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National Partners Announce New Bank on Website

November 3, 2011

CFED, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the San Francisco Office of Financial Empowerment, the National League of Cities and the New America Foundation, launched a...

Access to Banking

If It Walks and Talks Like a Payday Loan…

November 1, 2011

Community Groups across the country, including the Illinois Asset Building Group (a project of Heartland Alliance), have been fighting the payday loan industry. We call them...

Children's Savings Accounts

The Impact of Asset Building on the Aspirations of Children and Parents

Research findings on asset-building programs, such as Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) for adults and Saving for Education, Entrepreneurship, and Downpayment (SEED)...

Financial Education

The Impact of Financial Education on Savings Behavior

Research from a variety of studies finds that combining financial education and savings account ownership have a positive impact, where each leads a person to seek more of...

Children's Savings Accounts

Investing in Children’s Future: The Potential Behind Illinois 529s

October 4, 2011

This presentation provides an overview of Illinois’ 529 College Savings Program – Bright Start. It includes proposals for modifying the Bright Start program in a...

Credit Building

Bridging the Gap: Credit Scores and Economic Opportunity In Illinois Communities of Color

This report analyzed credit score data from a major national credit bureau in large Illinois zip codes and found significant disparities in credit characteristics between...

Alternative Small Dollar Loans

Alternative Small Dollar Loans in Illinois

Short term, small dollar loans are often a temporary necessity for many consumers trying to make ends meet. Unfortunately, the current market is primarily limited to payday...

Alternative Small Dollar Loans

Alternative Small Dollar Loans: Building the Business Case

May 15, 2011

Using case studies from existing product offerings, this paper highlights financial institutions’ innovation and experimentation with providing these products. These...