Aspire. Plan. Invest.
Innovation
As an entrepreneurial, young organization, Compass values experimentation, innovation, and excellence. Compass distinguishes itself from other asset building programs through innovative product offerings and program design features that reduce costs, leverage existing resources in the community, and optimize results for families. In addition to executing asset building programs more effectively, our goal is to become a thought leader in the field. Several of these strategies are described below.
- Leverage resources through partnerships with public housing authorities. Compass has established a unique relationship with Lynn Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development (LHAND). This partnership provides Compass participants with increased access to additional homeownership resources, including affordable homeownership lotteries and mortgage products, the Section 8 to Homeownership program, and the Family Self Sufficiency program (FSS). Our partnership with LHAND offers a promising model for how to work with public housing authorities (PHAs) around the state to promote asset building more broadly for low-income families.
- Require parents to use federal tax refund for asset building. Compass requires participants in our core savings program to save 10% of their federal tax refund. (The Earned Income Tax Credit, widely acknowledged as one of the most successful anti-poverty measures in the U.S., typically comprises the majority of a low-income parent’s tax refund.) This requirement encourages families to view their annual tax refund as an opportunity for asset building. In addition, when needed, Compass coaches parents to use their refund toward debt repayment.
- Focus on debt management and credit repair. Compass tracks and evaluates participants’ credit reports and scores annually for the duration of the program. This approach enables Compass to identify participants who are in need of further credit advising and to provide additional support services, as needed, in a cost-effective way.
- Outsource to financial services professionals. Compass recruits financial services professionals to serve as lead, volunteer trainers for our financial education workshops. By increasing participants’ exposure and access to financial services professionals, these partnerships lower participants’ real and perceived barriers to the financial services industry.
- Provide customized, tailored services for parents. Compass provides “high touch” services only when necessary. Through a unique financial coaching model, Compass seeks to equip participants with the knowledge, skills, behaviors, and confidence required to sustain long-term financial stability.
- Promote investment in children’s college education. Through education, outreach, and advocacy, Compass promotes low-income families’ access to 529 college savings plans, which offer an affordable but powerful means to save for college. In addition to helping families save for the net cost of college, college savings plans have a significant impact on low-income students’ aspirations and expectations about college.
- Invest in research and evaluation. Compass is building a unique Social Return on Investment (SROI) model that we believe can provide a model for practitioners and stakeholders in the field. We also draw consciously on the emerging field of behavioral economics, which provides an important intellectual framework for our work.