May 1, 2005

This year, the Community Affairs Offices of the Federal Reserve System have launched an exciting System-wide initiative on asset building, Innovations in Asset Building Policy, Products and Programs. In partnership with CFED, a national nonprofit that focuses on expanding economic opportunity, the initiative will address the challenges and opportunities facing the asset building field. By marshaling the collective strengths of CFED and the Federal Reserve System, the initiative promises to make a significant contribution to efforts to develop assets among low-income families.

The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco or of the Federal Reserve System. Material herein may be reprinted or abstracted provided Community Investments is credited. Please provide our Community Development Department with a copy of any publication in which material is reprinted.

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Table of Contents

CI Notebook
Introduction by Joy Hoffmann

Savings In The Spotlight: Making a Case for Asset Building Policies and Programs
Carolina Reid, with contributions from Heather McCulloch

Individual Development Accounts: Engaging the Financial Services Industry in Asset Building
Naomi Cytron and Carolina Reid

Measuring Ownership in America: CFED’s New Assets and Opportunity Scorecard
Lillian G. Woo, Jessica Thomas, David Buchholz and Jerome Uher

The Asset Policy Initiative of California: Building Momentum for Policy Change at the State Level
Heather McCulloch

From Refunds to Assets: Leveraging the Benefits of the Earned Income Tax Credit