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//SPECIAL INITIATIVES/INDIVIDUAL |
Saturday
5/17/2008 7:02:04 PM |
Individual Development Accounts (IDAs)
In the spring of 1998, First Nations Development Institute released a request for full proposals to fund tribes and Native organizations interested in establishing Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) in Native communities. Similar to Individual Retirement Accounts, IDAs are designated savings accounts aimed at helping limited-resource individuals build their financial asset base. An individual’s contributions to the accounts are “matched” by public or private sources to augment savings, provide incentives to save, and build financial assets within the community. IDA savings can typically be used for purchasing a home, education or training expenses, or capitalizing a small business.
By rewarding individuals for saving, IDA programs encourage low-income individuals to develop saving habits and build assets, and are the foundation of a promising new asset-based social welfare policy movement. Early research suggests that low-income individuals are able to save and accumulate assets, and that there are many more socially and personally beneficial aspects of participation in IDA programs including increased economic stability, increased educational attainment, increased financial skills, and decreased rates of intergenerational poverty
Recently, IDA programs have begun operating in Native and tribal communities, with the first Native program beginning in 1999. First Nations is currently funding six Native IDA programs in California, Idaho, Oklahoma, and Oregon. The Native IDA movement is still in need of information about how to develop successful IDA programs, however, including information about funding streams, organizational structure, program design, and promising practices. As part of our IDA initiative, FNDI is conducting research in these areas to develop a framework for understanding the opportunities and challenges facing Native IDA programs, and working toward identification and dissemination of strategies to ensure the vitality of this asset-building movement in Indian Country.
Related Publications
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We believe, that when armed with appropriate resources, Native peoples hold the capacity and ingenuity to ensure the sustainable economic, spiritual, and cultural well being of their communities.
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