Community Action to Enroll Individuals Into “Free to Save” Program

Community Action Partnership of Lancaster and Saunders Counties (Community Action; communityactionatworkorg.presencehost.net) has received a $525,541 three-year grant to provide 4:1 savings match to give 90 low- to moderate-income individuals the opportunity to purchase homes and vehicles, pursue post-secondary education, and start or expand small businesses.

The grant-funded program, Free to Save, will build off the success of the agency’s Individual Development Accounts (IDA) program, which also provides savings match for homes, post-secondary education, and small business start-up or expansion. Free to Save participants will have the added chance to receive savings match for safe, reliable vehicles, which Community Action has identified as a need among the 17,000 individuals it serves annually.

Free to Save participants will save up to $1,000 of their own money, which will be matched with $4,000, for a total of $5,000 to use for their asset purchases. In addition to saving, participants will complete 12 hours of financial education and receive individualized financial coaching from Community Action’s Financial Well-Being team, designed to support them in achieving savings goals. The agency will partner with several area organizations to prepare participants to make their asset purchases.

The Community Action Partnership (communityactionatworkorg.presencehost.net) program will target low- to moderate-income individuals with annual income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level (currently $50,200 a year for a family of four) and with net worth less than $10,000. The agency encourages all who think they might be eligible to apply.

If you are interested in lending your skills/expertise to support participants in achieving their goals, contact Andrew Ritta, financial well-being administrator, at (402) 875-9351 / aritta@communityactionatwork.org.