Prosperity Now
Generated by GPT-5-miniExpansion Funnel Raw 86 → Dedup 0 → NER 0 → Enqueued 0
| Prosperity Now | |
|---|---|
| Name | Prosperity Now |
| Formation | 1979 (as Corporation for Enterprise Development) |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Founder | John Hatch |
| Leader title | President & CEO |
| Leader name | Rodney Foxworth |
| Type | Nonprofit organization |
| Purpose | Asset building and financial capability for low-income households |
Prosperity Now is an American nonprofit organization focused on expanding economic opportunity for low- and moderate-income families through asset-building policies, programs, and research. Founded as the Corporation for Enterprise Development, the organization operates at the intersection of community development, housing, taxation, and social services, engaging with policymakers, practitioners, and philanthropic institutions. Its work includes financial coaching, Individual Development Accounts, community development initiatives, and national advocacy on tax and savings policy.
History
Prosperity Now traces origins to community development leaders active in the Carter administration and the aftermath of the 1970s community reinvestment movements, with early influence from John Hatch and policy networks linking National Conference of State Legislatures, Ford Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Brookings Institution. Incorporated originally as the Corporation for Enterprise Development in 1979, the organization evolved alongside initiatives such as Community Reinvestment Act advocacy, Low-Income Housing Tax Credit implementation, and the rise of microfinance practitioners like BRAC and Grameen Bank. During the 1990s and 2000s it aligned with coalitions including National Community Reinvestment Coalition, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, National League of Cities, and Aspen Institute programs on community wealth building. Rebranding to its current name reflected strategic shifts paralleling national debates involving Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program reforms, while maintaining ties to regional intermediaries such as Enterprise Community Partners and NeighborWorks America.
Mission and Programs
The organization’s mission centers on helping families build wealth through targeted programs that mirror models developed by Kiva, Operation HOPE, and CFED (now Prosperity Now). Core programs include Individual Development Accounts inspired by pilots linked to Office of Community Services demonstrations, financial coaching initiatives modeled on South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation approaches, and small-dollar savings products piloted with banks like Wells Fargo and credit unions affiliated with National Credit Union Administration. Programmatic work partners with housing-focused actors such as Habitat for Humanity, employment intermediaries like Goodwill Industries International, and tax-site coalitions that implement Volunteer Income Tax Assistance in collaboration with Internal Revenue Service outreach. The organization also runs capacity-building efforts for community development financial institutions similar to Opportunity Finance Network support services, and promotes innovative municipal policies in cities like Philadelphia, New York City, and San Francisco.
Research and Policy Advocacy
Prosperity Now produces research on household financial health, asset poverty, and racial wealth gaps, drawing analytical frameworks comparable to work from Urban Institute, Pew Charitable Trusts, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and Economic Policy Institute. Its tax policy advocacy engages debates over Child Tax Credit expansion, Saver’s Credit, and Universal Basic Income proposals, and it files comments in regulatory processes alongside Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rulemaking and Federal Reserve research initiatives. The organization’s data tools and scorecards emulate transparency projects like Opportunity Insights and Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis dashboards, and its white papers have been cited by members of United States Congress, state legislatures, and municipal councils. Policy coalitions include collaborations with National Women’s Law Center, NAACP, Center for Responsible Lending, and National Urban League on anti-poverty legislation and anti-predatory lending campaigns.
Impact and Evaluation
Evaluation of programs uses methodologies comparable to randomized controlled trials seen in studies by Institute for Fiscal Studies, J-PAL, and Brookings Institution panels; impact metrics include changes in savings rates, homeownership influenced by Neighborhood Stabilization Program-style efforts, and credit score improvements akin to outcomes tracked by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau studies. Independent evaluators such as Mathematica Policy Research and academic partners at Harvard Kennedy School, George Washington University, and Georgetown University have assessed pilot programs for effectiveness and scalability. Impact claims have been discussed in policy forums alongside evidence from Social Impact Bond pilots, Pay for Success projects, and philanthropic initiatives by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and MacArthur Foundation.
Funding and Organizational Structure
Funding sources include philanthropic grants from foundations like Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and Kresge Foundation, government contracts with agencies such as U.S. Department of the Treasury and Department of Health and Human Services, and corporate sponsorship from financial institutions similar to JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America. The nonprofit operates with a board drawn from leaders in community development, academic institutions including Columbia University and University of Pennsylvania, and nonprofit networks such as Council on Foundations and Independent Sector. Financial transparency practices follow standards advocated by Charity Navigator and GuideStar, with auditing norms aligned with American Institute of Certified Public Accountants recommendations.
Partnerships and Collaborations
Prosperity Now collaborates with national intermediaries and grassroots organizations including Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Opportunity Finance Network, CFED alumni networks, and state-level groups such as Massachusetts Community and Banking Council and California Reinvestment Coalition. It convenes coalitions with civil rights organizations like NAACP Legal Defense Fund and policy centers such as Economic Policy Institute and Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, while partnering with academic research centers at Brookings Institution, Urban Institute, and Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality. International engagement has intersected with practitioners from World Bank and OECD forums on household finance, and cross-sector pilots have involved corporate partners, municipal governments like Chicago and Los Angeles, and philanthropic collaborators including Lumina Foundation and Surdna Foundation.