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SAVE THE DATE
FOR FPP EVENTS
Please Join Us
May 28-30, 2014
2014 FPP Conference, "Path to Prosperity" at the
Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando
SAVE THE DATE
FOR MEMBER EVENTS
April 23-24, 2014
Florida Blue Foundation 2014 Sapphire Awards and Symposium
Renaissance World Golf Village Resort
St. Augustine, Florida.
April-June, 2014
Homebuyer Education Workshop
Hosted by InCharge Debt Solutions HUD Approved Housing Counseling Agency
WHEN: Saturdays, 8:30am - 5:30pm
* 4/12/2014
* 5/10/2014
* 5/17/2014
* 6/14/2014
WHERE: InCharge Debt Solutions, 5750 Major Blvd, Orlando, FL 32819
HOW MUCH: FREE, Lunch Provided
CALL 1-877-251-1882 TO REGISTER
More Information
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THE FLORIDA PROSPERITY PARTNERSHIP (FPP)
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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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EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Janet Hamer, Chair TD Bank George Owen, Vice-Chair George Owen Consulting, LLC Sandra Bernard-Bastien, Secretary Children's Services Council of Broward Rob Sansome, Treasurer TrueWealth Ventures, Inc. Iris Jones BB&T Bank Deana Lewis SunTrust Bank Felipe Pinzon Hispanic Unity of Florida Maureen Quinlan Family Promise of Greater Orlando BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mike Bell Florida Council on Economic Education Doug Brown Community Action Program Committee Kamalah Fletcher Catalyst Miami Dr. Michael Gutter University of Florida Sharon Hackney Florida Blue Foundation Sherod Halliburton Manatee Community Federal Credit Union Mike Kennedy Harvest United Methodist Church Audrey Ljung Community Action Partnerships Roger Mercado Community Cooperative Ministries, Inc. Katie Metz National Disability Institute Rosa Morgan Community Assets, Inc. Joan Nelson Heart of Florida United Way Joyce Odongo Wells Fargo Bank Linda Rimmer Goodwill Industries of Central FL Ron Sharpe United Way of Northwest Florida Alice Vickers Florida Alliance for Consumer Protection Jeff Winkler Real$ense Prosperity Campaign STAFF Kaye D. Schmitz President/CEO Bill Mills Vice President
Debbie Prescott Director, Polk County
Penny Zaphel Special Projects Coordinator Emilie Pennington Graphics Designer Thrude Legg Bookkeeper
THANK YOU TO OUR FUNDERS 
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PRESIDENT'S REPORT
By Kaye Schmitz
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Greetings!
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KAYE SCHMITZ
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NEW BOARD MEMBERS
I am happy to announce the addition of several new board members for the Florida Prosperity Partnership. Please join me in welcoming the following new members who became a permanent part of the FPP board on April 1:
Mike Bell, Florida Council on Economic Education (Tampa)
Douglas Brown, Community Action Program Committee (Pensacola) Kamalah Fletcher, Catalyst Miami (Miami)
Sharon Hackney, Florida Blue Foundation (Jacksonville)
Sherod Halliburton, Manatee Community Federal Credit Union (Bradenton)
Deana Lewis, SunTrust Bank (Orlando)
Audrey Ljung, Community Action Partnerships of Broward (Ft. Lauderdale)
Alice Vickers, Florida Alliance for Consumer Protection (Tallahassee)
We are sad to lose the board members who left us and we wish them well in their new endeavors. Those members include: Daniella Levine, Evan Goldman, Ron Albert, Anika Coney, Ellen Stoffer, Barbara Travis, Mike Smith, and Kasha Owers. We are also, however, thrilled to welcome our new board members. You will get to meet them, if you don't already know them, at the Sixth Annual Florida Prosperity Partnership Statewide Training Conference coming up on May 28-30.
CONFERENCE And, speaking of the conference, as the FPP registration website says, "Join us and learn how to stay the course along YOUR Path to Prosperity, whether it's a grassy lane, a black-topped highway-or a yellow brick road." More organizations have become sponsors for the conference, too. All of our sponsors' logos are displayed prominently on the registration website, so as FPP members, please thank them when you see them. New sponsorships include BB&T at the Silver Level, thanks to Iris Jones, and Urban Trust, also at the Silver Level, thanks to Jody Garris and Tara Crary. In addition, Florida Community Bank is again sponsoring at the Bronze Level, thanks to Nancy Merolla. We also have a new corporate sponsor at the Exhibitor Level, CNL Bank, thanks to Chirag Bhavsar. Even though the website is now open, we can still add sponsorship logos, so please contact us to add yours. And as always ... you can renew your FPP membership via PayPal by clicking here. Some of our members have had issues with firewalls or pop-up blockers from their work sites, so if that happens and you get an error message, simply contact Bill Mills and he will send you a PayPal invoice. You can also send a check to: Florida Prosperity Partnership 180 Pinehurst Pointe Drive St. Augustine, FL 32092 ATT: Kaye Schmitz. I will even be happy to send you an invoice if that would make it easier for your organization. Email me at kayedschmitz@bellsouth.net and I'll send your invoice right away.
ADVOCACY NEWS On March 25, the Senate Education committee voted to move bill SB 212 by Senator Dorothy Hukill out of committee and into the regular process. The House counterpart, HB 367, introduced by Representative Heather Fitzenhagen has still not been heard in committee, but the FCEE and the other organizations involved continue to work on it. Stay tuned and we will continue to pass along advocacy requests and updates. Have a great April and make plans to join us in May!
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STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
By Bill Mills, Director of Strategic Initiatives
 | | BILL MILLS |
Bank On Florida
As you know, at the end of 2013, the Cities for Financial Empowerment (CFE) Fund launched the National Bank On 2.0 Initiative, a two year research, planning, and design process to build on the successes and address the challenges of local Bank On and other municipal banking access programs.
On Thursday, April 3, 2014, the CFE Fund and JPMorgan Chase held a webinar about the this new initiative.
According to the CFE Fund:
"By coordinating a national conversation among federal policy makers, financial institutions, local government, and the nonprofit community, the CFE Fund aims to develop a comprehensive approach to national standards around "safe banking," a suite of account and credit product templates, standardized reporting requirements and systems, and a number of public and private programs that integrate safe and affordable products for the un- and underbanked."
For anyone attending the Sixth Annual FPP Training Conference you will have the opportunity to hear from the new Program Manager for Bank On 2.0, Suzanne Reisman.
During this same session, the Financial Empowerment Program Specialist at Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Patty Avery, will be there to connect Bank On partners (or those interested in being involved in a Bank On Initiative) with resources that can equip them to add financial education components or connect residents with CFPB's consumer response team.
I hope you will join us for this session on Thursday, May 29!
FreeFLTaxSites.org
The FreeFLTaxSites.org website is going quite well with over 6,000 hits. We will be closing this tax season out with a significant increase in page views over last year. We are so happy to be helping our partners out by promoting your tax links and sites to others across the state!
We want to again thank our partners that have helped us with statewide promotion such as the National Disability Institute, Department of Children and Families, Florida Department of Education, Florida Association of Community Development Corporations, Florida Covering Kids & Families, and Florida Healthy Kids.
Money Smart Train-the-Trainer
Are you interested in hosting a Money Smart Train-the-Trainer session? We are looking to get these on our calendar soon. Let me know at Bill@FloridaProsperityPartnership.org.
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POLK COUNTY
By Debbie Prescott, Director of Polk County
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DEBBIE PRESCOTT
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Florida Prosperity Partnership Polk - spring ahead means plan ahead!
With the arrival of spring we all are looking to get out and do more with our longer days. The best way to get the most out of life, just like our money, is to plan for it.
When it comes to time management the philosophy we like to suggest is to look at the whole year for annual events and time off and then work backwards to the monthly, weekly, daily, and hourly schedules. If regular occurring deadlines are a part of your calendar, make sure they are on your calendar. Meetings, reports, projects, and blog or newsletter articles can take up large blocks of your time. Remember to put those deadlines on your calendar and schedule enough time to complete the task to reach your deadline.
Productivity and good time management starts with planning your time off and your time away from the office. This is the reason we work RIGHT? Work to LIVE ... NOT live to WORK!
Prioritizing your planning -- if you know when you are going to be out of the office ... you will get more done while you are in the office.
- Vacation time. If you are not 100% sure of the dates, at least block a window of time you prefer to be out of the office.
- E.g. I know that my extended family always tries to get together the second week in July. I also know that I take time off around Christmas. Everyone also knows when important birthdays are, so remember to make notes and plan time off, if you need it.
- Schedule your professional development and training as far ahead as possible. The conferences and trainings you attend are planning ahead, why shouldn't you?
- Personal appointments - especially if they re-occur (do you see a chiropractor monthly? or go to the dentist every six months?)
- Do you serve on a Board or committee? That is a part of your work? These meetings should be on your calendar as well as the travel time it will take you to get there.
- Do you lead a professional organization or committee? It takes more time to lead a group and prepare for a valuable productive meeting. Make sure you schedule the meeting and the preparation time too.
- Block off your schedule as much of your time as needed, including your phone call and email time. This will create more structure and discipline in your day and you will actually get more done. If someone interrupts, you have the choice to say ... I am in the middle of an appointment, can I get back to you at ? (state a time). Keep on your schedule and make the people around you aware that you want to give them your undivided attention. Both of your time is very valuable and you want to focus on their concern.
- Make a TO DO LIST (whenever possible make the list at the end of the day for the next day)
- Determine your productive hours - morning, afternoon, evening. Take time to figure out what your personal energy levels feel like on an average day.
- Morning people like to start with writing projects and emails, but the trick is to set time limits and move away from them at a set time.
- Usually, later in the day it is time to make phone calls and prepare for and attend scheduled meetings.
- Evening people tend to start their day with phone calls and follow up on writing projects and emails later in the day (you will still need to set time limits).
- Interruptions happen, but that does not mean your whole day goes off track. When you get interrupted write a note to yourself with one or two words that will take you back to what you were in the middle of.
These are suggestions ... Not everyone works the same way, but everyone will be more productive if they plan their time. HAPPY SPRING! It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.
--Eleanor Roosevelt |
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DISABILITY NEWS
By Katie Metz, National Disability Institute, Regional Specialist
 | | KATIE METZ |
Workers with Disabilities Included in Minimum Wage Executive Order
February 12th marked a historic day in the economic advancement of all people with disabilities when President Obama signed an executive order raising the minimum wage for employees of federal contractors, including workers with disabilities, to $10.10/hour beginning in 2015.
Prior to the announcement, people with disabilities employed by federal contractors could be paid a subminimum wage in accordance with Section 14(c), which advocates like National Disability Institute and its colleagues in the Collaboration to Promote Self Determination (CPSD) have long argued is not only discriminatory but keeps people with disabilities out of the economic mainstream.
At a time when nearly 1 in 3 Americans with disabilities live in poverty, among the highest poverty rate of any underserved population in America, the Obama Administration's Executive Order gives low-wage workers with and without disabilities the opportunity to build a more secure financial future for themselves and their families. Learn more about this landmark executive order, what it means to the disability community and how you can help convince Congress to end the subminimum wage for all workers with disabilities.
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 Florida Blue Foundation 2014 Sapphire Awards and Symposium April 23-24, 2014 Renaissance World Golf Village Resort St. Augustine, Florida
The Sapphire Award is Florida's only statewide event that recognizes organizations, programs and individuals that have demonstrated excellence and innovation in addressing community health needs. Honorees will share approximately $360,000 in award funds.
The Symposium will feature nearly two days of information sessions, roundtable discussions and networking. Attendees will hear from national thought leaders such as: - Mark D. Smith, M.D., MBA, who will speak about Foundations and Health Care Reform: What is the "Right Role?
- Mary Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N., an Obama appointee, Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will address the topic of Rural Healthcare in Florida.
- Lynn Banaszak Brusco, Executive Director of the Disruptive Health Technology Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, will participate in a panel discussion about Emerging Trends - Innovations in Health Care Delivery Systems.
- Other national, regional and local presenters on health care, health care reform and philanthropy.
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Florida Department of Children and Families 
We are pleased to announce our participation in the "Who's Really Watching Your Child?" campaign, an effort by private companies, non-profit organizations, medical professionals, Florida government agencies and state officials to encourage parents to be sure their child is supervised by a qualified caregiver.
More than 25 percent of child protective investigations last year involved a non-relative caregiver as the alleged perpetrator. This represents more than 12,000 incidents of verified abuse or neglect at the hands of a non-relative caregiver in 2013. We encourage parents to know the background and parenting skills of friends, family, boyfriends, girlfriends or other child care providers before they let them take care of their child.
For free resources and referrals to make sure children have safe child care environments, visit www.myflfamilies.com/whoswatching.
Niki Pocock
Chief Marketing Officer
Florida Department of Children and Families
1317 Winewood Blvd., Bldg. 2
Tallahassee, FL 32399
(o) 850.717.4449
(c) 850.228.8773
_________________________________ InCharge Debt Solutions HUD Approved Housing Counseling Agency Homebuyer Education Workshop
WHEN: Saturdays, 8:30am - 5:30pm 4/12/2014 5/10/2014 5/17/2014 6/14/2014 WHERE: InCharge Debt Solutions, 5750 Major Blvd, Orlando, FL 32819 HOW MUCH: FREE | Lunch Provided CALL 1-877-251-1882 TO REGISTER
InCharge Debt Solutions Homebuyer Education Workshops are available in English and Spanish for anyone interested in learning more about the path to homeownership.
More Information
www.InCharge.org
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