FPP Logo Black
 
 
Florida Prosperity Partnership
NEWSLETTER HIGHLIGHTS
 

SAVE THE DATE  

FOR FPP EVENTS

 

January 30, 2015

EITC Awareness Day

neighborhood tax preparation event

Hosted by: FPP Polk and the Financial Stability Partnership 

Location: Parker Street Ministries, Lakeland, Florida

More Information


 


SAVE THE DATE
May 27-29, 2015
2015 FPP Conference, at the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando

SAVE THE DATE  

FOR MEMBER EVENTS

 

April 1-3, 2015

The 2015 Annual Conference on Financial Education will take place April 9-11 at the Grand Hyatt in San Antonio, TX.

Registration 



 
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. 


EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

 

Janet Hamer, Chair 
TD Bank

George Owen, Vice-Chair 
George Owen Consulting, LLC

Deana Lewis, Secretary 
SunTrust Bank

Rob Sansome, Treasurer 
TrueWealth Ventures, Inc. 

Sandra Bernard-Bastien
Children's Services Council of Broward

Iris Jones 
BB&T 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, IFAS 

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 Florida  

Ron Sharpe 
United Way of Northwest Florida 
 
Alice Vickers 
Florida Alliance for Consumer Protection 
 
Jeff Winkler 
Real$ense, an Initiative of United Way of Northeast Florida

 

 

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

 



PRESIDENT'S REPORT
By Kaye Schmitz
 

 

Greetings!

kAYE
KAYE SCHMITZ
Welcome to 2015 and the first FPP newsletter of the year!

As we begin 2015, I have two reminders for you. The first is a reminder about the FPP 7th Annual Training Conference, Oh, The Places We'll Go!, to be held from May 27-29 at the Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal in Orlando.  Be sure to get your workshop proposals in by January 15, 2015. Access the template for proposals on the FPP website by clicking here and get them sent in right away. We have fewer slots this year, so get your ideas in early. 

We still have some sponsorship slots available, too. Don't forget-sponsoring organization logos appear on the registration website so don't miss this great opportunity.  Your logo can appear there, too.  To sponsor the conference, please visit the FPP website at www.FloridaProsperityPartnership.org.    

The second reminder is that, for your convenience, we will be sending invoices to FPP members who paid a membership fee in 2014 so you can renew your FPP membership for 2015. Organizations with paid up dues get the Early Bird conference registration fee! Or, instead of waiting for an invoice, click here to become an FPP member via PayPal or send a check to:  Florida Prosperity Partnership; 180 Pinehurst Pointe Drive; St. Augustine, FL 32092; ATT:  Kaye Schmitz.  
hiring

The FPP is hiring!
The FPP Board of Directors approved a line item for an FPP Grant Writer, to be hired as soon as possible in 2015. It is a contract position that will be paid via monthly stipend. If you are interested or know someone who would qualify, please contact me at kaye@floridaprosperitypartnership.org.
conference

FPP Seventh Annual Statewide Training Conference
We are happy to report another sponsor for the 2015 FPP Training Conference-United Way of Central Florida at the Bronze Level.  Special thanks to Scott Lonsberry and Penny Borgia at United Way for making this happen.  To date, the conference sponsorships are as follows:
  • SunTrust - Diamond Sponsor at the $10,000 level
  • Bank of America - Gold Sponsor at the $5,000 level
  • PNC Bank - Gold Sponsor at the $5,000 level
  • First Bank - Bronze Sponsor at the $1,000 level
  • United Way of Central Florida - Bronze Sponsor at the $1,000 level 
If you want your organization to become a sponsor, please contact me at kaye@floridaprosperitypartnership.org or Bill Mills at bill@floridaprosperitypartnership.org.

 transportation
Please let us hear from you with Transportation Issues
Prior to the pre-FPP conference convening of the one-day Transportation Solutions Initiative on May 27, 2015, we will continue to solicit information from all areas of the state about what is and isn't working on the transportation front. Please access the survey at "Problems and Solutions Survey" and we will continue to collect the results. If you would like to join the committee working on this issue, please just get in touch with me at kaye@floridaprosperitypartnership.org.

Next month we will introduce you to new FPP Board Members.  Until then, please keep reading to find out about what's happening with the FPP Strategic Initiatives, and then take a look at other articles in Member News

Kaye's signature 
strategic
STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
By Bill Mills, Director of Strategic Initiatives 
 

 

Bill Mills
BILL MI

Bank On Florida

The interest in Bank On programs is again on the rise! Look for some upcoming information on additional Bank On programs. Also, if you have an interest in helping to get an initiative going in your area, let me know at Bill@FloridaProsperityPartnership.org.

 

Money Smart Train-the-Trainer 

We are currently scheduling some classes for the new year, stay tuned for details. 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.

 

FreeFLTaxSites.org

We are now in the process of updating our FreeFLTaxSites.org web portal. Please verify that your organization's link is correct for your in-person VITA locations. If you have any changes, please email them to me at Bill@FloridaProsperityPartnership.org. We will again be promoting your sites statewide.

 

polk
POLK COUNTY
By Debbie Prescott, Director of Polk County

  

  

Debbie Prescott
DEBBIE PRESCOTT

Time to Ring in the New Year and get tax season underway

 

Florida Prosperity Partnership Polk is especially excited about tax preparation this year for two reasons. 1) This is our first year leading our local tax coalition and 2) Thanks to our partnership with the United Way of Central Florida, The Walmart Foundation, and all of the partners at www.MyFreeTaxes.com we have additional resources to expand the tax program and increase awareness of the services available in Polk County.  

 

In September 2014 FPP Polk hired a Special Project Coordinator to focus on the tax preparation program and created a college internship position to assist with managing the 2015 My Free Taxes program as well as recruit and engage more college students to volunteer as tax preparers and greeters. Group training / certification is scheduled in early January 2015 at the United Way of Central Florida offices. This will provide our volunteers with the skills and tools required to ensure all tax returns completed at the various VITA site are done in compliance with the IRS rules and regulations.  

 

Advertising will take a leading role this year. The Citrus Connection (Polk's Bus system), LAMAR Electronic Billboards, local news papers, and a professional social media campaign with a measurable on-line landing page will be used to increase awareness for our tax program. We are looking forward to measuring the results of these efforts.   

 

On January 30, 2015 -- EITC Awareness Day -- FPP Polk and the Financial Stability Partnership will host a neighborhood tax preparation event at Parker Street Ministries in Lakeland. This local organization serves over 150 families in an at risk neighborhood in Lakeland. This event is also open to the public.    

 

The overarching goal is to show families how to create savings and educate taxpayers on the importance of financial fitness. This integration of services will allow us to change more lives by helping our clients to become financially fit and independent. Working with community partners allows us to organize our resources to reach more families.  

 

FPP Polk is looking ahead to a fabulous tax program and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!  


memberNews 
MEMBER NEWS
 
 realeconomic
Congress Passes ABLE Act: Major Victory for Persons with Disabilities and Their Families 
NDI logo
The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act of 2014 by a vote of 76 to 16. First introduced in 2006, and subsequent sessions of Congress, the ABLE Act will allow people with disabilities (with an age of onset up to 26 years old) and their families the opportunity to create a tax-exempt savings account that can be used for maintaining health, independence and quality of life.
__________________

d2d
American Savings Promotion Act Signed Into Law!

On December 18, President Obama signed the American Savings Promotion Act into law!

The bill, which was passed by the House of Representatives on September 15 and by the Senate on December 10, clears the way for all interested financial institutions to offer Prize-Linked Savings (PLS) products by removing barriers that currently prohibit banks and thrifts from offering them. Effectively, this means that more financial institutions can now offer PLS products to millions more financially vulnerable Americans. The bill had bipartisan support and was sponsored by Representatives Derek Kilmer (D-WA) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark). Companion legislation was introduced by Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).

D2D is thrilled to see President Obama and Congress recognize the enormous potential that prize-linked savings offers for Americans, and applauds the efforts of all the Senators, Representatives, and organizations across the country that have come together to make this bill a reality. The next phase of the PLS story in the US is just starting, and, along with partners like you, D2D is committed to harness the full potential of this innovation to benefit financially vulnerable Americans.


membership
NOTICE - Anyone interested in joining FPP or if you would like to submit an article for publication in subsequent newsletters, please send an email to Penny Zaphel, Coordinator of Special Projects - news@floridaprosperitypartnership.org.

Sincerely,

Kaye Schmitz
Florida Prosperity Partnership