SAVE THE DATE
FOR FPP EVENTS
March 12 - 1:30PM to 3PM All Membership Call and Webinar. Dr. Michael Gutter, University of Florida, will present the "Power of Social Media."
To register - Click Here.
May 30, 2012
Fourth Annual FPP Statewide Conference. Conference will be held at Universal's Portofino Hotel in Orlando, Florida.
To register - Click Here.
SAVE THE DATE
FOR MEMBER EVENTS
March 7 - 2012
Broward County Youth Summit - for more information Click Here.
March 10-11
Indian Festival of Colors at Orlando Citrus Bowl - for more information regarding booths etc, call Hari Singh at 321-662-1887
March 19
Catholic Charities Golf Tournament.
For more information
Click Here.
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THE FLORIDA PROSPERITY PARTNERSHIP (FPP)
| The Florida Prosperity Partnership (FPP), was formally established in March 2009, evolving from a number of parallel and earlier efforts to create a statewide coalition dedicated to improving the financial stability and capability for low-to-moderate income Floridians.
FPP PURPOSE: To convene individuals and organizations with the desire to leverage their talent, resources, and passion to improve the prosperity of Florida's families.
FPP VISION: All Floridians have equal opportunities to attain financial stability.
FPP MISSION: Establish a statewide collaboration holistically focused on providing life-enhancing services to Floridians.
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FPP EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Janet Hamer, Chair
Sr. Community Development Manager
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Daniella Levine, Vice-Chair
President and CEO
Catalyst Miami
Sandra Bernard-Bastien, Secretary
Dir. Of Public Affairs/Org. Dev.
Children's Services Council of Broward
Ted Granger, Treasurer
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
FPP BOARD MEMBERS
Anika Coney
Hillsborough County Dept. of HSS
Dr. Michael Gutter
University of Florida
Dorothy Inman-Johnson
Capital Area Community Action Agency
Valerie Hendriex-Jenkins
Wells Fargo
Iris Jones
BB&T Bank
Roger Mercado
United Way of Lee, Hendry, and Glades Co.
Katie Metz
National Disability Institute
Rosa Morgan
Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence (Retired)
Joan Nelson
Heart of Florida United Way
Kasha Owers
United Way of Palm Beach County
Felipe Pinzon
Hispanic Unity of Florida
Ron Sharpe
United Way of Northwest Florida
Ellen Stoffer
United Way of Tampa Bay
Barbara Travis
Internal Revenue Service (Retired)
Jeff Winkler
Real$ense Prosperity Campaign
The FPP bids a fond farewell to FPP Board Members, Amanda Clements and Amber Tynan. We thank you for your dedicated service and wish you well in your new positions.
FPP STAFF
Kaye Schmitz
President and CEO
Bill Mills Director of Strategic Initiatives Pat Nelms
Community Education/Program Manager Penny Zaphel Coordinator of Special Projects Emilie Pennington Graphics Designer Lynn Gill Bookkeeper |
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THANK YOU TO
OUR FUNDERS |
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Greetings!
Your "Mission," should you decide to accept it, is to sign up for the Fourth Annual FPP Statewide Conference, "Mission:Possible" for the incredibly low registration fee of $149 for paid members between March 1 and 31. We are very happy to extend this early registration discount until March 31, 2012, to all conference attendees from organizations that have paid their FPP membership dues (as outlined in the FPP Membership Fees Alert you received on February 22). After March 31, the paid member fee will climb slightly to $199-only $4 higher than last year's fee. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE! |
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Kaye Schmitz
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PRESIDENT'S REPORT
By Kaye Schmitz
During February, one more sponsor signed up for the FPP conference - PNC Bank . Thank you to Lucy Carr from PNC.
The conference website is now open for registration. To access the registration portal and claim your $149 fee once you have paid your FPP membership fee -Click here
We are thrilled to report that our Keynote Speaker will be Ruby Payne, author of Bridges Out of Poverty and the creator of the "Aha! Process." Ruby is a very popular speaker and will be a great asset to this year's conference.
The Request for Workshop Proposals is also on the registration website-please access it there and send your completed proposal by April 15, 2012. The conference theme "Mission: Possible" opens up all kinds of possibilities for meaningful workshop topics and presentations. To send a Request for Workshop Proposal -
Click here
The conference will be held at Loew's Portofino Bay Hotel, 5601 Universal Boulevard in Orlando, FL from May 30-June 1, 2012. The room rate is $109 per night, with a reduced self-parking rate of $6 and free in-room Internet. Register Now!!
In other areas of FPP News...
FPP has launched its first Report to the Community
The FPP launched its first Report to the Community, "Connecting the Dots on the Path to Prosperity," on Monday, February 13. The inaugural report highlights and celebrates partnerships, affiliations, accomplishments, and goals. |
2011 Annual Report
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- To see the report, please go to the FPP website.
- To get a hard copy of the report, please email me with your mailing address and I will send you the number of copies you request.
It is a terrific document to use with your own organizations or with other organizations you believe should join the FPP. Social Media can work for your organization-find out how in the upcoming FPP full membership webinar Dr. Michael Gutter, University of Florida, will present the "Power of Social Media" on Monday, March 12 from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. For details on this exciting webinar - Click Here. FPP Membership Fees You have already received the information about the new fee structure for the FPP, designed according to specifications that both you and the FPP Membership Committee felt was fair and low cost. Fees may be paid on the FPP website via PayPal - Click Here - or a check may be mailed to: The Florida Prosperity Partnership 180 Pinehurst Pointe Drive Saint Augustine, FL 32092 Att: Kaye Schmitz For FPP Membership Benefits - Click here. FPP mentioned in national Ways to Work newsletter, along with Ways to Work Miami For Ways to Work newsletter - Click here. Disability News I am pleased to introduce a new column in the FPP newsletter, "Disability News" by FPP columnists Katie Metz, current FPP Board Member and Michael Roush, former FPP Board Member, both of whom are with the National Disability Institute. Please check out their column below.
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FPP ADVOCACY
By Evan Goldman and Ted Granger
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
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Ted Granger and Evan Goldman
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State News
A longtime FFP policy priority - mandatory financial literacy education in the public schools - is moving through the Florida Legislature. SB 1010 by Sen. Steve Oelrich (R-Gainesville) and HB 331 by Rep. Jimmy Patronis (R-Panama City) would add financial literacy as part of the social studies/economics curriculum for all Florida public schools. Legislative staff acknowledges that additional professional development may be required for teachers and faculty to implement the new curriculum. The Senate version is now in the Budget Subcommittee on Education Pre-K-12 Appropriations and the House version passed it's substantive committees and is on the Special Order Calendar.
Federal News
The Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2012 (ABLE) was recently introduced in the 112th Congress. For more information regarding this bill - Click Here.
Awaiting introduction in the 112th Congress is the America Saving for Personal Investment, Retirement, and Education Act ("The ASPIRE Act"). For more information - Click Here.
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BANK ON FLORIDA
By Bill Mills, Director of Strategic Initiatives
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COMMUNITY EDUCATION UPDATE
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Pat Nelms
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By Pat Nelms, Community Education/Program Manager
February was a very busy month for financial education and we conducted classes all over the state of Florida. During the week of February 22, we were in the Florida panhandle, and conducted Train-the-Trainer classes that were convened by the United Way of Northwest Florida. Hancock Bank in conjunction with United Way's financial initiative sponsored the program which was well attended. Approximately 25 Hancock Bank employees are now ready to teach financial education in Panama City.
For more information about our classes and how you would secure one for your location - Click Here.
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DISABILITY NEWS
By Michael Rousch MA, National Program Director of the National Disability
| Michael Roush |
Institute & Katie Metz, Regional Specialist
File Your Federal and State Taxes For FREE!
The Walmart Foundation, National Disability Institute's Real Economic Impact Tour, United Way Worldwide and One Economy have partnered to bring free tax preparation and filing services directly to consumers through the MyFreeTaxes program. The MyFreeTaxes program includes Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), SNAP and WIC educationand is powered by a $4.35 million grant from the Walmart Foundation,
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Katie Metz
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which will:
- Support the National Disability Institute's Real Economic Impact Tour to build the capacity of free tax preparation campaigns to better reach and serve taxpayers with disabilities.
- Fund 100 United Way led, community-based tax preparation sites called Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites.
- Support the MyFreeTaxes.com website and national tour, operated by One Economy, which provides free self-tax preparation tools and information on in-person IRS-certified, volunteer tax prep assistance in 20 cities.
For more detailed information - Click Here.
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MEMBER NEWS
Automated Transcript Services-Money-saving feature of the IRS
By Jackie Keller
How often have you needed a copy of a prior year tax return? How often have you had to pay to get one? Well, those days are over. A new service from the IRS allows taxpayers to get a free transcript of a tax return that meets most needs for tax account information. Accessible from the IRS website, a transcript is a computer printout of tax return information that is acceptable as a substitute for an exact copy of a previously filed tax return in many situations. Some of those situations include student college financing-both grants and loans-and mortgage loans or refinancing.
To order a transcript using the automated self-service options, visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov. Find and click on Tools in the middle of the page. This link will take you to a variety of Online Services. Next, click on Order a Transcript and follow the steps to get your transcript. Transcripts may also be ordered by calling 1-800-829-1040.
Survey on Personal Finance Topics
By Dr. Michael Gutter
The National Cooperative Extension System has a group called "Communities of Practice," and I currently serve as the Online Learning Coordinator for the Financial Security for All Community of Practice. The organization has created a survey to assist their research and I encourage all of you to take the survey yourself and share this request with your colleagues and audiences as appropriate. To learn more about the organization, Click Here.
2012 Broward County Youth Summit By Sandra Bernard-Bastien Come and help us celebrate the progress the community has made in meeting the benchmarks of the Children's Strategic Plan--the framework guidingfundingand delivery for children's services in Broward County with Keynote Speaker, Geoffrey Canada, Founder of the Harlem Children's Zone. For more information - Click Here. Catholic Charities of Northwest Florida fundraising Golf Tournament By Angel Steadman Since 1976, Catholic Charities ofNorthwest Florida has helped provide services to needy families through programs such as e mergency assistance, family strengthening, case-management, education and training, Helping Hands Food Pantry, refugee resettlement, disaster relief & long-term recovery, and Christmas Connection. Please join us at our premier fundraising event on March 19, 2012 at Killearn Country Club; 11:00 AM Registration with a 12 Noon start. For more information or to register, please contact Danielle Halon at 850-222-2180. Click Here for more information. Sarasota & Manatee Entrepreneurs Encouraged to Apply for Personalized Business Coaching Program By Michael Kennedy, President of Suncoast Community Capital FPP member Suncoast Community Capital (SCC) announced the launch of the UEP on the Suncoast program at a luncheon with 150 community and business leaders in the Sarasota/Manatee region of Florida on January 18. The Urban Entrepreneur Partnership (UEP) is a program of the Kauffman Foundation, and is offering the UEP through a partnership with SCC. UEP asks the question: "What would happen to your company or idea if you could access world-class, one-on-one coaching from business experts provided by the world's leading foundation devoted to entrepreneurship? Would your company increase revenues, grow profits and create jobs?" During the luncheon, Mike Kennedy, President of SCC, announced that this unique opportunity for world-class, personalized business coaching will be available to select Manatee and Sarasota County businesses beginning in April. For more information - Click Here. |
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