Asset Building Super Sites

How it works:

• EITC Coalitions train counselors to talk to tax site customers about available asset building opportunities: IDAs, homeownership counseling, savings programs, credit counseling, financial education, etc.
• Laptops are loaded with a “tool kit” of information on asset building programs that the counselor can show the customer
• Each participant can sign up on-site and/or receive written information about asset building programs
• Can also be structured as a service to offer occasionally, such as at a “Super Sunday” event

What works well:

• Best time to approach customers is after they have given all their tax information to the tax preparer and while they are waiting for their final paperwork—when they are no longer anxious about getting their returns done but aren’t ready to leave the site
• The social skill of the counselor is key to the success of the program—this is what training should emphasize

Who has done it successfully:

Experiment in Self-Reliance in Winston-Salem, N.C. set up three pilot asset-building super sites last tax season, and hopes to expand the program this coming year. Of the 638 families they counseled:

• 58 applied for the local IDA program and 48 were subsequently enrolled
• 28 signed up for the NC Saves (education savings) program
• 10 enrolled in a pre-IDA credit repair program

For more information, contact Danny Haire.

The Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group (CSG) | One Dupont Circle, NW | Suite 700 | Washington, DC 20036