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A Note from the Director
"Income from work gets you by, but building assets gets you ahead!"
These words, spoken by Ona Porter the President of Prosperity Works in Albuquerque last week, have continued to resonate in my mind. For me, it succinctly captures the essence and importance of our movement to support and expand asset-building opportunities. The crushing wealth gap, a lack of living-wage jobs, and too few safe and affordable financial vehicles that provide credit and savings, continue to foster economic instability and poverty.
In January 2014, we will mark the 50th anniversary of the launching of the War on Poverty by President Johnson. We can reflect on progress across many fronts, but not economic stability. Today, the path out of poverty is no longer just a job. Today's pathways out of poverty must also include preserving and growing assets. Addressing this challenge is fundamental to our national well-being. And it is a particularly essential outcome for disproportionate numbers of African Americans, Latinos, immigrants, women, retirees, and new millennials in communities throughout the country.
After serving as a civil rights and anti-poverty advocate and executive in the non-profit, government and private sectors, I am excited to serve as AFN's Director to work with interested and engaged grantmakers advancing financial security for all.
In the past quarter, we have initiated the Tax Policy Project; delivered webinars on topics as diverse as big data, microenterprises, and tax policy reform; started our series of issue briefs with Strategic Philanthropy: Creating Opportunity, Building Wealth and Driving Community Change; and launched a new website that will continue to evolve in response to member feedback. AFN will also continue to educate and elevate ideas through members-only roundtables, webinars and of course the AFN Grantmaker Conference October 2-4, 2013 in Washington D.C.
I look forward to meeting you, hearing your thoughts, and helping to advance our asset building field.
Joe Antolin
AFN Director
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AFN News & Event Information
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AFN Grantmaker Conference 2013
Access, Opportunity and Mobility: Strategies that Move Families Forward
Pre-Conference (optional): October 2nd
Conference: October 3rd & 4th
Come join the Asset Funders Network for our 2013 Grantmaker Conference "Access, Opportunity and Mobility: Strategies that Move Families Forward" this October 2-4 in Washington, DC. The conference will bring together a diverse group of national, regional and community-based funders concerned about a common goal - financial security for all.
Whether new to the asset building conversation or a long-time funder, AFN's conference offers a neutral forum for candid conversations among grantmakers, as well as opportunities to learn from leaders in the field and help reshape the discourse about what is possible through effective grantmaking.
All interested grantmakers are invited to register.
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AFN Welcomes Alandra L. Washington, W.K. Kellogg Foundation,
AFN is proud to welcome Alandra Washington as our newest steering committee member. She is the Deputy Director for the Family Economic Security and Education and Learning team at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. We are delighted to have Alandra's experience and expertise guiding AFN- welcome!
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AFN Launches New Project to Inform Federal Tax Reform -
Heather McCulloch Joins AFN Team as Tax Policy Project Manager
AFN has launched the Tax Policy Project, a new initiative designed to help position the field to advocate with a unified voice for federal asset-building tax policies that benefit low-income households and households of color, with seed funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Walter & Elise Haas Fund and support for research from the Ford Foundation. As part of the project, AFN is convening a select group of advisors - asset policy advocates, tax reform experts, representatives of organizations of color and women, researchers, and community organizers. The group is working together to develop guiding principles for asset-building policy in the context of tax reform; to discuss trade-offs between policy options, based on independent third-party analysis; to build consensus shared near and longer term priorities; and to develop a strategic advocacy agenda.
 We are delighted to announce Heather McCulloch has joined AFN as the Manager of our new Tax Policy Project. Heather is the founder and principal of Asset Building Strategies. For more than a decade, she's worked with foundations, nonprofits, and policymakers - at the local, state and national levels - to develop innovative and effective approaches to advance policies and strategies building the financial security of low-wealth families. > Read Heather's full bio > Learn more about AFN's Tax Policy Project
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Strategic Philanthropy: Creating Opportunity, Building Wealth, and
Driving Community Change
The Asset Funders Network, with support from the Citi Foundation, released a new white paper, "Strategic Philanthropy: Creating Opportunity, Building Wealth and Driving Community Change." Developed by the Institute on Assets and Social Policy (IASP) at Brandeis University, this paper illuminates the growing field of asset building and provides guidance for foundations looking for ways to leverage the asset building framework to advance the impact of their work. It offers compelling evidence about the increased importance and relevance of connecting asset building to existing grant making strategies and how foundations across sectors are investing in asset building for greater collective impact to help families and communities shift from getting by to getting ahead.
> Read full brief
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Bay Area AFN and AFN Co-Host
Comprehensive Tax Reform: Is Federal Policy Driving the Wealth Gap?
September 10th, 2013
Informal Networking Lunch (optional): 11:30-12:00pm
Meeting: 12:00- 2:00pm
PolicyLink, Oakland, CA
National conversations about comprehensive tax reform - already underway in the Halls of Congress, the White House, and the media - present a window of opportunity for asset-building stakeholders to join in the debate and articulate the need for more progressive asset-building policies.
The September 10th meeting of the Bay Area Asset Funders Network will discuss this window of opportunity. Co-hosted by the Asset Funders Network (AFN), the meeting will feature AFN's new Tax Policy Project, which is helping to position the field to advocate with a unified voice for federal asset-building tax policies that benefit low-income households.
Registration is open to all interested grantmakers.
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AFN Member Job Announcement
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Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Job Announcement - Economic Security Program Officer
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Asset-Building News & Information
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FIELD Trendlines Series
June 2013
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June 2013
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César E. Chávez Institute, SFSU
June 2013
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The Annie E. Casey Foundation
2013
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Insight Center for Community Economic Development
April 2013
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CFED
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Funders Webinar
New Tools to Help Families Enroll in Health Insurance - Enroll America Webinar
Sponsored by Grantmakers Income Security Taskforce
August 2nd; 10:00 am -11:00 am EDT
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Funders Meeting
Comprehensive Tax Reform: Is Federal Policy Driving the Wealth Gap?
Co-Hosted by AFN and Bay Area AFN
September 10th, 2013; 11:30-2:00pm
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Funders Meeting
EITC Funders Network Annual Meeting 2013
September 11th; 9am-1pm
The Astor Crowne Plaza
New Orleans, LA
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Funders Convening
What Does Polling Tell us About the Future of Fiscal and Social Safety Net Issues?
Sponsored by: GIST/GCYF/GIH Communications Collaborative and The Ford Foundation
September 23rd; 10:30 am - 5:00 pm
The Ford Foundation
New York, NY
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Funders Convening
The What and Why of Narrative- A Powerful Tool for Social Change
Sponsored by: Funders Committee for Civic Participation, GIST/GCYF/GIH Communications Collaborative, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Stoneman Family Foundation, The Proteus Fund, and The Ford Foundation
September 24th; 10:00 am-4:30 pm
The Ford Foundation
New York, NY
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Funders Tour
Housing Justice Learning Tour in Baltimore, MD
Hosted by the Neighborhood Funders Group's Working Group on Housing Justice and Community Transformation
September 25th - 26th
Baltimore, MD
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Funders Conference
Pre-Conference: October 2nd
Conference: October 3rd & 4th
The Dupont Circle Hotel
Washington, DC
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Funders Conference
Save the Date
November 20th-22nd
Jackson, MS
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Chicago-Southside Community
August 6th
11:30 am-1:30 pm
Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, IL
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August 21st
8:30 am-4:00 pm
Philadelphia Marriott Downtown
Philadelphia, PA
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September 10th-13th
New Orleans, LA
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Woodstock Institute 40th Anniversary Research Symposium and Gala
October 2nd & 3rd, 2013
The Sheraton Chicago
Chicago, IL
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AFN Supporting Members
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Wells Fargo Foundation
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AFN
Newsletter Submissions | |
Does your organization have asset-building news or event information to share in the next AFN newsletter? Please send materials to: siobhan@assetfunders.org. All materials undergo
a review process.
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Asset Funders Network
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AFN is a community of foundations and grantmakers advancing programs, policies, and strategies that help low-wealth individuals accumulate financial assets, build their net worth, and become owners and stakeholders in their communities.
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AFN Membership
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Are you a grantmaker and want to get more involved with AFN and asset-building grantmaking?
If yes, join AFN as a Member today!
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AFN Steering Committee
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Co-Chair: Merle Lawrence
Levi Strauss Foundation
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Co-Chair: Benita Melton
CS Mott Foundation
| Daniel Delehanty
Capital One
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Amanda Feinstein
Walter and Elise Haas Fund
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Kilolo Kijakazi
Ford Foundation |
Daria Sheehan
Citi Foundation
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K. Sujata
Chicago Foundation for Women
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Alandra Washington
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
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Beadsie Woo
The Annie E. Casey Foundation
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