MEDA’s Financial Education Program provides low-and-moderate income Latino families with culturually relevant and bilingual workshop curriculum and coaching to achieve basic financial literacy. Our financial aid program aims to help clients: improve their credit score to 650 or higher; increase savings to three months of living expenses or greater; and reduce debt to income ratio to 40% or lower. To enroll in a workshop or learn more about receiving financial aid counseling contact MEDA at 415.282.3334 x 132.

Plaza Adelante is creating a financial services “ecosystem” in San Francisco – a one-stop shop for integrated services that create financial opportunity and stability for hard-working Lation familes. As the first and only community center explicity devoted to asset development, it is changing the face of economic empowerment for low-income families. Plaza Adelante has also partnered with United Way of the Bay Area to become a SparkPoint Center – SparkPoint helps families create step-by-step plans to tackle their unique needs, and connect them to services to address each one.

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Access to capital is vital for entrepreneurs to open or expand a small business and succeed in tough times.
Small businesses rely on loans, grants, and other investments to start their business, invest in growth, and meet unexpected challenges. Unfortunately, accessing these forms of capital is a major problem for many small businesses, especially those owned by minorities. Minority businesses are seven percent less likely to receive loans than non-minority businesses, and minority-owned businesses are less likely to apply for loans due to rejection fears*. Furthermore, Small Business Administration (SBA) lending to California’s Latino small business owners has decreased by almost 50 percent in recent years**.

MEDA understands how important minority-owned businesses are to San Francisco and is committed to helping minority entrepreneurs prosper.

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MEDA Tax Program Report

Simmi came to the United States when she was 21 years old, with no knowledge of English or any familiarity with the American way of life. Over time, she started to notice that people took interest in her traditional handmade outfits from her native India. She soon started selling her outfits from her home and outside her church. Confident that her hobby could grow into a business, Simmi came to MEDA and Plaza Adelante looking for a space to lease for her new venture.

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The Mission to Become a Promise Neighborhood

We are proud to announce that in December 2011, MEDA was awarded a planning grant from the Department of Education to create the Mission Promise Neighborhood. In the coming months, MEDA will develop a plan to create a community of opportunity in the Mission to make sure that children learn, grow and succeed from cradle to college to career, while also ensuring that their families become economically prosperous. MEDA is partnering with the San Francisco Unified School District, the United Way of the Bay Area, the University of California at Berkeley’s Center for Latino Policy Research, the Glen Price Group, and numerous community based organizations, government entities, and private sector partners to complete this major neighborhood planning initiative. We will initially target four schools – César Chávez Elementary, Bryant Elementary, Everett Middle School, and John O’Connell High School – to carry out this work.

To learn more about the project and participate, please contact Victor Corral at vcorral@medasf.org and 415.282.3334 ext. 134.

SparkPoint Launches in Plaza Adelante

1+1=3

SparkPoint clients who use 2 or more services are 3 times as likely to reach their goals than clients who use only 1 service.

MEDA is proud to announce that this January saw the successful launch of SparkPoint San Francisco at Plaza Adelante, the ninth SparkPoint Center in the Bay Area. An initiative of United Way of the Bay Area, SparkPoint Centers are one-stop, financial-education centers that offer a full range of services to help families and individuals achieve long-term financial stability and reach their financial goals.

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Program Highlight: Plaza Adelante Sparkpoint

To improve economic and social conditions in communities across the country, MEDA opened the Latino Tech-Net, a network of 18 public computer centers in 13 cities with a focus on helping entrepreneurs establish and grow small businesses. These centers provide free access to broadband, digital literacy classes, and technology workshops that help local residents take their ideas and expand them into productive, profitable entities.

Recovery Act funds have allowed the project to deploy more than 348 new public computer workstations. Along with these computers, residents gain access in MEDA’s business development program. The program offers workshops and one-on-one consultations on a variety of topics including capital assessment, business planning, budgeting, and marketing.

In addition to small business owners, MEDA’s computer centers also offer resources to help community residents develop the skills needed to find and retain a job. Residents can participate in digital literacy classes such as computer basics, Internet fundamentals, financial education, and online banking. Individuals can also receive assistance with resume creation, job searches, and interview preparation.

To learn more about Latino Tech-Net visit latinotechnet.org [/EXPAND]

MEDA Welcomes Leigh Phillips as New Board Chair

MEDA is proud to announce the election of Leigh Phillips as our new Board Chair. Leigh Phillips has served on MEDA’s board for one year and is taking over for Orson Aguilar as he steps down after four years of service as Board Chair.

Leigh Phillips is the Director of the San Francisco Office of Financial Empowerment (SF OFE). She has worked for Treasurer José Cisneros since December 2004, launching the country’s second “Office of Financial Empowerment” in 2009. Leigh has successfully managed the creation and implementation of several key initiatives including: The “Bank On” program, JoinBankOn.org, The “Kindergarten to College” program, The San Francisco Smart Money Network and the successful two-year pilot of the City’s “Working Families Credit” program.

We would also like to welcome our new Board members: Jenny Flores, Citi; Paul Correa, CorLand Consulting; Myrna Melgar, Affordable Housing Consultant; and Susan Harper, Bank of America.

We look forward to the contributions they will bring from their many years of asset development experience. Please join us in a big thank you to Orson Aguilar for his service, and a welcome to Leigh Phillips and our new Board members!

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Events in San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin Counties Connect
Low-Wage Families with Free Tax-Filing and Other Financial Services

Community and civic leaders will gather will gather at three Bay Area events this weekend to kick-off Earn It! Keep It! Save It!, which will provide free tax preparation at more than 200 locations to households that earned less than $50,000 in 2011. Celebrating its 10th year, Earn It! Keep It! Save It! has returned more than $275 million in refunds to low-wage families and the local economy.  EKS represents more than 50 free tax preparation sites in San Francisco, and more than 200 sites throughout the Bay Area.  During the 2011 tax season, Earn It! Keep It! Save It! provided free tax preparation to 9,957 San Francisco households, returning $19 million in tax refunds to those families and our local economy. In addition, its free tax sites are an important gateway to programs that help filers improve their finances, start saving, go back to school, get a good job, buy a first home or start a new business.

SAN FRANCISCO KICK-OFF EVENT

Friday, Jan. 27 – Speakers at 12:00; Tax preparation starts at 11:00 am
Plaza Adelante, 2301 Mission Street, San Francisco
Speakers: Supervisor David Campos, MEDA’s Luis Granados, United Way’s Lorne Needle
Contact:  Deanna Jones, 415-282-3334, ext.118

With college tuition rising higher every year, lack of financial aid is a major barrier for low-income students who want to receive a college education. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors have taken action and declared January 16-22 “Financial Aid Awareness Week”. The purpose of “Financial Aid Awareness Week” is to heighten awareness around the availability of grants for low-income and first generation college students through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), a form that determines a student’s eligibility for college financial aid.

To launch the passing of this important legislation the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA), Citi and partners hosted a press conference on Wednesday, January 18, at Mission High school. Supervisors David Campos spoke about the importance that families know of the opportunity they have through FAFSA. Also, through an initiative sponsored by Citi Foundation and the Center for Economic Progress of Chicago, MEDA, Mission Graduates, Cash for College, San Francisco Education Fund and partners are completing FAFSAs for low income students in San Francisco.

Learn how MEDA can help you on your FAFSA form: 415.282.3334 x132

See a portion of Supervisor Campos’ speech here:

MEDA Executive Director Luis Granados had this to say: “This investment in our community will allow us to create true innovation, ensuring children, youth and families in the Mission have strong schools, opportunities to become economically successful, and robust systems of family and community support that will allow them to thrive. When a family is economically secure and has assets, they will be better positioned to help their children succeed in school. Our goal with this grant is to help students and families do just that.”

Articles About Promise Neighborhood Grant:
ABC Local News: Click Here
San Francisco Examiner:  Click Here
Education Week: Click Here

SF Unified School District Press Release: Click Here

When: Saturday, December 10, 2011
Where: Plaza Adelante, 2301 Mission St., Suite 301, San Franciaco

A CD of pictures and a print out of the best one will be included. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity.

Call MEDA 415.282.3334 x118 to sign up for a time today!