Mini-Grants
In June of 2009, Tuskegee University and the Southern Regional Asset-building coalition awarded eight min-grants to Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in its four county regions - AL, FL, MS, and LA). The area of focus is on asset-building practice and policy with an emphasis on addressing persistent poverty in the Gulf Coast and Southern states. The purpose of the grants is to advance knowledge, practice and policy related to asset building and financial education in Gulf Coast and Southern Black Belt States, particularly in areas of persistent poverty and/or with individuals affected by recent hurricanes. An expected key outcome of the work is to expand the capacity of HBCUs and their partnering community-based organizations to contribute and participate in the perspective states asset building coalitions and policy agendas. The following are the awardees of the min-grants:
Alabama A & M University/Students - Comparative Performance Evaluation of Business and non-Business Students in stock Market Investments
ABSTRACT SUMMARY:
The objective of this project is to teach a group of undergraduate students how to trade stocks in the stock market. To achieve this objective, a group of business and non-business students will be selected. They will be taught how to successfully make stock transactions. The long-term objective of this project is to instill the knowledge of investment into the minds of young people who will probably use this knowledge in their life later on and hence it will help in asset building.
Bethune Cookman University/United Way - Expansion of Community Financial Education Outreach and Low-income Tax Preparation Project
ABSTRACT SUMMARY:
The Campaign for Working Families (referred herein as Campaign) with the help of this grant, will build upon the strong base the Campaign has developed in Volusia and Flagler Counties by expanding the capacity of the program's services and partnership with Bethune Cookman University (BCU). Over the past two years in partnership with BCU we have been able to develop service learning and volunteer opportunities for BCU students. Students participated in financial education courses specifically Money Smart.
Working with the Department Head Accounting/Associate Dean students were recruited, mentored, and trained to deliver financial education and tax preparation services to low-income families. With assistance from this grant we can accomplish our goals of service expansion through community outreach and service integration into University courses. The next step is to utilize those student's skill sets teaching the Money Smart classes out in the neighboring low-income community. As another step forward, BCU in partnership with the Campaign would like to open up a Voluntary Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site on-campus at BCU's Center for Civic Engagement Complex.
The Campaign will bolster Money Smart financial education classes having previously trained BCU students create relationships with churches and non-profits in the local community to ensure they are reaching the target client base and access class space. The Campaign will ensure quality service by improving the volunteer base and services through better communications, selective volunteer recruitment, consistency in volunteer training, and provide on-going monitoring, feedback and support. All this will be developed for sustainability by utilizing tools and resources that have long-term potential with minimal reoccurring costs and automated procedures.
Dillard University/New Orleans Institute for Regional Development - An Asset Based Strategy for Disaster Vulnerability and Poverty Reduction: The Sustainable Livelihood Approach
ABSTRACT SUMMARY:
Sustainable Livelihoods Approaches [SLA] are a means of understanding how people and communities bundle a collection of assets at their disposal to build quality livelihoods. This research will show how the SLA is an advance on traditional conceptions of Asset Based Community Development and Disaster Vulnerability assessment which tend to limit their point of view to finance and human capital accumulation. The final output of the research will suggest policy priorities for enhancing the livelihood assets of low income communities in New Orleans.
Florida A & M University Extension/ Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon and Wakulla Public School Systems - Youth Financial Literacy Program
ABSTRACT SUMMARY:
The goal of the program is to introduce financial education topics that will improve the financial literacy of at least three thousand (3,000) 9-11 year olds (4th and 5th graders) located in North Florida's Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon and Wakulla County schools. The goal of the program is to introduce financial education topics that will improve financial literacy in the target audience, specifically to those who are any percentage of free and reduced lunch and family deemed as at or falling below the poverty line. Anticipated Long Term Objectives: For participating youth to increase the probability that they will spend within their means, avoid unnecessary debt, make informed and wise consumer decisions and acquire assets.
Florida A & M University/Environmental Sciences - Assessing socio-economic vulnerability of African Americans to hurricanes in the Gulf States Using GIS
ABSTRACT SUMMARY:
The states adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico, i.e. Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida are highly prone to coastal hazards such as hurricanes. A healthy proportion of African American population lives in the Southern States (U.S. Census 2000). In 2005, African Americans were highly affected during the event of hurricane Katrina, especially in New Orleans, LA (Quinn, 2006). Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), this study will map and investigate the socio-economic vulnerability of African Americans to hurricanes that live in the coastal countries of the Gulf States.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) developed a 'Coastal Risk Atlas' (http://www.ncddc.noaa.gov/cra) for the Gulf States which shows the hurricane risk areas/counties in the region (Figure 1 and 2). From the U.S. Census data, distribution of African American population in the coastal counties of the Gulf States will be overlaid on the hurricane risk areas in GIS. In social vulnerability study after Hurricane Katrina, it is found that most of the affected African Americans were low income, less educated, not married, older and home renters (Elder, 2007). All these factors have shown to be predictors of socio-economic vulnerability to natural disasters and hurricanes. The study will analyze age, income, education, and marital status of African Americans in the hurricane risk counties and identify areas where the most vulnerable population lives. Also, the study will evaluate the allocation of federal funds in the Gulf States for disaster relief efforts which is important for the initial asset building after a disaster. Finally, the counties will be ranked according to their socio-economic vulnerability and recommendations will be made to foster asset building and financial education in this region to reduce socio-economic vulnerability. A seminar will be arranged at Florida A & M University to disseminate the research findings. The HBCUs located in the high vulnerable areas will also be informed so that they can initiate outreach programs to improve mass and financial education in the surrounding region.
Florida A & M University /New North Florida Cooperative Association - Youth Entrepreneurship Training Program
ABSTRACT SUMMARY:
Much has to be done to change the mindset of many in rural and minority communities that employment in the formal sense is the only available option for income and sustenance. Given the changing nature of work and growing presence of insecurity and low-wages, self-employment becomes increasingly attractive and needs to be marketed more. Additionally as structured employment opportunities decline, entrepreneurial skills become necessary for workers to compete in the workforce. The NNFC Youth Entrepreneurship Training Program was initiated in 2007 as a collaborative effort between New North Florida Cooperative and FAMU Cooperative Extension Program. The Training Program was developed to increase awareness of agriculture and encourage entrepreneurship for African-American youth in rural communities. The Training Program is designed to enhance youth capacity in agricultural entrepreneurship, work ethic and effective team work. The proposed project will enhance the ongoing implementation of the NNFC Youth Entrepreneurship Training Program. The proposed project seeks to: 1) develop curriculum for training youth in agricultural entrepreneurship and job readiness, and; 2) facilitate youth entrepreneurship demonstration. Five to eight youth will be recruited to participate over the five month period. Emphasis will be placed on both job training and business start-up. The expected outcomes of the project are viable, new small agricultural businesses and the placement of individuals trained in those businesses.
Southern University/Louisiana Quality Jobs Program - Community Benefits Agreements: A Community Asset Building Technique that ensures Equity, Opportunity, and Justice
ABSTRACT SUMMARY:
A Community Benefits Agreement, or "CBA," is a legally enforceable contract, signed by community groups and by a developer, setting forth a range of community benefits that the developer agrees to provide as part of a development project. A CBA is the result of a negotiation process between the developer and organized representatives of affected communities, in which the developer agrees to shape the development in a certain way or to provide specified community benefits. In exchange, the community groups promise to support the proposed project before government bodies that provide the necessary permits and subsidies. The CBA is both a process to work towards these mutually beneficial objectives, and a mechanism to enforce both sides' promises. This policy change will:
Ensure that benefits associated with state tax incentives and public investments to corporations are ones that communities need.
Enhance flexibility in the development process, for example the tool can be used in different ways including as a matching pool for community projects.
Provide incentives to encourage greater investment in poorer communities.
CBAs generally target new developments - especially those that receive taxpayer subsidies or major land-use approvals. Public entities that are doing large-scale projects represent opportunities for doing community benefits agreements. To ensure the success of a CBA, a non-profit entity that supports the involvement of residents in a community is essential.
Tuskegee University/Department of Architecture - Sustainability and Asset Building within the Black Belt
ABSTRACT SUMMARY:
A central theme in permaculture is the design of ecological landscapes that produce food. Emphasis is placed on multi-use plants, cultural practices such as sheet mulching and trellising and the integration of animals to recycle nutrients and graze weeds. However, permaculture entails much more than just food production. Energy-efficient buildings, waste water treatment, recycling, and land stewardship in general are other important components of permaculture. More recently permaculture has expanded its purview to include economic and social structures that support the evolution and development of more permanent communities, such as co-housing projects and eco-villages. As such, permaculture design concepts are applicable to urban as well as rural settings, and are appropriate for single households as well as whole farms and villages.
We are establishing demonstration sites for sustainable technologies in Tuskegee, AL. The purpose is to illustrate alternative building, living, and financial models. These sites will be used to provide skills training, education, and resources to address global, national, regional, and local sustainability issues. The demonstration sites will promote awareness about sustainable development and how sustainability best practices can be applied to gain progress against the ongoing environment issues impacting Black Belt communities. Our goal will be to provide community stakeholders with the required skills and capabilities to become better stewards of their communities.
The permaculture workshop will provide the framework we will use to establish these sites and will integrate citizens from the Macon County Community into the work we will be conducting. The three sites we will develop are the Macon County Farmers Market, the Solar Decathalon House on Tuskegee University Campus and Shanti Villa Institute in Macon County, AL. Permaculture is about designing ecological human habitats and food production systems. It is a land use and community building movement which strives for the harmonious integration of human dwellings, microclimate, annual and perennial plants, animals, soils, and water into stable, productive communities. The focus is not on these elements themselves, but rather on the relationships created among them by the way we place them in the landscape. This synergy is further enhanced by mimicking patterns found in nature.