AmeriCorps*VISTA

Description

The Milwaukee Asset Building Coalition focuses on increasing resident wealth. The coalition emphasizes tax credits, financial literacy, IDAs, and entrepreneur Corps mechanisms.

The Milwaukee Asset Building Coalition represents over 30 participating entities including community action agencies, universities, governmental entities, businesses and employee representatives. The Coalition is championed by the mayor and two US prepresentatives, and is overseen by two boards: Community Advisory and Corporate Advisory. The purpose of the Coalition is to addresss the needs of low-income residents to achieve self-sufficiency. The Coalition operates on a premise that until an individual accumulates assets, their net worth will not significantly improve. The tools used by the coalition include various matched savings accounts (IDA) for asset purchases, financial literacy education and increased access to financial services. Additional services provided include referral to other community-based services including home buying counselling and micro-business development technical assistance. Targeted clients of the coalition are Milwaukee County residents with a focus on low-income residents.