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:
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As the demand to address the urgent needs of people who have lost some or all of their income because of COVID 19 closures, it is clearer now than ever before, that the work we do to help families build and preserve assets must be elevated.
The virus has exposed the economic inequity of race and gender that we know is often hidden in our economy. That exposed economic fault line reveals that there is so much to do to restore the promise of prosperity. Income volatility for far too many workers, households without savings or other assets, lack of sick leave or other paid time off, the digital divide, and an inadequate safety net, have severely stressed a very large percentage of New Mexico's families. Fear of missing rent or mortgage or other payments hangs as a threat to most -- kicking the can down the road for a few months is a necessary short-term response, but it does not solve the systemic challenge. The economic disruptions to household balance sheets will be both short and long term. Thankfully, many funders, elected officials, and Congress are, or will, address key short-term concerns. These are important and critically needed for the vulnerable, the economically distressed, and the hourly workers without benefits. But the foreseeable challenges do not end there. Recovering the economy will require tools and systemic solutions to build assets, protect assets from predation, and increase income from good jobs. Opportunities for post-secondary education must be grown. Markets where homeownership is cheaper than renting more than ever need increased incentives and pathways to increase ownership. Community economic development and small business support for good jobs need significant investments to be effective catalysts for change and prosperity. The investment we need are to continue our work in policy and practice that build the financial capability and assets that we all need to provide to some measure of protection against personal and global disruptions. The financial capability and asset building opportunities that we provide to low and moderate-income New Mexicans increase their financial security, their family stability, and community engagement. Our administrative advocacy helps people understand how to make modifications in practice and policy that are within their purviews of power that remove barriers to and increase opportunities for financial inclusion. Our work in developing and broadcasting consumer protections is critical to vulnerable LMI populations. We have proven over and over again that the opposite of poverty is not wealth but social justice and opportunity. LMI families served by our New Mexico Assets Consortium are building businesses, going to college, buying homes and saving for their children's college education at a rate that is higher than any place in the nation. While a good job provides for everyday needs, it is personal, social and financial assets that provide a personal safety net and hope for the future. During a time where many are facing financial uncertainty, finding safe and reliable lending sources is top of mind for everyone. Earlier this year, Prosperity Works partnered with TrueConnect to bring equal opportunity lending to the state of New Mexico. TrueConnect allows employers to offer their employees small-dollar loans that they repay through payroll deduction.
The mission of TrueConnect is simple, to provide safe, affordable financial support and hope to employees in need of a helping hand that is an alternative to predatory lending. Employers can enroll in TrueConnect at any time and offer this voluntary benefit to their employees at no cost. With more than 20.4% of New Mexicans living at or below the poverty line, having access to these lending services is essential. Many New Mexicans rely on payday lenders when unexpected expenses come up, creating a cycle of debt that is hard to get out of. Having TrueConnect in place prevents predatory lenders from targeting employees at their most vulnerable and turning short-term financial issues into debilitating, long-term issues that can affect their ability to work. Additionally, TrueConnect borrowers have access to six free financial counseling sessions that can help individuals address their current financial situation and any problems they might be having. Some of the benefits of TrueConnect
If your business is interested in TrueConnect visit our Fair Lending Options of Employers page or contact us at 505-217-2747 or email [email protected]. Lives are transformed when exposed to the realities of others!
Watch what happened with our Amy Biehl volunteer and what he did for us! Thank you for all of your hard work Elliott!  The Board of Directors of Prosperity Works is both proud and excited to announce that Arellana Cordero will become the new President and Chief Executive Officer of Prosperity Works on June 1, 2020! "The impact we have when we work together is astounding. Joining Prosperity Works and building on the nationally recognized work of Ona Porter, I look forward to rolling up my sleeves and working with the Prosperity Works team. I plan to remain nimble and will focus on collaboration with other agencies and businesses. Together we will build a more diverse and resilient local economy for a post COVID-19 future by removing barriers for all New Mexicans in order to create generational change.” Read the full press release below!  Over the past year, Prosperity Works has been helping low-income communities through their Energy Efficiency Work. This work funded by the Turner Foundation, and NM Zone Grant funders, and has allowed Prosperity Works to improve the lives and living conditions of low-income families in New Mexico. While implementing home energy audits and energy efficiency measures in these low-income homes, Prosperity Works was able to conduct a survey about their needs. They found that all of these individuals own their homes, are families averaging two to five people, and 65% of those surveyed are living on $10,000 or less a year, and fully 85% have incomes of $25,000 or less. Most of these families have deferred medical needs, medicine and food to pay their utility bills. The Prosperity Works Energy Work has been done in two phases, with plans for more in the future. In the first phase, Prosperity Works partnered with PNM to create a model to get into hard to reach communities and households. They utilized PNM ambassadors and the Partnership for Community Action parent leaders to facilitate energy efficiency opportunities, with the idea of “community people engaging with community people.” Through this program, we were able to upgrade lighting, power strips, aerators, and weather stripping on windows and doors in 50 homes. Of those 50 homes, 35 also qualified to receive new refrigerators at no cost. Phase Two of the Energy Work partners with Central New Mexico Housing. This second phase is focused on gas efficiency and safety in homes by upgrading hot water heaters, furnaces, and whole-house insulation. With the two-phase of upgrades, most homeowners anticipate a cost reduction on their utility bills of 50%, and also importantly, an improvement in the health, safety, and comfort of their home. The next phase of this work will include 300 additional homes. Prosperity Works hopes to receive more funding to grow this model statewide. With many New Mexicans living at or below the poverty line, we must do all we can to ease their financial burden, and open new pathways for opportunities for them and their families.  As we begin a new year – and a new decade – it is important to appreciate the efforts, work, history, and growth of our incredible organization. Prosperity Works was started with one primary goal: to remove barriers and create opportunity for financial equity and inclusion in the state of New Mexico. Throughout our 20 year history, we have worked tirelessly to do just that. Over the years, we have engaged with communities, legislators, business owners, and advocates across the state to champion and advance policies and practices that work to address the systemic factors that block financial stability and contribute to poverty. We are proud to have worked to create successful programs that continue to make a positive impact in New Mexico, like the New Mexico Individual Development Account program and Prosperity Kids, a matched children’s savings account. We are proud to have worked with partners across the state to reframe poverty and to encourage the shifting of attitudes and behaviors in addressing and working to alleviate poverty. We are proud to have championed access to fair lending for all New Mexicans and to hold lenders accountable for predatory practices - work our team continues to carry out today. And we are immensely proud of how far we’ve come and excited for what the future will bring. As we move forward, my vision for Prosperity Works is that we can become an accelerator for common cause issues around the state – those policy and programmatic efforts that endeavor to create an equitable economic and social landscape for all New Mexicans – so that we, as a network of partners, advocates, and leaders can really make the positive impact we hope to see for our State and our people. It is with a collaborative and relentless spirit that we will continue our work and I hope that you’ll join us. 2020 Policy Agenda Priorities
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In a jam-packed year full of fundraising projects both internally and externally, the total we raised is impressive. But we're even more blown away by the number of individual donors who helped us reach this milestone. We had over 40 donors who with their gift were expressing a heartfelt commitment to our work: "Yes, I believe the best investment I can make is investing directly in hardworking New Mexicans."
We promise to deliver a return on your investment in 2020. We also couldn't have reached this goal without the grassroots financial support from local businesses who wanted to signal that they believe in the mission of Prosperity Works by providing generous corporate match dollars. We know that there are many wonderful organizations making a difference in New Mexico every day. Donors who gave to Prosperity Works on #GivingTuesday 2019 were assured their gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar by these exclusive partners up to $5,000. In short, this kind of support amplifies our reach and strengthens our mission in a compounding, impactful way. So we want to send a very special THANK YOU to both these donors and our community partners. You've taken an active role in empowering real change to the economic future of our local communities. Your engagement and commitment inspires us everyday to fight for great financial equity and inclusion for all the people of New Mexico. Again, thank you from all of us here at Prosperity Works. We couldn't do what we do without your support.
We've seen the exposure - and the recognition - of Giving Tuesday grow exponentially since it began, with participation by over 8,000 non profits and counting.
And the results are truly inspiring. In the last few years alone, giving on Giving Tuesday has doubled (from $116 million in 2015 to $264 million in 2017)! What began as a grass roots seed has now blossomed into a large-scale fundraising movement, with matching dollars coming in from partner corporations and philanthropic foundations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Facebook, the Case Foundation and Google. Here at Prosperity Works, Giving Tuesday is our largest fundraising event of the year. It's a vital revenue component in our ongoing work of advocating for financial equity and inclusion for all New Mexicans. Equally important, Giving Tuesday has proven to be an invaluable way for us to connect (& reconnect!) with our Prosperity Works' friends, donors, prospects and influencers, as we continue the work and progress we've made with our matched dollar savings accounts like IDAs and CSAs, our Prosperity Kids program, as well as our ongoing fight against predatory lending in our state. You'll be hearing about Giving Tuesday from us quite a bit over the next few days, as we lead up to this very important day next Tuesday, December 3rd. And while we hope Prosperity Works remains front and center on your list for Giving Tuesday 2019, we also recognize that any and all giving on this important day makes a world of difference. After all, we're all in this together. And to quote former Senator Paul Wellstone, "We all do better when all do better." Join us on Giving Tuesday this year! #GivingTuesday The Department of Agriculture recently proposed making changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Program (SNAP) that would take critical food benefits away from 3.1 million Americans, mainly working families with children, seniors, and individuals with disabilities, and will cut off school lunches for half a million children. If this proposal goes into effect working families who live near the poverty line will lose SNAP benefits when a small increase in earnings pushes their income past the current cutoff. The change would also stop states from automatically enrolling children whose families receive SNAP for free school meals. Read our letter to Secretary Perdue at USDA and if you'd like to add a public comment to this proposal you may do so here. |
Prosperity Works is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to supporting limited-income New Mexicans build and protect assets they need to be successful. Whether that's investing in education, providing low-interest lending options.
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