Ashoka and BNY Mellon are hosting a Changemaker Challenge–a national social innovation competition–to uncover innovations that expand financial security of underserved communities, empowering everyone to be the drivers of their own financial wellbeing, resilience, and freedom. In a moment when six out of ten Americans will experience financial insecurity, families find themselves struggling to pay rent, afford healthcare, and cover their bills at the end of each month. Financial struggles leave entire communities without the opportunity and agency to plan for their futures and reach their goals. Times of joy—going to college, buying a home, raising children—have become sources of anxiety for too many. While saving money can be a challenge for a variety of reasons, the inability to build a strong financial foundation is often a symptom of a greater, systemic problem. Now, BNY Mellon and Ashoka are launching a collaborative effort aimed at addressing the root causes of financial inequality through innovation—the Unlocking Change Challenge.

Enterprise, together with Elevate Energy, has released a case study of the Chicago Water-Efficiency Pilot: in 2016, a water-efficiency specialist visited 14 affordable housing properties across the Chicago region, providing recommendations to organizational decision-makers, along with light training and procedural recommendations for maintenance staff. Findings from the pilot suggest that affordable housing providers can benefit greatly from comprehensive water-efficiency improvements, including usage monitoring, leak repair, and upgrades or replacement of inefficient shower heads, toilets and other fixtures and appliances. Based on the pilot’s limited sample, implementing the recommended upgrades and repairs would save about 22 percent in water and sewer charges, or more than $20,500 per property over five years.

This week, President Trump sent a rescission package proposal to Congress that calls for stripping more than $15 billion in previously approved spending, including funding for the CDFI Fund's Bank Enterprise Awards and Capital Magnet Fund Programs. Click here to read the CDBA press release. These programs provide incentives for banks to lend and invest in high-poverty and high-unemployment communities. They have played a crucial role in increasing the flow of capital to distressed areas and stimulating exponential private investment in CDFIs, thereby accelerating business growth, generating jobs, revitalizing neighborhoods, increasing the availability and affordability of housing, and improving access to financial services in communities that have been left behind. Congress has 45 days to either approve or dismiss the proposed rescissions. 

The Harbor Bank of Maryland Community Development Corp. has dedicated the Joseph Haskins, Jr. Center for Community and Economic Development. The center, located at the bank's headquarters, will offer several programs designed to address altimore entrepreneurs' need for access to financial and social capital, as well as technical assistance, to help them grow. It also offers entrepreneurs low-cost office space and access to resources, networks, and other amenities. The center is already fully leased by entrepreneurial groups eager to benefit from these resources.