One day, back in November 2009, Frank A. opened up the Portland Tribune to do some light reading. He flipped through the pages skimming articles, but stopped when he came across the headline: Program takes aim at the high cost of payday lending. 

"I just happened to see this story about people in debt with too many payday loans and I thought: this is me," Frank says, "I didn't know that there were places out there to help with this." Frank had a lot of debt at the time, so immediately got in touch with Innovative Changes, which was still in its planning stages.

"We didn't even have an office yet," reflects Program Director Sarah Chenven. Instead, they met in a coffee shop and started talking about the basics: budgeting, getting organized, and coming up with a plan.  "Frank was very interested in dealing with his outstanding collections accounts and ongoing budget challenges but didn't know where to start. We knew his situation was representative of the many households we were formed to assist."

Frank admitted that he wasn't sure what to expect at first: "I had never gone to talk with people about myself or my problems. I don't like people knowing my dirty laundry, but it felt good to open up about my finances with people who cared and to realize that I wasn't the only one going through all this."

Partner Highlight: Portland Housing Center

The Portland Housing Center (PHC) believes that everyone deserves access to home ownership. Through education, counseling and financial services it has made homeownership possible for over 6,000 families since 1991. Not only does PHC provide quality in-house services centered on proactive planning, but it connects clients to myriad other services to ensure that they have the resources they need to be fully prepared homeowners. One such service is Innovative Changes' credit building program.

Many PHC clients face barriers to buying a home due to lack of or poor credit. This prevents them from qualifying for mortgages or getting good mortgage rates. Imelda Ortiz, a Homebuying Specialist at PHC says "Innovative Changes truly helps us by giving our clients access to loans that not only help in rebuilding their [credit] history but help to rebuild their self confidence. Since they are not denied, they feel a sense of empowerment and a newfound commitment to changing their habits in order to reach a common goal of owning a home." 

Upcoming Seminar: Making the Most of Tax Time 

After completed a great winter series of our Financial Household Stability courses taught at the New Columbia Opportunity Center and the Broadway Vantage Apartments, our first Student Loan seminar which we hope to teach again this fall, we are excited to announce our next monthly seminar: Making the Most of Tax Time.

Making the Most of Tax Time will be held on Tuesday, March 1st from 4:30 to 6pm at the Lloyd Center. In the spirit of tax season we want to ensure that people are informed of all the options out there- good and bad- during this annual window of opportunity. The seminar, taught in conjunction with Irena Solomon of the Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA), will cover topics such as the mechanics of getting a tax return, how to wisely budget and save your tax return, Earned Income Tax Credits (EITCs), Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs) and more! To sign up contact Talia at 503-943-5620 or talia@innovativechanges.org.

To Register: call or email Talia at (503)-943-5620/talia@innovativechanges.org.

The seminar is $5 and fee waivers are available for those who qualify. Seminars are open to all.  

*This seminar is part of our ongoing monthly seminar series covering special topics of interest to our clients. If you would like to suggest or teach a future seminar or find out more information about our education programs, contact Talia (information above).

ReVisioning Value Conference coming up: Get a discounted ticket today!

The Revisioning Value (ReVV) 2011 Conference is a unique two-day conference designed to help those working for a better world embed new tools and practices into their organizations. Educational institutions, community leaders, government, and people looking to make a difference are invited to come learn how to leverage new strategies and ideas that are accelerating impact for social and economic health. It will be held March 7^th and 8^th at the Paramount Hotel in SW Portland.  

The six big themes being focused on this year are:

Impact Investing: Funding and investing models that promote financial and social returns.             

Strategy: Integrate new proven strategies that increase success and results.
Metrics: Learn to integrate social and environmental measures into your organization.
Start up: Learn where to find needed talent, funding, and community support.

Innovation: Learn how to create the conditions under which citizens and communities innovate.
Ecosystem: Engage with new tools, policies, and frameworks that strengthen the larger ecosystem.

*By your tickets by the end of the week and use the code: changexchange to get a 10% discount. To register and find more information visit the website.