SAVE THE DATE FOR MEMBER EVENTS July 13-14, 2012, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. NeighborhoodLIFTSM Program - To support sustainable homeownership and advance neighborhood stability, the NeighborhoodLIFTSM program looks to the future by delivering down payment assistance and financial education to homebuyers. Find out more. | |
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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
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Daniella Levine, Vice-Chair
Catalyst Miami
Sandra Bernard-Bastien,
Children's Services Council of Broward
Ted Granger, Treasurer
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
Ron Albert
IRS
Anika Coney
Hillsborough County Dept. of FAS
Dr. Michael Gutter
University of Florida, IFAS
Dorothy Inman-Johnson
Capital Area Community Action Agency
Valerie Hendriex-Jenkins
Wells Fargo
Iris Jones
BB&T Bank
Mike Kennedy
Suncoast Community Capital
Roger Mercado
United Way of Lee, Hendry, and Glades Co.
Katie Metz
National Disability Institute
Rosa Morgan
Community Assets Inc.
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
Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas
Jeff Winkler
Real$ense Prosperity Campaign
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 THANK YOU TO OUR FUNDERS 
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Greetings!
The Fourth Annual Florida Prosperity Partnership State Conference
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KAYE SCHMITZ
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held at the Portofino Bay Hotel in Orlando during May 30-June 1 was a huge success. If you were with us, thanks so much for contributing to the success of the gathering. If you weren't able to make it-you're in luck. The Fifth Annual FPP State Conference (and the last consecutive one before we switch to holding conferences every other year) will also be held at the Portofino Bay Hotel. The facilities were so beautiful and the staff so accommodating that the responses to the survey we sent out about next year's venues shot the Portofino ahead by almost 15%. So, please mark your calendars (and your budgets) - the Fifth Annual FPP State Conference will be held: From May 29-31, 2013 at the Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal in Orlando for $109/night
We plan to seek workshop presentations before the end of 2012, so be thinking about what you would like to see or present at the next conference. And please take a look at the picture gallery from the 2012 conference to either relive the experience or to see what you missed.
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4th Annual FPP State Conference Photo Gallery
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A BIG MONTH FOR BANK ON FLORIDA
By Bill Mills, Bank On Florida Director
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BILL MILLS
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What a great month for Bank On Florida!
At the finale of the FPP Conference, Bank On South Florida held their soft launch. Florida CFO, Jeff Atwater sent a special video message congratulating his hometown on bringing the initiative to the area. Following this message, Norie Del Valle, Kasha Owers, and Mary Lynn Lovejoy gave a run-down of their set-up, partners, and lessons learned. We celebrated with confetti cannons and party poppers!
Also, in June, TD Bank awarded us with a scholarship to CFSI's Underbanked Financial Services Forum in San Francisco, California. First, a special thanks to Mike Smith from TD Bank for the suggestion to apply! It was a great chance to learn more about cutting-edge financial services innovation specifically tied to the underbanked as well as the latest research from leading experts in the financial services field. I have already started sharing some of the information with our Bank On Florida Co-Chairs and look forward to using it to help expand the initiative.
I was also asked to present at the  National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) 29th Annual Conference. The Executive Director, Arturo Vargas, requested that I discuss the Bank On Program and the role municipal governments are playing to promote financial literacy in the community. The event was well attended, with Governor Mitt Romney speaking on Thursday and President Barack Obama speaking on Friday! This was a wonderful opportunity to let these government officials, from all over the country, know what is happening here in Florida; and how they can help to expand it into their areas.
This summer, we have several regional partners working on getting their Bank On initiatives going. Make sure you are in contact with those in your area that are leading this initiative. I would be happy to help with an introduction, just email me at Bill.Mills@BankOnFL.org!
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MEMBER NEWS
Power in Partnerships: Addressing Workforce Development Challenges June 2012
By Janet Hamer, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Jacksonville Branch
Workforce development issues require collaboration across sectors and geography. Damian Thorman, national program director at the John L. and James S. Knight Foundation, discusses the importance of public, private, and philanthropic partnerships in addressing local and regional workforce challenges.
View transcript; on this page, under Related Links to the right, you may play the audio MP3 file.
We encourage you to share a link to this podcast series in your newsletters, e-mail blasts, on your website, or in any other ways that you see fit.
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United Way Program Recognized
By Kim Ouellette and Jeff Winkler, Real$ense Prosperity Campaign/United Way of NE Florida
United Way of Northeast Florida was recognized as a finalist for the Common Good Awards at United Way Worldwide's Community Leaders Conference in Nashville.
The award in the "Income" category recognizes the results of the Real$ense Prosperity Campaign collaborative led by the local United Way efforts in Baker, Clay Duval, Nassau, Putnam and northern St. Johns counties.
The inaugural Common Good Awards were created for the 125th anniversary of United Way and highlight coalitions worldwide that are creating community wide change in education, income and health.
"It is a tribute to our community wide partnerships and Real$ense Prosperity Campaign volunteers that our results in improving income in our communities have been acknowledged by national and international corporate and nonprofit leaders," said Connie Hodges, President of United Way of Northeast Florida.
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Resist Making SNAP Judgments
By Dave Krepcho, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida
There are a lot of myths circulating about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)- formerly known as food stamps - and the people who receive benefits. This misinformation stigmatizes the entire program, but now they are being used as justification for dangerous policy changes and funding cuts that would make it harder for families struggling to get by day to day to put food on the table.
The House budget approved last month proposes to cut SNAP by nearly 20 percent, gutting support for millions of low-income families. The justification for this? The program has grown too much in recent years - too many people are getting benefits.
It's true. SNAP has grown significantly in recent years. But it is only shocking that SNAP participation grew by 70 percent from 2006 to 2011 if you fail to mention that the ranks of the unemployed grew by 94 percent over the same period.
The agriculture committees are rewriting Farm Bill legislation beginning this month, and SNAP and other anti-hunger programs are at risk of cuts at a time when they need to be strengthened and protected.
Food insecurity is a national problem that needs a national solution, and that starts with a strong federal commitment to SNAP. During the recession, SNAP responded quickly to growing need to ensure that Florida families, children and seniors have enough to eat.
We've all heard the myths, but what about the facts? SNAP is targeted at the most vulnerable households: 76 percent of SNAP households include a child, elderly person or disabled person, and 85 percent of SNAP households have gross income at or below 100 percent of the poverty line. And despite what you might hear, benefits are not overly generous - the average participant gets a monthly benefit of just $134. That's less than $1.50 per meal.
While you're more likely to hear sensational stories of program abuse, the fact of the matter is that these bad actors are outliers. For every one allegation of SNAP fraud or trafficking, there are a hundred stories of heartbreaking need, but those are the stories you don't hear, such as single parents trying to make ends meet, senior citizens deciding whether they buy food or medicine and many more.
Our food bank experienced a 30 percent increase in requests for food this past year, and without SNAP, the increased demand on charities like ours would be crippling. We're struggling to keep up with need as it is, especially with recent sharp declines in federal food donations from The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which is another Farm Bill program.
We understand the importance of getting our nation's fiscal house in order, and we strongly believe that a good paying job is the best solution to hunger and poverty. But until we restore opportunity and mobility, our nation cannot walk back on our commitment to caring for our neighbors in need.
Taking care of our neighbors is an American value, and feeding our neighbors is a shared responsibility. We see this every day reflected in the generous support of our volunteers and donors.
We strongly urge our nation's leaders to protect anti-hunger programs like SNAP and make needed investments in TEFAP to protect families from hunger and help charities like ours keep up with need in our community. We also ask them and you to look at SNAP with fresh eyes and an open heart. If you have any doubt that families are struggling, please visit us at Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida and meet the people whose lives are affected by the choices Congress will make in the Farm Bill.
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