Book Harvest’s Children’s Saving Account Program Presented at National Conference
On September 5th, Mary Mathew, Book Harvest’s Director of Advocacy presented at the 2024 Prosperity Summit in National Harbor, Maryland about Book Babies Bright Futures; an innovative Book Harvest program that helps to ignite children’s dreams for college or career by offering a children’s saving account (CSA) with up to $500 to families participating in Book Babies. The conference brought together economic development and justice leaders from across the country.
Mary co-presented with Ikram Koliso, Interim Director of the Office of Financial Empowerment in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in a breakout session called Community Success Stories: Implementing Children's Savings Accounts. The session explored two diverse approaches to implementing CSAs: Book Babies Bright Futures and College Bound Saint Paul. CollegeBound Saint Paul is a community-designed, city-wide CSA program offered to Saint Paul families with newborns.
Over 40 session attendees learned how a nonprofit (Book Harvest) and a city office successfully established CSA programs, fostering prosperity and hope for families. Key insights from their journeys were shared including strategies for expansion, stakeholder engagement, and innovative features like guaranteed income. They highlighted the importance of community voices in CSA planning and offered takeaways for developing CSAs at various levels of scale, from program to city to state levels.
Mary highlighted recommendations from a CSA Exploratory Conversation hosted by Book Harvest in April 2023. Over 30 local stakeholders including parents, nonprofit leaders, elected officials, representatives from financial institutions and higher education came together to explore the question: "Is now the time to expand availability of children's savings accounts to children and families in Durham, and possibly beyond?" The day-long discussion was co-facilitated by Book Harvest staff and parents, and informed by pre-meeting interviews.
You can read takeaways from the Exploratory Conversation in our Report Summary and Final Report, as well as learn more about the power of CSAs in an Op-Ed published in The 74 by Ginger Young and this short video featuring Bright Futures families.
Since this conversation, Book Harvest has continued to offer Bright Futures savings accounts to families engaged in Book Babies, with over 180 Durham children currently enrolled. Some conversations have started with City Council members about future support for CSAs. A variety of other family economic opportunity initiatives, led by partners and community leaders, are also underway.
For example, Durham County has invested in a new Guaranteed Income Pilot with families based on priorities identified in Durham's Early Childhood Action Plan. The pilot, DCo Thrives, is a part of a national effort supported by Counties for Guaranteed Income. The Country is using American Rescue Plan funding to provide 125 families with $750/month. The pilot is being administered by the Durham Children's Initiative (DCI) and evaluated by the Family Economic Policy Lab at Appalachian State University. An advisory committee made up of Durham community members is providing guidance to the County and DCI in their implementation of the pilot.
If you are interested in learning more about Book Babies Bright Futures, please contact Mary Mathew at mary@bookharvest.org.
