FPP Logo Black
 
 
Florida Prosperity Partnership
NEWSLETTER HIGHLIGHTS
 

SAVE THE DATE  

FOR FPP EVENTS

 

MONEY SMART

May 12, 2015

Money Smart Train-the-Trainer

League of Southeastern Credit Unions & Affiliates
3692 Coolidge Court
Tallahassee, FL 32311 

10 am - 4 pm

More information


PLEASE JOIN US!
May 27-29, 2015
2015 FPP Conference, at the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando

JUNE WEBINAR
June 24, 2015
Take your financial program to a higher level!


 
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

 

Joan Nelson, Secretary

Heart of Florida United Way

 

Rob Sansome, Treasurer

TrueWealth Ventures, Inc.

 

Sandra Bernard-Bastien

Children's Services Council of Broward

 

Iris Jones

BB&T Bank

 

Joyce Odongo

Wells Fargo Bank

 

Felipe Pinzon

Hispanic Unity of Florida

 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

 

Mike Bell

Community Volunteer

 

Doug Brown

Community Action Program Committee

 

Kamalah Fletcher

Catalyst Miami

 

Lars Gilberts

United Way of Broward/ALICE Liaison

 

Dr. Michael Gutter

University of Florida

 

Sharon Hackney

Florida Blue Foundation

 

Sherod Halliburton

Manatee Community Federal Credit Union

 

Dave Krepcho

Second Harvest Food Bank of Central FL

 

Audrey Ljung

Community Action Partnerships

 

Katie Metz

National Disability Institute

 

Leonard Parkhurst

League of Southeast Credit Unions

 

Valeria Perez-Ferreiro
Citi Community Development

Linda Rimmer

Goodwill Industries of Central FL

 

Frank Rodriguez

First Florida Integrity Bank

 

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

Lori Milliner 

Manager, Polk County

 

Penny Zaphel
Special Projects Coordinator

 

Emilie Pennington
Graphics Designer

 

Thrude Legg
Bookkeeper

 

 

THANK YOU

TO OUR FUNDERS

2015 Funders Logos  



FPP 2015 Conference Logo
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
By Kaye Schmitz

 

Greetings!
kAYE
KAYE SCHMITZ

fexcredit
CEUs and United Way Flex-Credits for FPP Conference! 

It's almost here! The 7th Annual FPP State Training Conference, from May 27-29, 2015 at the beautiful Portofino Bay Hotel in Orlando! 

Registration is higher than ever and our vice president, Bill Mills has been successful in obtaining CEU credits! Each of these organizations have approved 14 CEUs at completion of our conference attendance! 
  • FinCert.org 
  • National Association of Certified Credit Counselors 
  • Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education (AFCPE) 
AND...it keeps getting better! Bill has also gotten the word from United Way Worldwide that they are allowing the use of United Way Flex-credits to pay for conference registration. Please take a look at Bill's column below for more details-and then make sure you register right away if you haven't already done so! Remember...the discount room rate of $119 goes away after May 4! 

If you can't use United Way Flex-Credits, you can still qualify for a registration discount by becoming an FPP member--just click here. You can pay via PayPal or send a check to: Florida Prosperity Partnership; 180 Pinehurst Pointe Drive; St. Augustine, FL 32092; ATT: Kaye Schmitz. 

transportation
Transportation Pre-Conference Session 

If you aren't able to join us for the entire conference, please plan to come to our pre-conference workshop about Florida Transportation Issues - only $35 for participants who will NOT be attending the whole conference-but that $35 includes both lunch with a keynote speaker and a reception immediately following the session). You can register here! 

Pre-Conference Bonus: Transportation for Florida's Low Wage Working Families - During this session we will discuss Promising Practices for the Future with the following panelists: 
  • Lorraine Cargill, South Florida RTA - examples of promising transportation planning solutions in Florida
  • Bill O'Dell, Shimberg Center - Sustainable Communities work done for Orlando transit project
  • Richard Kaplan, Mayor of Lauderhill and Jason Smith, Legislative Director for District 8 in Miami - vision for South Florida's future 
We will also discuss Promising Practices for Today with:
  • Liz Peak, Jacksonville Transportation Authority 
  • Cathy Brown Butler, St Johns Council on Aging -- launched the Sunshine Bus 
  • Boyd Thompson, The Ride Solution -- Rural transportation solution 
  • Sarah Elbadri, Bike Share Program -- Orlando 
  • Sherod Halliburton, Manatee Community Federal Credit Union, and Mario Avila, EMERGE Workplace Wellness - Accessing autos in Manatee County 
sponsors
Conference Sponsors 

We have three more conference sponsors, both at the $1,000 Bronze Level. Please help us thank: 
  • Mellissa Slover-Athey from Center State Bank 
  • Steve Samaha from Smart Horizons 
  • David Christian from Regions Bank 
Center State Bank Logo
Smart Horizons Logo
RegionsBank

Please also be certain to check out Bill's column below for additional conference updates. To become a conference sponsor, please contact me at [email protected] or Bill Mills at [email protected] to be recognized as a sponsor on the registration website and at the conference. 

welcome
Welcome to the newest FPP Board Member! 
Valeria Perez-Ferreio picture
VALERIA PEREZ-FERREIRO

We are pleased to welcome Valeria Perez-Ferreiro, Citi's Vice President and Community Development Officer for South Florida. Valeria brings more than 20 years of experience in economic, workforce, and youth development to this position. 

Prior to joining Citi Community, Valeria worked on launching South Florida's first kitchen incubator with Opa-locka CDC. As the incubator's Co-Founder and Director, she completed a feasibility study, secured $3.7 million in funding, and developed partnerships with community-based organizations, local governments, and with food industry and educational institutions. 

Valeria's commitment to facilitating the inclusion of lower-income and disadvantaged individuals in our economy is long-standing and began when she was the Founding Executive Director of La Cocina , a nationally-recognized kitchen incubator in San Francisco, CA, where she built an organization that provided lower-income women (mostly minorities and immigrants) with the tools they needed to launch, formalize and grow successful food businesses. 

She is a native of Argentina and a graduate of Cornell University and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. [Please use Valeria's headshot] 

lots
Lots of Great Stuff

You won't want to miss the rest of the newsletter...please keep reading to see more information about the conference, the news in Polk County, and the latest on Tallahassee advocacy efforts. AND...plan to join us at the FPP Conference at the end of this month. See you there!
  Kaye's signature
STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
By Bill Mills, Director of Strategic Initiatives
Strategic



billConference
Bill Mills
BILL MILLS
FPP Conference

As Kaye mentioned in her article, for the first time ever, the Annual Florida Prosperity Partnership Training Conference will offer 14 general CEUs for certification programs administered by FinCert.org, National Association of Certified Credit Counselors and the Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education (AFCPE) for attending the entire conference. A certificate of completion will be provided. 

Additionally, United Way Worldwide has approved the use of flex training dollars. This is a great opportunity to have all of the staff trained at your United Way! 

We want to thank our great partners for making these available to you. More and more reasons keep coming up for you to come to this year's event! 

Don't forget, we also have more featured speakers than ever before (12 on Friday alone), more national partners than ever before, and two great pre-conference choices. So, please take a look at what is in store for you as you join us at the Seventh Annual Florida Prosperity Partnership Training Conference, "Oh, The Places We'll Go!" 

yourmoney
Your Money, Your Goals Train-the-Trainer 

Interested in our preconference session, but not able to make the whole conference? Thanks to the SunTrust Foundation for allowing us to offer free registration to the Your Money, Your Goals Train-the-Trainer for the first 18 registrants to contact me by May 18!

This new toolkit from CFPB for community volunteers will equip volunteers who serve their communities in a range of capacities (faith communities, volunteer coaches, counselors, or mentors, etc.) to help people learn financial decision-making skills and to help them avoid the kinds of financial missteps that can erase hard-fought gains. 

The topics covered in the Your Money, Your Goals toolkit include: 
  • Making spending decisions that help reach goals 
  • Ordering and fixing credit reports 
  • Avoiding tricks and traps in choosing financial products 
  • Making decisions about repaying debts and taking on new debt 
  • Keeping track of income and bills 
  • Deciding whether to open a checking account and understanding what's needed to open one 

bankOn
Bank On Florida 

Bank on Lauderhill will be launching this month! The announcement will happen at a special Bank on Lauderhill Financial Fair being held at Lauderhill 6-12, 1901 NW 49th Ave., Lauderhill, on Thursday, May 14, 2015 at 7 p.m. 

Almost half of Lauderhill residents are either unbanked (no checking or savings account) or underbanked (have an account, but frequently use alternative financial services, like check-cashing stores). It's estimated that a full-time worker without a bank account spends $40,000 over the course of a lifetime just to cash paychecks. In Lauderhill, 18.4 percent of households don't have bank accounts -- surpassing the national average of 7.7 percent. Likewise, 31.9 percent are underbanked -- topping the national average of 20.0 percent. This equates to over 12,000 households in the city. 

We would love to have you there! Let me know if you are interested in attending

moneysmart
Money Smart Train-the-Trainer 

Southeastern Credit Union Foundation League of Southeastern Credit Unions & Affiliates is hosting a Money Smart Train-the-Trainer session on May 12. We would love to have you there. It will be held at League of Southeastern Credit Unions & Affiliates, 3692 Coolidge Court Tallahassee, FL 32311 from 10 AM to 4 PM. 

The primary purpose is to provide the class participant with tools that may enhance their skills as a classroom instructor in teaching the Money Smart modules. The seminar will also cover some ideas and recommendations on how to present the Money Smart curriculum. Participants are encouraged to teach one or more of the Money Smart modules to community members within the next 12 months.

To register, please provide your full name, organization, phone number and email address by May 6, to: [email protected] 

Are you interested in hosting a Money Smart Train-the-Trainer session? Let me know at [email protected]

upcomingWeb
Upcoming FPP Webinar

Take your financial program to a higher level! 
June 24, 1 PM ET 

If you hate evaluation but see a need for it, this is the session for you. Evaluation is key to the future success of measuring a financial education program and its impact on clients. Instead of a lecture, this interaction session will allow participants to walk away with a tangible action for their program.

The NEFE Financial Education Evaluation Toolkit is designed to help financial educators understand how to evaluate their educational programs so they can document the impact they have on students. With proper evaluation, educators can find out if a program is meeting audience needs, identify strengths, spot areas for improvement, and even prove to stakeholders that a program is worth the investment (more funding). 

This workshop helps individuals who deliver financial education-including financial planners, social service professionals, community volunteers, and human resource professionals-learn how to use the Evaluation Toolkit database, templates, and forms to evaluate the effectiveness of educational programs.

Please register for Take your financial program to a higher level! on June 24, 2015 1:00 PM EDT at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1181080362498848258

freetax
FreeFLTaxSites.org

We would like to thank our statewide partners that have helped us to promote the VITA sites in Florida! We had another great year with almost seven thousand people accessing the site and two thousand of them accessing the list of partner VITA sites in Florida. Over five hundred accessed the link to the IRS "find a location by zip code". We are so happy to be helping our partners out by promoting your tax links and sites to others across the state!

Additionally, we would like to thank National Disability Institute for the funding to keep this site going.

 

POLK COUNTY
By Debbie Prescott, Director of Polk County
Polk

Debbie Prescott
DEBBIE PRESCOTT
Financial wellness has been proven to reduce absenteeism and improve employee morale!

This week, FPP Polk has been working closely with the Early Learning Coalition to teach our teachers about financial wellness. To begin we gave them the Money Habitudes quiz and began discussing their personalities and how their behavior relates back to their finances and money spending habits. 

After that we moved on to goal setting and planning. One of our favorite planning tools is the University of Florida IFAS Money Management Calendar. This planning tool is a thorough and comprehensive way to document and plan your spending and savings each month.

On day two we moved on to discuss credit. Credit is the number one topic of concern at all of our community outreach. Discussions around credit seem to draw everyone into the conversation and generate open dialog that everyone benefits from. 
Early Learning Coalition sign
These bright and intelligent women play a vital role in teaching and leading the educators and families that are responsible for tomorrow's leaders. FPP Polk is a proud partner in the community and we are thrilled to support the Early Learning Coalition. We look forward to working with them in the future as they use these tools. Our long term goal is to continue training the ELC staff and incorporate these financial stability tools to reach the families they serve in the community.


Save Your Refund Winner!

During the 2015 tax season, The United Way of Central Florida and Florida Prosperity Partnership - Polk Area office encouraged all of our partners participating in the Free Tax Prep program to educate tax clients on the long term benefits of emergency savings. FPP - Polk's Free Tax Prep program is the vehicle that allows us to consistently deliver the message to our clients of the importance in saving a portion of their refund. By offering incentives provided by the www.saveyourrefund.com program, our primary objective of converting tax clients into tax savers was made a little easier. 

This year, we are honored and very excited to announce that the 25K GRAND PRIZE WINNER of the SAVE YOUR REFUND drawing was one of the tax clients assisted at our FPP Polk managed tax site at The United Way's - Family Fundamentals Facility! 
Save Your Refund 2015 winner
Save Your Refund Winner!

Transportation is a HUGE problem for many families and having enough money to purchase a van and save money for insurance, gas, and repairs was never in their budget. However, a hardworking mother of 5 who dreamed of purchasing a minivan for her family can now make that a reality! 

Thanks to the staff and volunteers at FPP Polk, many hard working families were able to receive 100% of their refund back and learn how to save. 

You never know who the next grand prize winner will be...maybe next year it will be YOU!

 

ADVOCACY UPDATE
By Alice Vickers, Florida Alliance for Consumer Protection
 advocacy
ALICE VICKERS
I am excited to tell you that HB 779, legislation to protect tenants in foreclosure, has passed the Florida legislature! The vote was unanimous in both houses. The bill now goes to the governor where he can veto, sign into law or let it simply pass into law.

Thanks to those of you who signed the letter of support. Showing statewide support for this legislation was extremely crucial in helping shepherd this bill through the process.

The bill will take effect upon becoming law (I am assuming it will not be vetoed!). We want to spread the word once it does become law - I will let you know when that happens.

Below is a link to the final language.  As you can see, we had to compromise to get it passed - the final bill provides tenants in foreclosed residential properties with a written 30-day notice and the protections of 83.67 against prohibited acts by the purchaser (cutting off utilities, changing locks).

If you have an opportunity, please thank Rep. Mia Jones ([email protected]) and Sen. Darren Soto ([email protected]), bill sponsors.

Thanks again for your help and support!

 

MEMBER NEWS
 membernews
cfpbshare
Credit and housing counselors can now share credit scores with clients

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has an exciting new opportunity for non-profit organizations that work with clients on credit-related matters. Today, FICO announced that the three large credit bureaus are changing their policies to allow non-profit counselors to share the credit scores they purchased with their clients. Additionally, Experian is updating its policy to also allow non-profit counselors to share the credit reports they purchase for their clients, with their clients. Because of these policy changes, many consumers will now have access to receive their credit scores and credit reports. You can read more about it here.

The Bureau is encouraged by this development and is now urging the other credit bureaus to follow suit to allow the sharing of reports so that consumers can be empowered to take more control in managing their credit.

Additional resources:
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DocLieb

Career Online High School Highlighted at White House Upskill America Summit
Smart Horizons Logo
McDonald's and Walmart Offering Career Online High School to Equip Employees with a High School Diploma and Entry-Level Workforce Certificate for Educational and Professional Advancement

Cengage Learning's Career Online High School (COHS), part of the Smart Horizons Career Online Education (SHCOE) school district, participated today in the White House Upskill America Summit, a gathering of national business and education leaders who are answering President Obama's call to action to help equip workers of all ages with the skills they need to advance into better-paying jobs. Cengage Learning's Ron Stefanski participated in the Upskill America Summit as the Obama Administration highlighted two new COHS commitments with McDonald's Corporation and Walmart Stores Inc., to offer AdvancED/SACS/NCA accredited high school diplomas and entry-level workforce certificate training to all qualified U.S. employees. These partnerships have the potential to change the lives of up to 10,000 front-line workers in the first year.

 

 

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 - [email protected].

Sincerely,

Kaye Schmitz
Florida Prosperity Partnership