests that white families hold 10 times more wealth than Black families and five times as much as Latinx families. Because 85% of entrepreneurs start businesses from their own savings or support from family and friends, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color), entrepreneurs often have less capital to access. To support these business owners in lieu of that issue and other barriers, local community members launched the BIPOC Loan Fund in 2021. This fund offers Southern Arizona BIPOC business owners the chance to apply for 0% interest loans, ranging from $500 to $10,000, with terms between 1-5 years. All loan decisions are made by a committee of BIPOC business owners and community leaders, and starting this July, the fund is revolving - meaning it is open for applications all year round. United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona is a proud supporter of the BIPOC Loan Fund, along with Blax Friday, Startup Tucson, TEP, Women’s Foundation for the State of Arizona, Cox, YWCA of Southern Arizona and Tucson Metro Chamber.
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BIPOC Loan Fund applications open Monday, July 1st. Interested individuals are also welcome to join Community Investment Corporation's upcoming virtual session on June 8th (12:30-1:30pm) to learn more - RSVP here.
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Coalition for Family Financial Wellness |
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United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona’s Coalition for Family Financial Wellness launched in 2021 to focus on eviction prevention for families with children. Last year, 83% of reporting families in Coalition programs increased their income, and nearly all families successfully stabilized their housing. In addition to their direct service work, Coalition partners meet quarterly to share promising eviction prevention program strategies. Here are a few learnings from their first year:
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Addressing Emergency Needs: Crises are inevitable in life – health issues, job changes, family emergencies. Partners note that a sudden crisis makes it nearly impossible for families to continue focusing on housing, income, and education goals. Flexible funds to cover one-time expenses helped many Coalition families stay current on rent, cover utility bills, purchase groceries, and ultimately stay engaged with eviction prevention programming last year.
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Identifying Moment of Opportunity: On a similar note, crisis situations are often not only expensive but traumatic. One organization is finding that families emerging from crisis generally need 2-3 months before being ready to participate in the financial capability or educational aspect of eviction prevention programs.
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Facilitating Landlord Communication: For housing stabilization, case managers recommend facilitating conversations between tenants and landlords rather than serving as a go-between. For example, instead of mailing checks, bring tenants to deliver them in-person and meet their landlord. Success has also been seen around coupling this work with coaching on payment process and documentation.
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The Coalition for Family Financial Wellness continues its work to support families under threat of eviction. Contact Lisa for more information about their efforts, learnings, and recommendations.
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Financial Wellness Resources for Southern Arizona |
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United Way Tucson Financial Wellness Resource List: Find programmatic and 1:1 opportunities for financial coaching/education, tax assistance, workforce development, and more on this list developed by United Way of Tucson and Southern AZ partners. You are also welcome to email Lisa if you want to talk through ideas or recommendations about what might be a good fit: lfloran@unitedwaytucson.org
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Video Content from Million Stories Media |
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United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona has teamed up with the Singleton Foundation for Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship to share valuable content focused on financial wellness. Million Stories, a project of the Singleton Foundation, is on a mission to make community members more financially competent. This month's featured video comes from the Ramen Profitable series and is called Flikshop: The Tech Startup Sending Postcards to Prison. This series is all about the early stages of starting your own business, and how difficult, yet rewarding, it is to finally turn a profit. In this video, formerly incarcerated entrepreneur Marcus Bullock shares his story; from being sentenced to prison at 15 years old, to launching a tech company that helps justice-involved individuals stay connected to their families. Bullock discusses challenges he faced building a successful business, including virtually redesigning his model to adapt and thrive during the pandemic. This video would be a great addition to a course or unit on entrepreneurship, especially for programs serving justice-involved individuals and their families.
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Listening Sessions - Pima County | "Let's Talk Tech": Pima County is hosting three listening sessions to connect with the community and find out their needs regarding internet connectivity and other tech issues. Open to the public, more info at the link above.
Job Opportunity - Pima County EELS: Pima County Community and Workforce Development is seeking a Program Coordinator for the Emergency Eviction Legal Services (EELS) division.
ADU Focus Groups - Mi Casita : Mi Casita seeks input from community members in upcoming ADU conversations. Learn more about how to participate at the link.
Professional Development: Viable Insights recently shared a strategic planning and continuous quality improvement resource that they have made free for our partners – you can access it here via the coupon code FWP21.
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Additional Information
- Note on LIHEAP: Pima County Community Action Agency staff are currently accepting referrals to screen for Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds. Staff and case managers are encouraged to pass along applicant names and phone or email contact information to CAAReferrals@pima.gov .
Eviction Prevention Resources - The Tucson Pima EPP portal for rental and utility assistance is still open, working with a network of nonprofits to distribute relief funds from the City of Tucson and Pima County. Tenants are encouraged to sign up for the waitlist in order to be considered.
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Utility Assistance: The page linked here, found via TucsonPimaEp.com, is a great central resource for different utility relief programs, including those from TEP, Southwest Gas, and other local providers.
Free Tax Assistance: United Way of Tucson's VITA program continues to operate (though at reduced capacity) throughout the summer. If you or someone you know still needs to file, visit the VITA webpage to learn more about using GetYourRefund's online filing or setting up a Valet VITA intake appointment.
TucsonEvictionHelp.org: This tool from TPCH can help individuals and families check their eligibility for homelessness prevention funds, which may be available in certain situations - such as when a family is paying to stay at a hotel but running out of funds, or being forced to leave a housing situation where they are doubled up.
Arizona Homeowner Assistance Fund: The HAF program provides help for homeowners who have experienced financial hardship due to COVID-19 after January 21st, 2020. Homeowners can use HAF funds for the purpose of preventing the following: homeowner mortgage delinquencies, homeowner mortgage defaults, homeowner mortgage foreclosures, homeowner loss of utilities or home energy services, and displacements of homeowners experiencing financial hardship.
Health Benefits: AHCCCS is taking steps to ensure that all eligible Arizonans can stay covered as the federal government ends the national public health emergency. Visit the AHCCCS page to check steps that can ensure members do not experience gaps in coverage.
SingleCare Affordable Prescriptions: United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona partners with SingleCare to provide community members with access to affordable prescription medications. The SingleCare prescription savings card is always free to use by everyone and has no registration or eligibility requirements - it can be used right away. Once signed up, a member just needs to show the savings card to their pharmacist when they fill a prescription at a participating pharmacy. The discount will be automatically applied at checkout.
Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)- The ACP is an FCC benefit (formerly Emergency Broadband Benefit) that helps ensure households can afford the broadband they require for work, healthcare and to stay connected. The ACP provides eligible low-income households a credit up to $30 a month toward the cost of Internet service ($75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands). Participants in the program can apply the ACP credit toward the cost of participating plans from a variety of Internet service providers, as well as mobile services.
- Locally, Comcast is one participating provider. Households that choose plans that cost $30/month or less will essentially receive their service for free - learn more about Comcast's program here.
AZ Eviction Help - Information about eviction processes, tenant rights, and resources for rental assistance, utility assistance, legal assistance compiled by the Arizona Bar Association
*NEW SETS OF TEST AVAILABLE* Order Free COVID-19 Tests: Go to COVIDTests.gov, to order four tests per household. Orders will usually ship in 7-12 days and will begin shipping later this month.
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The Financial Wellness Partnership seeks to improve the financial wellness of individuals and families by increasing accessibility to effective services, resources, and opportunities, and by influencing policy to
develop equitable, people-centered systems that support financial wellness.
If you have questions or suggestions for future newsletters, please contact Lisa Floran, Senior Director of Financial Wellness Initiatives at United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona: lfloran@unitedwaytucson.org
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