• Home
  • About Us
    • Mission, Vision, & Values
    • Our Team
    • Our Board of Directors
    • News
  • Initiatives
    • Child Development Accounts
    • Individual Development Accounts
    • Fair Lending Options
    • Safe Accounts & Loans
    • Sustainable Household Energy Management
    • Community Solar
    • Impact
  • Our Partners
    • New Mexico Assets Consortium Resource Guide
  • Donate
    • Energy Equity Day
    • Leave a Legacy
    • Donate Stock & Fund Shares
  • Contact Us
Prosperity Works
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Mission, Vision, & Values
    • Our Team
    • Our Board of Directors
    • News
  • Initiatives
    • Child Development Accounts
    • Individual Development Accounts
    • Fair Lending Options
    • Safe Accounts & Loans
    • Sustainable Household Energy Management
    • Community Solar
    • Impact
  • Our Partners
    • New Mexico Assets Consortium Resource Guide
  • Donate
    • Energy Equity Day
    • Leave a Legacy
    • Donate Stock & Fund Shares
  • Contact Us
Give Now

Newsletters &
​Blog Posts

October Newsletter

10/14/2020

0 Comments

 
*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|*
View this email in your browser

A message from our CEO, Arellana Cordero.

Given today's complex linkage between racial and economic inequities, COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted the very communities Prosperity Works is seeking to equip, empower, and support. Without the resources to build their socioeconomic assets, it will be impossible for these populations to fully share in economic prosperity.

We frame our community-embedded work through an intersectional lens that centers on racial equity - coupling community support with policy advocacy to dismantle racist policy and barriers to economic opportunity that have historically limited the economic prosperity of low-income households. Especially BIPOC households.

The fact is that poverty is a mismatch between the capacity of our society and the opportunity of the individual. Our nation is seen by so many of us to be in turmoil.  While there is no silver bullet to solve the nation’s problems if every American were afforded a fair and just opportunity to succeed it would go a long way to making our country great. This year, we lost two brave, values-driven champions: Congressman John Lewis and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Their work leaves us with a roadmap for values-driven leadership, which is at the center of everything we do at Prosperity Works. A meritocracy assumes everyone is on a level playing field. If a person works hard to grow and performs exceptionally, they are rewarded. But what if this were not completely true? 

What happens when "justice" becomes a filter for decision making in all that we do?  It does not say that you can't or should not be profitable, but it does say that you have an enormous opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the families we serve, our communities, and our state.  This is our opportunity to come together to challenge every assumption we have about who we are and who we want to be in our personal, community, and business lives so that we may once again think about a time where we can thrive together.

It's time - let’s seize this opportunity and move from silence to commitment!

Prosperity Kids Program
Celebrates First Graduate

Eighteen-year-old Estefania Valencia is fulfilling her dream to attend college—an aspirational goal built upon her strong funding foundation through Prosperity Works’ Prosperity Kids Child Savings Account (CSA) Program.

“The Prosperity Kids program pushed the idea of college no matter what,” said Valencia, “I just had the goal to go to college after enrolling in the program.” 

Not only is Valencia making history on a personal front—she will be a first-generation college student—but she also is making Prosperity Works history by being the first to complete the CSA program and withdraw her funds to use for college. 

Read the rest of Estefania's story here
The deadline to register to vote in New Mexico is October 6th, 2020! If you are planning to vote this election make sure to register before or on that date to ensure your ability to vote on November 3rd. 

Once you've registered, make your plan to vote this election. Whether you request your absentee ballot to vote by mail, vote early in person, or vote on election day make your plan now!  

Important Dates: 
  • October 27st - Mail your completed absentee ballot back to your county clerk by today OR drop it off at your county clerks office any time after that until Election Day
  • October 31st - Early voting ENDS
  • November 3rd - ELECTION DAY
REGISTER TO VOTE
REQUEST YOUR ABSENTEE BALLOT

Support Prosperity Works.
Donate Today!

 
Looking for a way to support Prosperity Works' mission and advocacy? Donate today to further our mission in achieving economic prosperity for all. Donate directly today or host a Facebook Fundraiser and make an even bigger impact with your donation! 
 
We challenge you to get 10 of your friends to donate $10! 
 
Contact our CEO, Arellana Cordero at arellana@prosperityworks.net to get started! 
DONATE TODAY

Our Programs 

Individual Development Accounts

Our Individual Development Accounts (IDA's) were created to encourage savings, investment, and asset accumulation among hard-working families. Assets such as a home, college education, or opening a small business all enable low-income families to move into the economic mainstream and succeed. 
 

Prosperity Kids Program

Prosperity Kids Children's Saving Accounts (CSA's) are matched college savings accounts for limited-income households. Parents must complete 10 weeks of financial literacy and parent-child development education. Each CSA is opened with a $100 deposit and are matched 1:1—up to $200 per year until they graduate high-school. Our program, depending on the age at which a child enrolls in Prosperity Kids, they have the opportunity to graduate high school with $5,000 or more in savings for postsecondary education.

DONATE TODAY
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR PROGRAMS

Prosperity Works Partnership with TrueConnect

TrueConnect is an employer-based loan product that assists employees in accessing a fair loan.

Understanding the harm done to individual borrowers, community economic development initiatives, and struggling to get legislation to take action to protect consumers, Prosperity Works partnered with TrueConnect to bring this alternative to high-cost storefront loans to New Mexico.
 
 Employers across the state have adopted TrueConnect. With no cost or risk to the employer and no credit check for the employee, these loans of up to $5,000 have served to address emergencies, reduce financial stress, and support workplace productivity.

Visit our website if your business is interested in TrueConnect.
Prosperity Works Partnership with TrueConnect
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Website
Copyright © *|2020|* *|Prosperity Works|*, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
*909 Copper Ave NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102 * 

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.
 
0 Comments

Prosperity Kids Child Savings Account Program Celebrates First Graduate

10/6/2020

3 Comments

 
Picture
Eighteen-year-old Estefania Valencia is fulfilling her dream to attend college—an aspirational goal built upon her strong funding foundation through Prosperity Works’ Prosperity Kids Child Savings Account (CSA) Program. 

“The Prosperity Kids program pushed the idea of college no matter what,” said Valencia, “I just had the goal to go to college after enrolling in the program.”

Not only is Valencia making history on a personal front—she will be a first-generation college student—but she also is making Prosperity Works history by being the first to complete the CSA program and withdraw her funds to use for college. The recipient of a Davis Scholarship, Valencia plans to use her Prosperity Kids savings for school supplies, like a computer and other essentials. 

Started in 2014, Prosperity Kids combines CSAs with personal, social, and financial support for the whole family, ensuring that children from limited-income New Mexico households make it out of poverty and into postsecondary education, and are equipped with the financial literacy skills and resources they need to craft a successful future. In collaboration with area schools and partner banks and credit unions, Prosperity Works ensures that children have equitable access to the Prosperity Kids program. As one of the first children to enroll in Prosperity Kids through both Washington Middle School and Southwest Capital Bank, Valencia remembers her first trip to Southwest Capital Bank with her Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) teacher and cohort. 

“They were all so welcoming and everyone was excited to meet us,” she said. “It felt good having extra support helping me get to college. Opening the account was, like, now I had what I need to plan for college. I could talk about it like it was really happening.” 

Research shows that children enrolled in a CSA program are four to six times more likely to attend some form of postsecondary education. Prosperity Kids not only teaches kids about the importance of money management in saving for their respective futures, but the program also requires parents to complete 10 weeks of financial literacy and parent-child development education. This basis in socio-financial literacy encourages household fiscal health and inculcates a money management mentality—an invaluable mindset that will transition with children into adulthood 

For Arellana Cordero, Prosperity Works’ President & CEO, Valencia’s withdrawal from Prosperity Kids is deeply personal. A fervent believer in Prosperity Works’ mission of supporting local communities statewide, Cordero—the former Chief Financial Officer at Southwest Capital Bank—brought Prosperity Kids to the bank in 2015. Even more fittingly, Ms.Cordero also attended Washington Middle School, which has always held a special place in her heart. 

“I’ve always believed in helping equip people, especially youth, with the tools they need to be financially successful—to lay a strong foundation in financial capability and wellness, on which they can build life goals,” Cordero said. “So, being able to bring the Prosperity Kids Program to both Southwest Capital and Washington Middle School is a full-circle moment for me.”

For Valencia, who plans to major in biology and later attend medical school, her college track also affords her an opportunity to explore her other passions like French culture and dance.
Due to pandemic-related academic schedule restructuration, Valencia, like many college-bound students, will be experiencing a different first semester of college life. Regardless, with her driven attitude and solid financial footing through Prosperity Kids, Valencia is ready to excel and to embrace the opportunities of her next chapter. 

“I look forward to a new independence, and living and experiencing college life. There are so many people to meet and a variety of new opportunities.”

6 years in the making, Valencia’s success through Prosperity Kids is the first of many exciting stories Prosperity Works will welcome as program graduates begin to withdraw their funds to help write their next life chapters. 

“I am thrilled to have Estefania as the first of many graduates from the Prosperity Kids program. With so many families facing financial insecurity right now, this savings and financial education program is more important than ever to protect and educate the next generation.” Arellana Cordero, CEO of Prosperity Works. 


About Prosperity Kids:
Prosperity Works’ Prosperity Kids CSAs are matched college savings accounts for limited-income households. Parents must complete 10 weeks of financial literacy and parent-child development education. Each CSA is opened with a $100 deposit by Southwest Capital Bank, and deposits are matched 1:1—up to $200 per year until they graduate high-school. Depending on the age at which a child enrolls in Prosperity Kids, they have the opportunity to graduate high school with $5,000 or more in savings for postsecondary education. 

Do CSAs really work?
Children who enroll in and leverage their CSAs are:
  • Four to six times more likely to attend college or some form of postsecondary education;
  • Three and a half times more likely to earn a college degree;
  • 50 percent less likely to experience depression;
  • By preschool, primed for heightened socio-emotional development relative to their peers; and
  • More likely to shape, along with their family, a success-oriented, “college-going identity” frame—through which they envision their future aspirations, and work to bring them to fruition.​
3 Comments

    Author

    Prosperity Works Staff

    Categories

    All
    Blog Posts
    Newsletter

    Archives

    January 2023
    September 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    November 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018

    Tweets by ProsperityWork

Stay Connected

    Sign up for the Prosperity Works Newsletter and get the latest on our community-driven initiatives, engagement opportunities, and more—including how your support can make a difference in the lives of thousands of New Mexicans!​​

Subscribe to Newsletter

Donate

Latest News

Visit Our Blog

Twitter Feed

Tweets by ProsperityWork
View Our Privacy Policy
© 2023 Prosperity Works
​

  • Home
  • About Us
    • Mission, Vision, & Values
    • Our Team
    • Our Board of Directors
    • News
  • Initiatives
    • Child Development Accounts
    • Individual Development Accounts
    • Fair Lending Options
    • Safe Accounts & Loans
    • Sustainable Household Energy Management
    • Community Solar
    • Impact
  • Our Partners
    • New Mexico Assets Consortium Resource Guide
  • Donate
    • Energy Equity Day
    • Leave a Legacy
    • Donate Stock & Fund Shares
  • Contact Us
  • Give Now