"EARN, a local non profit organization with
deep Harvard roots, has been named one of ten
finalists in the prestigious Amazon.com Non
Profit Innovation Award.
EARN helps to build assets for the working
poor (average family income is $17,700) by
providing financial management training,
matched savings accounts, and free bank accounts.
EARN's activities focus mainly on Individual
Development Accounts (IDAs), which matches
the savings of working poor families on a 2:1
basis in a custodial account. Recipients can
only use the money for college education, small
business, or home ownership. EARN's impact is
tremendous, nearly 800 families are saving an
average of $75 per month. Over $1.5 million has
been saved, and over $175,000 has already been
invested in homes, educations and small
businesses. EARN's success is creating a model
for fighting poverty on a national and global
scale. EARN may be a small nonprofit but their
strategy for fighting poverty is getting some
big attention. EARN's work has recently been
featured on NPR and in BusinessWeek, and they
were named a Fast Company Social Capitalist of
the Year for 2005.
Where You Can Help: In the next six weeks,
Amazon.com will enable the public to make
contributions to the ten finalist organizations,
with the organization collecting the most
donations winning a matching grant up to $1
million. Each dollar EARN raises through
individuals is also matched by government funds,
so if EARN wins, it could mean up to $4 million
dollars for 1,000 working-poor families to invest
in life-changing assets like first homes, higher
education and small businesses.
Help a Local Cause Created and Guided by Harvard
Alums: Vote for EARN by donating online through
EARN's page at
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/asin/B000A6JIQQ/
104-4161747-1500718 .
Please give as much as you are able and pass this
message along to friends and family ASAP. If you
have any trouble opening this link, just go to
www.Amazon.com and follow the link to their
Non-Profit Innovation Awards."
* * *
Regards.
Perry Gregg
bengt@post.harvard.edu
http://harvardsf.com