Next week is the kick of of America Saves Week 2011. America Saves was founded in 2001 to
encourage non-saving Americans to assess their savings progress and take action to build weath, not debt. About 1,800 organizations in over 50 local areas participate in America Saves Week, and have successfully encouraged and assisted hundreds of thousands of savers.
National Savings Needs: Most Americans do not have adequate savings to meet major emergencies, let alone accumulate enough savings for retirement. The typical American household has less than $100,000 in net wealth, including home equity and 401k accumulations, and only about $10,000 in net financial assets. Lower income families have much fewer resources.
The Personal Investment Enterprise Program is a local savings program provided through Community Action Programs of Boulder County and Foothills United Way that is designed for low-income families to save toward first-time homeownership, post-secondary education, small business capitalization and Early Child Care Education or bilingual childcare (* Participants must be bicultural and bilingual English/Spanish). The program allows individuals to open savings accounts called Individual Development Accounts (IDA’s) and gain training toward their asset purchase. The program matches the savings of the family or individual up to $4 for every $1 deposited by the participant. Maximum savings of $750 for a total matched funds of $3,000 is provided only once to each participant family.
To qualify for the PIE program, an individual must fulfill the following:
- Be 18 years old or older
- Qualify based on household earned income depending on household size (family of four cannot earn more than $44,100 for federal funding and not more than $64,400 for non-federal funding)
- Maximum household net assets must be less than $10,000
- Be a resident of Boulder or Broomfield Counties (one year minimum)
- Have a valid social security number
- Participants must work 30 hours per week, unless disabled, elderly, receiving TANF, or a full-time student head of household.
If you are interested or know any individuals or families who would be interested in this program, please contact Nino Gallo, PIE program Coordinator at Boulder County Community Action Programs at 303-441-3998 or ngallo@bouldercounty.org or Rosemary Thompson, PIE program Coordinator at Foothills United Way at 303-444-4013 X 111 or rthompson@unitedwayfoothills.org
You may also find additional program information at http://www.bouldercounty.org/help/family/pages/pie.aspx or http://unitedwayfoothills.org/Personal_Investment_Enterprise_PIE.php
Other savings resources:
Find tools to assess your savings progress
Learn savings tips and get savings advice
America Saves Week runs from February 20th through the 27th.
