On March 2nd, Washington Area Women’s Foundation and five Grantee Partners discussed financial literacy and education for women and girls with members of the White House Council on Women and Girls.
The meeting was the second of three listening sessions The Women’s Foundation is convening with the White House Council on Women and Girls. The meetings are an opportunity for local nonprofits to inform administration staff about the needs of low-income women and girls in the region, highlight work being done to improve the lives of this population, and discuss how federal policies are being implemented. The Women’s Foundation was asked to organize the meetings after releasing a new report, 2010 Portrait of Women & Girls in the Washington Metropolitan Area (Portrait Project 2010).
Portrait Project 2010 provides a clear and current look at the lives of women and girls in the District of Columbia, Montgomery County, MD, Prince George’s County, MD and northern Virginia and in coming years will serve as a critical tool locally and beyond for policymakers, community‐based organizations and funders.
“In our region, more than 177,000 women and girls are living in poverty,” said Nicky Goren, president of Washington Area Women’s Foundation. “Giving them access to resources that improve their financial literacy and education means that we’re giving them the tools they need to move towards long-term economic security and self-sufficiency.”
The meeting coincided with the unveiling of the Obama Administration report, “Women in America: Indicators of Social and Economic Well-Being,” which was released at the beginning of Women’s History Month.
At Wednesday’s meeting, The Women’s Foundation was joined by representatives from five Grantee Partners – nonprofit organizations that have received funding from the Foundation. The represented organizations were CASA de Maryland, Capital Area Asset Builders, Community Tax Aid, Doorways for Women and Families, and Manna, Inc.
All five nonprofits have identified ways to address the needs of the population that faces the greatest number of barriers to economic security: female-headed families.
Representatives from Capital Area Asset Builders discussed their matched savings accounts that help low-income families move towards self-sufficiency and long-term prosperity. Because the program matches funds that students save, the students are more likely to go to college and break the cycle of generational poverty.
A representative from CASA de Maryland discussed the organization’s financial literacy efforts with immigrant workers at their workers center.
The Earned Income Tax Credit was discussed by representatives from Community Tax Aid, who outlined the challenges low-income families face while trying to access credits available to them.
Two representatives from Doorways for Women and Families discussed the benefits of creating a financial literacy model aimed specifically at women who are fleeing domestic violence situations.
And the challenges faced by would-be home buyers were discussed by representatives from Manna, Inc.
