PRESIDENT'S REPORT

By Kaye Schmitz  

Kaye Schmitz

Dear FPP Members, 

Happy August!  I'm sure it's been a busy summer for everyone and soon it will be time again to get ready for the whirlwind to begin anew in the fall, with tax site preparation, final grant applications for the year and implementation of programs we've been working on for months.

Your FPP team has been busy, too.  We've been working on:

• The Bank On Florida initiative--be sure to check out Bill Mills' column to find out the latest for Bank On Florida and all of the Bank On local initiatives as well

• Continuation of the DuPont-funded joint database/website project with the University of Florida--Dr. Michael Gutter has sent out a survey about this website - please fill it out as soon as possible, so we can fulfill the FPP Strategic Plan of creating a complete statewide list of available services, searchable at the county level - if you have not received it as of this time you can link to it here:  http://svy.mk/pXPS1Y

• Plans for the 4th Annual FPP Conference--thanks for voting on the dates--we are close to finalizing this and will report on it soon (In the meantime, you can view our picture gallery from the 3rd Annual FPP Conference on our website)

You will also receive a short survey from Bill Mills to ask about some of your statistics--numbers of tax returns prepared, financial classes taught, demographics, and other such questions.  We are asking for this information because statewide folks ask us--like CFO Atwater's office and DCF's Secretary Wilkins.  By letting folks at the state level know what the combined effort of the Florida services industry is, we can get more focus for all.  These numbers are also often requested in grants that are done and could be beneficial when we seek funds to begin new efforts in rural areas by being able to show where the demographic numbers are lacking.  So when you get the survey, please respond--it's so important.  We will always report it as "the member organizations of the Florida Prosperity Partnership have made the following impacts"...so there will be no confusion that the FPP is trying to claim that we have done all that great work.  It will simply be a collaborative reporting effort to discover where things are working really well and where we still need to concentrate.  

Please check out the picture below.  The FPP was the lucky recipient of a $10,000 grant from TD Bank--thanks to the efforts of Mike Smith.  Below is a picture of Mike presenting the check to Bill Mills, Janet Hamer, and me.  Thanks so much, Mike!

Kaye Schmitz, Janet Hamer, Mike Smith, and Bill Mills

I would also like to mention that FPP Board Member, Erbi Blanco-True, was featured in an article from Florida International University entitled "Alumna's Dedication Strengthens Communities".  You can read that article here.  Congratulations Erbi!

Please enjoy the rest of the newsletter--and the rest of your summer!!  Take care, everyone.

Kaye D. Schmitz

President /CEO

Bill Mills

By Bill Mills

Director of Strategic Initiatives 

The Bank On Florida Advisory Council had a wonderful meeting in July. The Account Tracking and Measuring Committee is working with the U.S. Department of the Treasury to help develop some guidelines that can be used across the country in addition to Florida. The Financial Education Committee is setting up some basic guidelines, as well, for their part. The Marketing Committee is coming closer to having the Bank On Florida in an eBox ready to go. The group, chaired by Judy Walz from VyStar Credit Union, has put together the following list of items that they plan on putting in this eBox:

1. Listing of the Key Components of a Bank On Initiative
2. Power Point with statistics
3. Bank On Florida brochure
4. FPP brochure and membership application
5. Bank Profile Questionnaire and example of inventory/matrix
6. List of Florida Bank On programs with contact information and website links.
7. Important links to additional resources.
8. Suggested Committee Structure
9. Tri-fold brochure template and samples from other Bank On programs
10. Example of Training Curriculum
11. Certificate of Completion Template for completing training session
12. Outcomes, Metrics and Tracking Tools
13. List of "state or national" banking partners.
14. Examples of generic Press Releases.

In addition, Janet Hamer, from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the FPP Board Chair, is in the process of creating training materials for the financial institutions and the community partners involved in the local Bank On programs.  Bank On Florida will be using these materials to create online training videos. If anyone, is interested in participating in these videos or having your location featured, please contact me at Bill.Mills@BankOnFL.org.

FPP MEMBER NEWS

Formal Volunteer Screening Process Needed

By Cherin L. Stover  

Wealth Building Coalition of Pinellas County

JWB Children's Services Council of Pinellas County

The Wealth Building Coalition of Pinellas County (WBC) partners with the IRS in managing the VITA program in Pinellas County. We are trying to locate a VITA Volunteer formal screening/background check that might serve as a model for a process we would like to put in place. We have taken numerous steps to ensure privacy and confidentiality for each taxpayer but believe we need to put additional safeguards in place, in particular to make certain that all tax preparers are able to meet standards similar to those an employer might expect of an employee through a background check. At the same time, of course, we don't want to discourage qualified people from volunteering.

Are there any of our FPP friends throughout the state that have a formal volunteer screening process in place that addresses concerns such as identity theft. We appreciate any information that you could share with us. Please send information to: cstover@jwbpinellas.org .

Thank you for any assistance.

Catalyst Miami awarded Proclamation of Honor 

Catalyst Miami Award

July 13 marked a very special day for Catalyst Miami (formerly the Human Services Coalition). The President & CEO Daniella Levine, along with the Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI) and the Children Leadership Training Institute (CLTI)--programs of the Civic Life Academy--were honored by Miami-Dade County Public Schools Board Member Raquel Regalado.

FPP Executive Committee  

Janet Hamer, Chair  

Sr. Community Development Manager

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

President and CEO

Catalyst Miami

(Formerly Human Services Coalition)

Dir. Of Public Affairs/Org. Dev.

Children's Services Council of Broward

President

United Way of Florida

Evan Goldman
CSC of Broward County

George Owen
Regions Bank

Maureen Quinlan
United Way of Marion County

Mike Smith
TD Bank

Board Members 

Erbi Blanco-True
Great Florida Bank

Amanda Clements
United Way of the Big Bend

Anika Coney
Hillsborough County

Sokoya Finch
Florida Family Network

Michael Gutter
University of Florida

Valerie Hendriex
Wachovia a Wells Fargo Company

Dorothy Inman-Johnson
Capital Area Community Action Agency

Iris Jones
BB&T Bank

Karen Landry
War on Poverty

Rosa Morgan
Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Kasha Owers
United Way of Palm Beach County

Felipe Pinzon
Hispanic Unity of Florida

Brittany Richards
Heart of Florida United Way

Michael Roush
National Disability Institute

Ellen Stoffer
United Way of Tampa Bay

Barbara Travis
Internal Revenue Service   

FPP Staff
Kaye Schmitz
President and CEO

Bill Mills
Director of Strategic Initiatives

Penny Zaphel
Coordinator of Special Projects

To become a member of the FPP or submit articles for this newsletter, please contact Penny Zaphel at

floridaprosperitypartnership@gmail.com