CEF Member, Steven Howser, is featured in the Daily Tar Heel for the gift he made to CEF during the 2017 CEF Piggy Bank Bash!
At a fundraiser for CEF last fall, Howser gave back to the organization in the form of a $500 dollar donation, the largest of the evening. He coordinated with several workers at CEF to print a big check to present to West as a surprise during the event to say thank you.
“All gifts to CEF matter, but gifts from members truly glow, they cause ripple effects throughout the organization, and seem to snowball and grow,” West said.
When Steven Howser first came to the Community Empowerment Fund (CEF) around four years ago, he was seeking work development assistance to help him qualify for a seven day bus pass at the shelter. After years of support and involvement with CEF, Howser has not only secured income and housing, but is also giving back.
“I wanted to give back to show people what a good organization they are, and the resources they have to help people in the community,” Howser said. “So the people in the community won’t be afraid to donate time and donations to them because they really help a lot of people.”
CEF is working with the Common Cent Labs this year to apply these learnings to our partnerships with shelters to promote increased engagement with CEF’s matched savings accounts in a way that supports Members in achieving short-term savings goals and builds longer-term saving habits. Through our last joint project with the team, we implemented a new way for Members to track progress towards their savings goals through a punchcard and tested its efficacy through a randomized control trial. Every time Members in the trial group made a deposit, they received a punch, and received gold tokens and new levels of punchcards after each card was filled. An article is soon to be published by the research documenting the promising results of this study… Just for a preview: “
Our new Chapel Hill location is not just a new office for CEF. It represents the launch of an exciting community partnership. With our expanded space, we will be co-locating services from partners who provide mental health services, supportive employment programs, recovery groups, housing support, and more – collaborating even more closely to ensure that members are connected to the support they need to make their goals a reality. Embedding the services of partner organizations within CEF’s programs enables our members to access these services in an environment they trust and in a holistic, streamlined manner. 
