Thanks for coming to the Party on April 13th!
CEF Spring Celebrations 2017
Archive | General
CEF Highlighted in Common Cents Lab Annual Report
“We are honored to have partnered with CEF in this effort to improve Americans’ financial decision making.”
— Dan Ariely, Common Cents Lab Founder
“Community Empowerment Fund is an innovative and thoughtful partner that is creating real, meaningful improvements in the financial well-being of the most marginalized members of the community.”
— Mariel Beasley, Common Cents Lab Co-Director
“With Community Empowerment Fund, we redesigned goal-setting for clients who are homeless or in transitional housing, creating a process to recommend savings goals and monthly contributions based on the client’s housing and income circumstances. Additionally, we used punch cards to track deposits toward their savings goals. Clients who received the punch-cards saved, on average, 49% of their savings goal in 6 months or less.”
Why We’re Founders
From Joe Sircar (UNC ‘12), Quinn Holmquist (Duke ’16), and Anne Yeung (Duke ’14)
We are writing to those of you who have volunteered with CEF and who may want stay connected—whether you are still in the area or afar. As a volunteer during CEF’s first 7 years, you are a huge part of founding CEF and making it possible, and you’re invited to join the Founders Circle.
We’re a group of CEF old hands who make a small gift of $10 (or $15 or $20) that is automatically drafted each month as a way to sustain and stay connected to CEF and order to help support CEF’s work and sustain its impact in the Chapel Hill and Durham communities. Since we left and now face new challenges in new cities and new communities—CEF has been frequently on our minds.
Joe: One of the things that memorializes my time there is the quote “we are all recovering from something.” CEF is a real community that continues to grow and learn together – and the real impact that the relationships that are forged in CEF continues to make is incredible. I’m sure many of you all would say the same.
Anne: I remember the shared stories, laughs, and meals at Dove House and with Ricky; being invited to try to understand poverty through a human lens; and the opportunity to shape and build a growing organization
Quinn: I’ll always cherish the long car talks on the way office hours, hugs at the Genesis Home, and Wannamaker Common Room 04 (the site of CEF’s house course, which just wrapped up its fifth semester).
Whatever it is that you find beautiful in CEF, we would like to invite you to continue to be a part of that by joining us in the CEF’s Founders’ Circle. You’ll receive a CEF mug specially crafted for Founders’ Circle members Just click here, enter your info, and start giving!
CEF continues to attract more volunteers, gain more members, add and optimize programs, and make new partnerships. CEF is now serving over 1,000 members in Chapel Hill and Durham, with over 200 active savings accounts, and this year they supported 104 members to secure housing and 155 members to gain employment. In its 7 years of existence, we believe CEF has flourished and exceeded expectations. Let’s stay connected and help them grow.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Joe Sircar (UNC ‘12), Quinn Holmquist (Duke ’16), and Anne Yeung (Duke ’14)
P.S Wondering what’s changed since you graduated? Well, at our core, we’re still the same we think – grounded in the unique relationships between our student Advocates and our Members, and anchored by these consistent Guiding Principles. You can check out these recent Member Stories to see for yourself just how much we’re still the same full-hearted CEF.
In Durham:
Here is a glimpse from then (2012), to now…
- Then, we visited 3 partner sites and worked with 64 members. Now we work with 350 members in close partnership with 10+ housing and employment organizations, and our very own office, located squarely between Duke and downtown Durham.
- Then our entire advocate team could squeeze into Janet’s car. Now we have 102 advocates in 10 teams, bussing, walking, and carpooling together to sites throughout Durham.
- Then we had 0 full-time staff. Then we had half-a-staff. Now we have three dedicated staff people.
- Then we took appointments and set appointment agendas the day-of. Now, Members schedule meeting in advance, receive systematized appointment reminders, and establish long-term goals alongside to-do lists for each meeting!
- In 2012, all CEF members saved an impressive $53,091. Last year, they saved a staggering $195,881, and we’ve used behavioral economic best practices to continuously improve the accounts!
- Then, we were filled with big questions about growth and sustainability. Now, CEF’s work has grown roots and deep partnerships in Durham, charted out in a 3-year Strategic Plan, and featured in national case studies as a model for integrating financial capability into social services.
Thanks to you, CEF has gone from then to now.
In Chapel Hill:
Here are some fun snapshots of how we have changed…
- We started an Advocacy Choir to sing for change in affordable housing in Orange County!
- You might be such a golden-oldies Advocate that you remember when we didn’t even have an office, or when our office was basically just that one table at 133 ½. Now, we have a 2,000 square foot space co-locating services with partner organizations in downtown Chapel Hill!
- Maybe you remember when our Resource Database was a big Google Spreadsheet. Or maybe you remember when it was in a manila folder in the Campus Y! Now, it is a county-wide, web-based, public, and very fancy tool.
- Perhaps you were here when we offered micro-loans, and a matched savings program was just a glimmer in the eye of some of the first CEF Members (Borrowers at the time!). Now our matched savings accounts have supported hundreds of members to save successfully for their goals, and we’re using best practices to improve the accounts every year! And what’s super exciting? The first 3 CEF Members just used their CEF savings accounts to buy their own homes.
- Possibly the Advocate training you participated in was just a one-day thing. Now, training is a semester-long process packed with content and shadowing opportunities, with our Financial Coaching Fellows training now a course for academic credit at the UNC School of Social Work. What!?
- And maybe you were here when all of this was really just an idea, or barely becoming a real thing. Now, CEF has been featured in national case studies as a model for integrating financial capability services into social services.
Thanks to you, CEF has grown in so many ways.
It’s so fun to reflect on just how much has happened and how far we have come! In part because it helps us imagine just how much is still possible! To keep building towards better, we need your support
P.S. We would love to hear from you! What are some of your favorite or most distinct memories of your time at CEF? What do you remember about your time as an Advocate? What experience still makes you laugh when you think about it, or still breaks your heart? What are you up to nowadays? It would be awesome to stay in touch – please comment below and share or email us at founders@communityef.org!
Anonymous Gift to CEF Advocacy Choir
Thank you (whoever you are 🤗) for supporting CEF Members and the Advocacy Choir in their efforts to increase affordable housing in Orange County! #makeroomorange
Mike and Julius Alston
Meet the dream team! Julius and Mike Alston are brothers who for the first time in their lives have their very own home.
The Alston brothers are a beloved duo, Julius as the honorary Poet Laureate of CEF and Mike as a reliable friend and jokester. Both connected with CEF Advocates while living in the shelter. “Now we all got started from IFC. They fed us, they clothed us, they sheltered us. It all got started from there. But if you go there, you’re going to CEF, they’re going to tell you that,” says Julius.
Both Mike and Julius got involved in CEF within two weeks of the time they each moved into the shelter, jumping feet first into all of our programs. Since joining CEF, Mike has attended 80 sessions of our Opportunity Classes and Julius has attended 64, earning the coveted accolade as “Alumni Ambassadors” for their over-the-top attendance and achievements through the class (only 8 classes are required for graduation!). Meanwhile, Mike and Julius have both met with Advocates over 200 times each! And wow, has their engagement ever paid off…
Before joining CEF Mike was unemployed for about 5 years after a layoff shortly into the Great Recession. He and his two Advocates, Matt and Hannah, submitted dozens of resumes and applications. Mike is dependable, easy-going, and kind, and was overwhelmingly perseverant throughout his job search. When Hannah spotted a new restaurant opening in Carrboro with a “Now Hiring” sign, she alerted Mike and he and Matt filled out the application immediately. Mike says, “I was the first one there when they first opened.” He got a full-time position in the new, growing restaurant! Still doing well there almost a year later, Mike shares, “CEF did a lot for me, because if it hadn’t been for CEF I wouldn’t have that job up there.”
Meanwhile, Julius is the older brother of the two, and retired a couple of years ago. He worked with his Advocates, Steven and Leah, to search for affordable housing. When the Housing Choice Voucher waiting list opened up for just 3 days in Orange County, Julius submitted an application, and several months later he was actually selected for a voucher! His Advocates helped him to pull together all of the necessary paperwork to receive the voucher alongside Rapid Rehousing assistance for his security deposit. Since Julius and Mike wanted to live together as well, the team worked to add Mike officially to Julius’ voucher.
Then the search really began for a landlord willing to accept their housing voucher. Advocates assisted Julius and Mike in applying for rentals that would keep Mike within bus or walking distance from his job. Over and over, this amazing duo was turned down simply because so many landlords in our community do not accept housing vouchers. Ultimately however, this whole team coordinated with several partners to find a stable home for the brothers. The Jackson Center and Self-Help Credit Union had recently acquired a duplex through all of their efforts with the Northside Neighborhood Initiative, perfectly located for Mike’s job, and were thrilled to rent to the Alston brothers.
In their new home together, Julius cooks every day since Mike works most days. Last we heard, what was on the menu? “Beef roast and creamed potatoes and pinto beans last night, tonight I’ll probably cook chicken and a pinto bean salad. Every morning we have bacon and eggs, or sausage and eggs.” Julius and Mike are definitely making their house a home. Julius even wrote a poem about their move out of the shelter into their home. Read it here!
Both brothers continue to set and reach goals. Julius saved throughout his time at the shelter to prepare to move into housing and continues to reach his monthly savings goal with CEF even now that he has bills to manage. Julius has achieved 5 ambitious savings goals with his CEF Account! And since getting his job, Mike has made a deposit into his CEF Safe Savings Account literally every week — sometimes twice a week! Their advocates are working with them on their next big goals, including better health, getting a scooter, building credit, getting a GED for Mike and getting a part-time job for Julius. Given their success so far, we’re sure they’ll reach these next goals just the same!
2016 Annual Holiday Parties! Dates Announced
You’re Invited: 7th Annual Holiday Parties in both Durham and Chapel Hill.
Who: All members of the CEF (extended) family — members, advocates, family, friends, supporters, fans, partners, and neighbors
Rides Available: Chapel Hill, call (919) 200-0233; Durham, call (919) 797-9233
Saturday, December 3rd from 5pm – 8pm
Chapel of the Cross, 304 E. Franklin Street
Tuesday, December 6th from 5pm – 8pm
Self-Help Credit Union Temple Building, 302 W. Main Street
Featured OC Hub Program: Document Services
Darcia is not a typical Advocate. Once a week she volunteers her time through CEF’s Orange Community Hub to help Members establish or reestablish identification and documentation. This work of obtaining photos IDs, birth certificates, and social security cards can become very complex, and requires the time of someone like Darcia who can offer her dedication and deep understanding of all different factors at play!
What is the role of documentation?
Documentation is the bedrock or the foundation of life’s needs in our society. It is fundamental to securing housing and employment. It is not a barrier to—as much as it is essential.
How has this work affected your views on poverty?
I always thought of myself as someone who thinks about others, but this work makes me feel the weight and enormity of it all, how overwhelming it must be. We as individuals often live in our own space with our own worries, and then you have people with such different—more vital concerns
What have you learned about the systems that provide and sometimes complicate the process of securing identification?
I have found that people really do want to be helpful for the most part, but there are a lot of rules. Sometimes it can be very challenging when people are not moving forward with the process or it is simply taking forever. One birth certificate was weeks overdue. I called many times and they consistently told me they were processing it, but a week later there would be no progress. The Member stopped coming as a result, so I’m not sure what happened with that case.
How did you get involved?
I was previously involved with Love Chapel Hill, an action-orientated, church-based organization whose mission is to help the homeless within our community. And then I think I met Jon or Maggie(CEF’s Co-founders) at Starbucks and they told me about CEF.
Ultimately, I saw the need. I had friends who were already coming to me asking if I could help them procure documentation for others. I approached Maggie or Jon and said “what if I came in for a few hours a week and helped members with this sort of thing,” and that is exactly what ended up happening!
What is the hardest case you have worked on?
Often times I am asked to establish ID for individuals who need to keep their whereabouts confidential. My concern has been that an individual trying to get an ID would end up on the public record, and risk them being found. Usually, I tell the individuals that this is a risk that cannot be taken in their situation and that the best course of action is to talk to the attorney general or someone in the state department.
What has been your most inspirational case?
I once had a member that was so persistent in asking me, ‘when am I gonna get it, when am I gonna get it’ because he urgently needed it for a job application. He was so persistent that when I saw him on Columbia Street, he came up to me to tell me he still had not received his ID. At that very moment, I put my stuff down and called up vital records right then and there. He got his ID not long after.
CEF at the 2016 Asset Learning Conference in DC
Highlights of our lessons learned, big ideas, and big takeaways!
CEF’s Program Coordinator and Operations Coordinator, Maggie West and Jon Young, rode the Megabus up to DC last month to attend the Assets Learning Conference, hosted by our friends and partners at CFED. Here’s a peek at what got us excited and where we’re taking those ideas next!
Ideas for Better Safe Safe Savings Accounts
- The Five Friday Month: A simple but catalytic idea from JPMorgan & Chase Institute on Income Volatility! During a month with five Fridays, many households have more expendable income than they do in a typical month. How can we leverage that in CEF’s matched savings programs to encourage increased savings during that time in the calendar?
- Gamifying Savings: Simple immediate incentives like congratulatory and animated texts can go a long way to reinforcing positive savings behaviors. Gamification of savings is a hot topic too, with exciting work by Commonwealth. Let’s implement these simple incentives!
- Multi-Generational Saving: So many spaces lifted the importance of whole-family, multi-generational supports, and so many spaces talked about the promise of Children’s Savings Accounts, which got us thinking. What if we could collaborate with fellow providers locally to be able to connect members to Children’s Savings Accounts
- Kickstarting Savings: We were inspired by CFPB and Earn.org’s exploration of saving account structures that incentivize deposits in the initial opening months. What if we explored adding in savings account structures that encourage initial deposits towards a ‘starter’ or monthly goal. Habits of savings could be kickstarted by a goal CEF members can reach in a short amount of time (1-3 months).
Models for Collaboration that improve the financial well-being of lower-resource households:
Financial Empowerment through Municipalities
- Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund — emphasizes that financial empowerment services should be provided as a public service by municipalities. Financial counselors one-on-one supports available writ-large, and the city contracts with nonprofit organizations to implement the program. Evaluation results coming shortly, but all signs point to fantastic outcomes!
- Credit Building through Rent Reporting:
- AHC, Inc. of Greater Baltimore has integrated financial coaching, incentivized savings, incentivized automatic bill-pay, and rent reporting for their tenants
- Partner with Public Utility companies to offer credit and cash-flow coaching!
- In the LIFT-UP Model utility companies worked closely with financial empowerment centers to refer customers who were behind on their water bill specifically in order to avoid late fees, reconnect fees, or other fees. Evaluation showed a reduction in overall debt and an increase in on-time payments from participants.
CEF’s Maggie West presented on a panel for “From Crisis to Financial Stability” at the conference!
Financial apps are “in,” and CEF has some cool tools to add to the mix!
- Lots of apps (#fintech) are being rolled out to make financial coaching and saving more accessible to providers and consumers alike. In the context of the larger, nationally scaled world of apps, CEF’s ability to create technological solutions that are hyper-relevant to our local community (like OCconnect.info) is rare and valuable.
Invaluable research and analysis about :
- According to a Federal Reserve Survey, about 46 percent of Americans said they did not have enough money to cover a $400 emergency expense. Our Safe Savings Accounts and Renter’s Savings Accounts have even more relevance than we could have guessed! Almost half of households in the country could benefit from this targeted and structured opportunity to save towards both short-term and longer-term goals.
- 60% of US households receive their income not on a monthly schedule (e.g. weekly or bi-weekly) while 60% of household expenses are billed on a monthly basis. This fundamental mismatch exacerbates household financial insecurity. This mismatch leads to opportunity in our financial coaching in terms of how we support members in cash-flow budgeting. For example, if members receive their income bi-monthly, bi-monthly payments of bills might make more sense for their cash flow.
- The Ever-Growing Gap details the need for transformative policy change in order to truly end the racial wealth divide, showing that if we continue at similar rates to date, “Black families would not reach wealth parity with White households until the year 2241.” 228 years! Read the report to learn more about CFED’s policy recommendations.
So many ideas, sessions, and conversations inspired us to deeper reflection and thoughtful action…. far too many to name here! Moreover, the opportunity to connect with groups from all over the country who share our commitment to improving financial well-being through creative and responsive strategies was reinvigorating and exciting!
Unlocking Doors for Affordable Housing
“Remember that these are the people that nobody else wants to work with, it seems. So, let’s not leave them out. We can’t leave anyone out.” — Mark Scruggs, Open Table Ministry, Voucher-Holder for 5 years
We welcomed 48 landlords and property managers, 23 partnering organizations, and over 80 supportive community members into the downtown Temple Building for the Mayor’s Landlord Roundtable.
Holding a Voucher, Without a Home
Last week, the Durham Housing Authority (DHA) opened the waitlist for Housing Choice Vouchers for one week only. Durham residents crowded CEF’s office to apply in hopes of getting a voucher of their own—a federal subsidy that should expand their access to market-rate housing. But for many voucher-holders, that access is being increasingly denied by the landlords that say “no” to this form of payment.
One CEF Member shared what a blessing the voucher has been for her and her three kids. “I was homeless and disabled, but DHA made a way for me to have a place for me and my kids. If not for this voucher, I’d still be in a shelter.” But many others are sharing stories like Tasha’s, who shared, “I just wish more landlords here in Durham would accept vouchers… being homeless for two years has just been a nightmare for me and my family.” The feeling can be crushing, to be without a home while holding a housing voucher that seemingly no one will accept.
You might ask as we did: why would a landlord refuse to accept a voucher—a guaranteed monthly rent payment? Why is demand for safe and affordable housing so high, but supply so low? With DHA opening up new partnerships with housing and homeless non-profits this year, and with immense support for affordable housing in the community, we knew we could cultivate conversations to answer these questions.
The Mayor’s Landlord Roundtable
On the afternoon of June 30th, a dedicated team of CEF staff, interns, and partners welcomed 48 landlords and property managers, 23 partnering organizations, and over 80 supportive community members into the downtown Temple Building for the Mayor’s Landlord Roundtable.
At the event, Mayor Bell challenged the community to work together to lease up 115 vouchers by the end of the year, and City councilmember Steve Schewel highlighted the importance of the DHA as a crucial provider of affordable housing. Next, Anthony Scott (the new CEO at the Durham Housing Authority) shared his vision to increase the efficacy and efficiency of the DHA. Finally, Terry Allebaugh (NC Coalition to End Homelessness) facilitated a conversation with local landlords and property managers on the benefits and difficulties they had experienced with the program.
Snehan Sharma, one of the organizers of the event, shared, “I think the Mayor’s Landlord Roundtable was a perfect example of how good grass roots community organizing can change discourse. Durham is facing a tricky problem with Housing Choice Vouchers, and it turns out that it is affecting lots of folks. Everyone who lives in Durham is a stakeholder.”
CEF’s Janet Xiao, one of the Roundtable organizers, invited landlords to join the Unlocking Doors Initiative partnership, and to stay tuned for next steps.
View more photos from the event here.
What’s Next?
These conversations equipped us with the information needed in order to take action. The Roundtable kicked off the Unlocking Doors Initiative, a new collaborative partnership between the DHA, City of Durham, non-profits, and landlords. Over the upcoming months, the group will:
- Listen to Voucher Holders: Just as we held a conversation with landlords, we would also like to hear feedback from tenants. If you have ever had a Housing Choice (Section 8) or HUD VASH voucher, or would like to make sure that we hear from a friend or neighbor of yours who does, email us at: info@unlockingdoorsdurham.org
- Identify Barriers and Solutions: As a longer-term research project, we will be taking a hard look at the data and listen to individuals’ experiences to find out what barriers are preventing Durham’s voucher holders from sustained success in housing, and what programs and partnerships would work to support them in overcoming these barriers and staying in housing.
- Build a supported network of landlords and property managers: Landlords and property managers who opt into accepting vouchers will get support from Unlocking Doors Initiative, which includes access to a special Unlocking Doors phone line to expedite and assist with communications with the DHA, access to an efficient electronic system for inspections, information about supportive services for voucher-holder tenants, and help from non-profits to prepare units for successful inspections.
- Continue to unite the Durham Housing Authority and our community: Anthony Scott has been hard at work implementing solutions, and is joining the leadership team of the Unlocking Doors Initiative. A group of us – including landlords, non-profits, DHA staff, and City officials – have begun meeting to strategize, problem-solve, and act. We will continue to partner closely with the Durham Housing Authority as it implements significant changes in order to improve tenant and landlord experiences, and make housing affordable for more residents of Durham!
If you or friends or family are a Durham voucher-holder or involved in the housing sector, we’d love to hear from you! Email us at info@unlockingdoorsdurham.org
Special Thanks to:
- Mayor Bell for convening the event and bringing everyone together.
- City Councilmember Steve Schewel for ongoing guidance to our team, and tireless work towards affordable housing.
- Terry Allebaugh for excellent discussion facilitation!
- Anthony Scott & Keishma James (Durham Housing Authority) for partnering with us in this effort.
- Valaria Brown, Stephanie Williams, and the team of volunteers from Alliance BHC for their great support and sponsorship of food and logistics.
- The Council to End Homelessness in Durham for assembling a crucial network of non-profit partners.
OC HUB: Premium Offices Available!
CEF is offering community nonprofits, premium downtown offices!
Join The
Starting at $350/month — 5 Offices Available!
Discounted rates when leasing multiple offices!
- Includes:
- Utilities, high-speed Wi-Fi and janitorial services
- Furnished offices available at no extra cost
- Shared conference room
- Non-Profit Partners!
- Opportunities for program collaboration
- Shared resources and collective impact
- Where: Ground floor of 208 N. Columbia Street, Chapel Hill
- Contact: maggiew@communityef.org | 919-200-0233
- More about the OC Hub at: www.communityef.org/oc-hub
