(The Center Square) – A new program funded by private philanthropy is aimed at asset building for people receiving Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.
Build Your Nest is a three-year pilot that allows residents at three affordable housing properties in Chicago to earn up to $1,200 per year in savings.
Under the program announced last week by Compass Working Capital and Preservation of Affordable Housing, eligible residents at the three POAH properties will be enrolled automatically and receive a $250 seed deposit.
Residents earn a $50 deposit into a savings account each time they pay rent on time, and they can earn an extra $400 by opting into financial coaching with Compass.
Julianna Stuart-Lomax, vice president of community impact at the nonprofit Preservation of Affordable Housing, said the program is paid for through private donations and not by taxpayers.
“We received very generous funding from the Chicago Community Trust to launch this pilot, and we’re working on securing additional funding from other philanthropy,” Stuart-Lomax told The Center Square.
Stuart-Lomax said the group is focused on efficiency to scale leveraging for different sources of public or private dollars so families can improve their credit and reach their goals.
“They’re working, they’re renting, they’re paying that rent each month, but they’re still living on a really thin margin,” Stuart-Lomax said, adding that income has not kept up with inflation.
Compass chief program officer Moriah Garcia Nelson said asset poverty is an overlooked crisis for low-income families.
“Our current anti-poverty system often penalizes families with low incomes for having savings, or it prevents them from building it,” Garcia Nelson said.
Stuart-Lomax said Build Your Nest is designed to support the financial health of both the residents and the properties.
“We’re trying to use the levers that we have available without adding additional burden on taxpayers,” Stuart-Lomax said.
The pilot program is starting in Chicago but could expand.
“We’re designing this program in a way that we think is transferable to similar communities across Illinois and nationally,” Stuart-Lomax said.
