Northwest Area Immigrant Asset-Building Initiative Training & Convening 

Description:

Immigrants play a crucial role in our nation’s economy and are poised to dramatically change its demographics in the near future. Today, over 45 million foreignborn immigrants call the US their home and represent 13% of the total U.S. population. They also represent a large part of the 10 million households that the FDIC estimates are currently unbanked. This results in missed opportunity for asset building for individuals and families, as well as challenges in building collective wealth among significant portions of our communities. Immigrant service providers and credit unions are partnering across the country to address this gap of participation in the US financial system, providing an unprecedented opportunity to help immigrants establish stability and become banked.

Goals:

• Learn about the demographics and immigration patterns affecting the Northwest region;
• Understand how credit unions, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, philanthropy and others serve immigrants;
• Discuss ways to leverage each other’s’ core competencies to create effective partnerships that addresses the needs of immigrants;
• Discuss the potential to ramp up and provide legal and financial assistance to citizenship, DACA, and potentially DAPA applicants.

Program Agenda:

9:00AM -9:10AM        Welcome remarks: Daranee Petsod, President, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrant Refugees and Pamela Owens, Vice President of Programs, National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions 

9:10AM-9:30AM         Framing the Discussion:  Immigration Demographics and Patterns in the Region  
                                        Cuc Vu,  Director, Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, City of Seattle

9:30AM-10:45AM       Overview of Immigrant Asset-Building Initiatives and Best Practices for Financial                                             Inclusion of Immigrants and Effective Partnerships  

Facilitator: Pam Owens , Vice President of Programs, Federation

Speakers: Northwest Area Immigrant Asset-Building Initiative Partners: Alvaro Macias, Ascentra Credit Union and Sarah Sumadi, OneAmerica

                   Alejandra Seluja, CU Breakthrough Consultant
                  
                  Abdi Jama, Program Coordinator, Immigration Legal Services, Catholic                              Community Services of King County

10:45AM-11:00AM     Break

11:00AM-12:00PM     Small group work: How to Build Successful Collaboration between Credit Unions and Non-profit Organizations in Your Community

Facilitator: Althea Gonzalez, Consultant, GCIR

To effectively integrate immigrants into the US, it is necessary to coordinate legal, financial, and other direct services that are offered to support this community. In this facilitated small group session, participants will learn from one another as they explore best practices for improving collaboration and communication among service providers; discuss ways to engage immigrant communities through culturally appropriate vehicles; and identify other community partners to include in a coordinated effort.

12:00PM-12:30PM     Next Steps