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Save Up Program
The mission of the RISE Foundation (Responsibility, Initiative, Solutions, Empowerment) is to assist Memphis public housing residents in reaching financial self-sufficiency.
There are about 20,000 Memphians living in public housing. Ninety-eight percent of public housing residents are low-income, African-American women and their children, the majority of which exist on incomes of $7,000 - $12,000 annually. After researching a number of economic initiatives and visiting with resident focus groups, RISE created Save Up. The program is an Individual Development Account initiative of the RISE Foundation designed to help low-income and low-wealth families accumulate a few thousand dollars to invest in high-return investments, such as education or job training, homeownership or micro-enterprise.
RISE, an operating foundation, guarantees a 2:1 match on each individual's savings up to $75 per month. Together with the RISE match, 63 savers have accumulated an aggregate savings total of nearly $70,000 on average annual incomes of $12,000.
Savers are saving an average of 6 percent of their incomes as compared to a 3 percent national average. Five savers have used their savings to purchase homes worth an aggregate of $350,000 and are paying less for their monthly mortgages than they were paying in public housing rent.
The mission of the RISE Foundation (Responsibility, Initiative, Solutions, Empowerment) is to assist Memphis public housing residents in reaching financial self-sufficiency.
There are about 20,000 Memphians living in public housing. Ninety-eight percent of public housing residents are low-income, African-American women and their children, the majority of which exist on incomes of $7,000 - $12,000 annually. After researching a number of economic initiatives and visiting with resident focus groups, RISE created Save Up. The program is an Individual Development Account initiative of the RISE Foundation designed to help low-income and low-wealth families accumulate a few thousand dollars to invest in high-return investments, such as education or job training, homeownership or micro-enterprise.
RISE, an operating foundation, guarantees a 2:1 match on each individual's savings up to $75 per month. Together with the RISE match, 63 savers have accumulated an aggregate savings total of nearly $70,000 on average annual incomes of $12,000.
Savers are saving an average of 6 percent of their incomes as compared to a 3 percent national average. Five savers have used their savings to purchase homes worth an aggregate of $350,000 and are paying less for their monthly mortgages than they were paying in public housing rent.
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Last year, MemphisDEBT, in cooperation with United Way of the Mid-South, hosted 16 Volunteer Tax Assistance sites over a three-month period to help low-income communities claim Earned Income Tax Credits (January - March 2003). Nearly 2,300 returns were processed. The average refund amount was $2,100, resulting in more than $4.8 million being returned to low-income families. It is estimated participating families saved approximately $460,000 in filing fees.
Contact MemphisDEBT to find out more. |