Who We Are
The Seattle-King County Asset Building Collaborative (SKC ABC) is comprised of over sixty non-profit agencies, seventeen banks and credit unions, and a dozen public entities (both local and national). The underlying belief of the partners in the SKC ABC is that financial knowledge and sufficient assets are crucial to help struggling families move out of poverty and towards economic self-sufficiency. We have built a system of high-quality, accessible financial empowerment services and interconnected networks to deliver these services throughout King County. Thus, we connect people with a variety of asset-building services, such as access to affordable, mainstream banking; financial planning, education, and coaching; credit and debt counseling; free tax preparation; access to public benefits; microenterprise development; and homeownership and foreclosure prevention resources.
For a list of partner agencies, click here.
Join us at Financial Fitness Day!
Saturday, March 31
Rainer Community Center
Click here for more information and to register.
Initiatives
Bank on Seattle-King County Provides low- and moderate-income people with access to affordable mainstream financial services, including checking and savings accounts, financial education, and credit opportunities.
Financial Empowerment Training Offers resources and training to help social service systems to incorporate a range of financial empowerment services, including public benefits, tax preparation assistance, access to financial services, and financial education.
Foreclosure Prevention Provides assistance to those at risk of mortgage foreclosure by working with advocates, lenders and other stakeholders on education and foreclosure prevention and intervention measures.
EITC/Free Tax Preparation Campaign Connects low-income individuals and entrepreneurs with free tax preparation assistance and help in accessing the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Your Money Helpline Answers basic financial questions and provides resource information through an online guide.
Financial Education Providers Network (FEPN) Convenes providers of financial education to learn from each other and increase their ability to deliver high quality education.
Financial Fitness Day is a one day event that combines workshops, one-on-one counseling, and other financial services,offered by a wide array of SKC ABC partners. This community-wide event will feature credit and debt counseling, financial planning and investment advice, credit reports, free tax preparation, access to public benefits, housing counseling and document retrieval for foreclosure prevention, document shredding to prevent ID theft, legal assistance on bankruptcy and consumer rights, and advice on microenterprise development. The next Financial Fitness Day is March 31, 2012!
Financial Coaching Pilot Study is assessing the effectiveness of the financial coaching model as a way of assisting clients to understand, manage, and improve their financial situation. Five coaches are tracking client outcomes and SKC ABC will prepare a final evaluation in February 2012.
Publications
Banking on Opportunity: A Scan of the Evolving Field of Bank On Initiatives, by US Department of the Treasury, including a case study of Bank on Seattle-King County. Published November 2011.
Applying Behavioral Research to Asset-Building Initiatives by Mindy Hernandez. This Innovator-in-Residence at CFED explored how behavioral economics could impact outcomes in three asset-building programs around the country. Published by CFED, April 2011.
Building Better Bank Ons: Top 10 Lessons from Bank on San Francisco provides an honest look at the lessons from Bank on SF and receommends improvements to strengthen the efforts to connect unbanked households to mainstream financial services. Published by New Ameria Foundation and Office of Financial Empwerment (SF). February 2011.
Building Economic Security in America's Cities: New Municipal Strategies for Asset Building and Financial Empowerment reports on the innovative efforts of municipalities, including Seattle, to shore up their residents' economic security through financial empowerment strategies of building and protecting financial assets. Published by CFE and CFED. January 2011.
Assets & Opportunity Profile: Seattle is a data snapshot of the financial security of Seattle residents, and the efforts the City and SKC ABC are making to empower residents financially. Published by CFE and CFED. September 2010.
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