Economic Development Ministries for the Church in North America When Helping Hurts Webinar 5 December 10, 2009
Dec 18, 2015
Economic Development Ministries for the Church in North America
When Helping HurtsWebinar 5December 10, 2009
You can submit questions at any time. I will answer some of these toward the end of the webinar. I will focus more on questions dealing with the 3 economic development ministries I will be talking about.
Jobs for Life
FocusVocationally Centered “Life Journey”
Key Themes How to view work
Makes one more “fully human” Allows one to:
Provide for others Give financially Serve others
Vocational planning-”Life Journey Map” Career Possibilities: Interest, Skills, Realism Vocational Plan Roadblocks
Education/Training needs Character issues Social context
Job Acquisition Job search
Sources Informational interview Intentionality
Job Acquisition (cont) Resume Interviewing
Telling your story Behavioral interview questions Hidden Questions
Job Retention/Advancement Satisfying Employers
Culture Punctuality Teamwork Conflict resolution
Key Components Good Learning Principles
Relevant, expedient, active, safe
Biblical Insights Linking social capital Support
Group setting Champions (mentors)
Designing and Implementing a Financial Literacy Ministry
What is Financial Literacy?
The Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) that promote appropriate stewarding of household resources
Provides the foundation for further economic development
Why is Financial Literacy needed Economically poor can be unaware of money
management options or not taking full advantage of them
Culture of consumerism is hard to resist The lion that seeks to devour: Predatory
Lending Practices
Predatory Lending
Strips billions in wealth from low-income consumers and communities in the U.S. each year.
Borrowers lose an estimated $9.1 billion annually due to predatory mortgages;
$3.4 billion from payday loans; $3.5 billion in other lending abuses, such as
overdraft loans, excessive credit card debt, and tax refund loans.
Who Do They Target
Blacks, Latinos and other minorities 4X more likely on home purchase loan 3X more likely on refinance loan 3X more likely in high income black
neighborhoods Seniors Single mothers Military
Payday Lending What is a payday loan?
Short term loan, usually 2 weeks Small loan, usually $300-500 VERY high fees, ex. $45 every 2 weeks Annual interest rate of 400% +
Looks like easy money, until you have to repay. 75% have to rollover their loans
90% of the payday industry's revenue growth comes from making more and larger loans to the same customers
Payday lenders encourage consumers to borrow the maximum allowed, regardless of their credit history. If the borrower can't repay the loan, the lender collects multiple renewal fees
Some Comparisons
Transaction Fees/Month APR
$255 payday loan $90 391%
$255 bounced check $43 202%
Late fee on $255
credit card bill $30 141%
Late fee on $800
mortgage $32 48%
Late fee on $600
rent payment $30 60%
Late fee on $300
car payment $15 60%
Other Predatory Lending Practices Tax Refund Anticipation Loans
Tax Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs) are short-term cash advances against a customer's anticipated income tax refund. But the loans are offered at high interest rates, ranging from about 40% to over 700% APR.
Car Title Loans
A typical car title loan has a triple-digit annual interest rate, requires repayment within one month, and is made for much less than the value of the car.
Rent-to-Own Contracts
Rent-to-Own companies "rent" merchandise, although the structure of the transaction is more like a loan because of the interest and credit insurance involved. The store does not have to report how much it is charging in interest. If a borrower is late with a payment, there is no legal limit to how much interest the store can charge in finance charges, although the company usually repossesses the rental property
Key Issues in Designing and Implementing a Financial Literacy Ministry Appropriate Resources
MaterialScope of Content Educationally sound
-Relevancy: Socioeconomic and Cultural Fit-Immediacy-Active-Pace right to really promote behavioral change
Biblical Integration
Some sources Faith and Finance by Gary Nederveld Crown Ministries
http://www.crown.org/Tools/ Brenda Armstrong material for single mothers
Dave Ramsey material http://www.daveramsey.com
New Focus Historically required training to access their curriculum http://www.newfocus.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=76127
The National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) http://www.nefe.org/EducatorsandFacilitators/tabid/88/Default.aspx
Money Smart http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/moneysmart/overview.html
Financial Mentoring http://www.financialmentoring.net
Managing My Money http://www.managingmymoney.com
HumanTechnically and culturally equipped trainers and mentors
Financial
Who pays for trainers, material, childcare and misc. expenses?
Group vs. Individual Focus
It is hard to change alone
Honoring household relationships Scope of Ministry
Depth/breadth of intervention
Linkage to other ministries/programs
Limitations of Financial Literacy Ministry Doesn’t directly address policy change Often doesn’t work as a stand alone intervention
Individual Development Accounts
Why is Asset Building So Important to Reduction of Economic Poverty?
A household’s ability to cope with financial shocks is largely a function of the extent to which it has built up its assets.
Assets also enable us to purchase other assets that we want or need: Buy a Home Pursue an Education Start a Business Prepare for Retirement Buy a Car
Assets will be more important in the future as labor market becomes increasingly volatile.
Building assets requires and fosters different attitudes and behaviors than earning an income:
Denial of instant gratificationDiscipline for extended time-periodsAn orientation toward the futurePlanning skills
According to a study by Wolff (2001), in 1998:
26% of U.S. households had net financial wealth(net worth minus home equity) that was zero or negative.
40% of households headed by a 25-54 year-old had sufficient net financial wealth to survive for less than 3 days at their current consumption levels.
Matches are only made for qualified purchases of assets (typically homes, post-secondary education, business capital, etc.)
Savings are matched at ratios that usually range from 1:1 to 3:1 but can be higher
Matching funds can come from federal and state governments, financial institutions, foundations, churches, and individuals
IDAs are matched savings accounts for the economically poor
Examples of Savings and Match Accumulation
1 year 2 year 3 year 4 year
$25/month saved2:1 match rate
Savings 300 600 900 1,200
Match 600 1,200 1,800 2,400
Total 900 1,800 2,700 3,600
$40/month saved2:1 match rate
Savings 480 960 1,440 1,920
Match 960 1,920 2,880 3,840
Total 1,440 2,880 4,420 5,760
1 year 2 year 3 year 4 year
$25/month saved4:1 match rate
Savings 300 600 900 1,200
Match 1,200 2,400 3,600 4,800
Total 1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000
$40/month saved4:1 match rate
Savings 480 960 1,440 1,920
Match 1,920 3,840 5,760 7,680
Total 2,400 4,800 7,200 9,600
Examples of Savings and Match Accumulation
Components of an IDA Program
Components Processes
Program Orientation Recruitment
The Accounts Enrollment
Financial Education Savings and Participation Period
Case Management Monitor Progress, Oversee Withdrawals
Mentoring Support, Encouragement, Accountability
Asset Related Services
Asset specific training
US Economic Development Ministries: A 4 week distance course offered by the Chalmers Center in June 2010
Note that there is a pre-req for this course: US Foundations for Holistic Ministry
Take as a 4 week distance course facilitated by Steve: next offering May 2010
Do as a self-study
For more info on all training options see www.chalmers.org
Learning Opportunity
International Economic Development Ministries
Today at 12:30-1:30 EST (i.e. in 30 minutes!)