Individual Wealth Building

Founded in 1988 as the Central Dallas Food Pantry, CitySquare adopted its current name in 2010 to make the case that fighting poverty involves uniting the entire community in the heart of the city.  With a mission to fight the causes and effects of poverty through service, advocacy, and friendship, CitySquare runs a range of social service programs that serve about 50,000 people a year.  Key programs include financial empowerment, which matches poor working families with coaches who help them build assets, and workforce development, which placed 279 people in jobs in 2015.  In 2001, the nonprofit created an affiliate CDC, Central Dallas Community Development Corporation, to develop affordable and supportive housing.  A joint project now under development is Cottages at Hickory Crossing, a $6.8 million housing project across from CitySquare’s main building. When completed, it will include 50 cottages for formerly homeless individuals in a village that encompasses a community garden and a range of services to meet residents’ needs.

Founded in the mid-1990s to help address the social, academic, and spiritual needs of at-risk and disenfranchised African American and biracial children in the greater Madison area, the Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development aims to transform the face of leadership in Madison by empowering African American families and African American males. Read more about Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development...

Founded in 1957, ACTION-Housing empowers people to build more secure and self-sufficient lives by providing decent affordable housing, essential supportive services, asset building programs, and educational and employment opportunities.  Since 1985, ACTION-Housing has developed or assisted in the development of over 4,500 units of housing for the elderly, people with disabilities, homeless individuals, veterans, and working families.  It also has a Family Savings Account Program, which will match, dollar for dollar, participants’ savings that will be used to purchase a home, educate themselves or a child, or start a new business.  Since the program’s inception in 2002, 416 people have reached their savings goals.

Founded in 2002 by St. Mary Development, HomeOwnership Center of Greater Dayton is an independent nonprofit aiming to empower people to achieve and sustain homeownership and financial success.  Programs include financial education classes, homebuyer classes and coaching, and down payment assistance.  The nonprofit is credited with facilitating more than 500 new mortgages and helping more than 3,500 families avoid foreclosure. Read more about HomeOwnership Center of Greater Dayton...

Founded in 1992, Leaders for Equality and Action in Dayton (LEAD) is an organization comprised of a diverse array of Dayton-area congregations seeking to empower and prepare people of faith to work for a greater degree of justice in Montgomery County.  Concerned about inequities between area neighborhoods, LEAD created its Dayton Works Initiative in 2014 to explore the common ownership of productive assets that could anchor capital and jobs locally.  LEAD is now working on a two-year research project in collaboration with the City of Dayton and Cincinnati-based cooperatives to determine what types of cooperatives could succeed in the area and identify anchor institutions and funding to support the project.

Mercy Connections is a nonprofit working to nurture self-sufficiency through education, mentoring, and community engagement.  Its Women’s Small Business Program provides one-on-one financial empowerment coaching as well as a range of classes to help women evaluate the merits of self-employment and develop business plans.  In FY 2014-15, it is credited with helping 18 women start or expand businesses.

Established in 1981 to help provide affordable homes to workers in Central Texas, Capital Area Housing Finance Corporation now serves families across nine Central Texas counties.  The Austin-based nonprofit’s Single Family Housing program, which provides first-time homebuyers with down payment assistance, is credited with helping 3,500 people purchase homes.  Its Multi-Family Housing program finances the construction or acquisition of below-market rate rental properties and is credited with financing 3,500 units.