CEDAM is excited to introduce its new coalition manager, Melvin Henley! Melvin was previously an organizational development consultant and strategy specialist at Nonprofit Enterprise at Work (NEW) and joins the CEDAM team with a wide range of experiences including strategy planning, board development and more. I met with Melvin (over Zoom) to learn more about...
Category: <span>All Things CEDAM</span>
Our future is stronger with Children’s Savings Accounts (CSA)
A quick glance at Michigan’s growing CSA field By Brian Rakovitis, manager of financial empowerment initiatives Removing barriers to postsecondary attainment in Michigan provides more opportunities for low- and moderate-income communities, improves the quality of life for residents, and helps combat inequality. Savings play an important role in achieving increased attainment. Studies have found that...
What Works Cities Economic Mobility initiative helps the Lansing SAVE program unlock key data
Contributors: City of Lansing, CEDAM, John Hopkins Center for Government Excellence (GovEx) First… A bit of background As the old saying goes, you can’t see the forest for the trees. When you are too close to a situation you sometimes need to step back and gain some perspective, even invite a fresh pair of eyes...
Reaching residents in the age of COVID-19: Show Me the Money Day pivots to virtual
2020 Show Me the Money Day events reached more than 2,300 Michigan residents. Want to bring an event to your community next year? Read through to find how! Show Me the Money Day (SMTMD) is a statewide community and financial resource fair designed to connect low- and moderate-income individuals and families with safe and affordable...
Payday Lending Expansion Bill Passes in the Michigan House
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 27, 2020 Contact: Jessica AcMoody Policy Director, CEDAM acmoody@cedamichigan.org (517) 231-6139 Payday Lending Expansion Bill Passes in the Michigan House The proposed legislation could result in borrowers owing more than $4,000 on a $2,500 loan LANSING— Today the Michigan House of Representatives approved House...
Changes to CRA expand opportunities for nonprofits responding to COVID-19
By Brian Rakovitis, manager of financial empowerment initiatives On March 19, 2020, the Federal Reserve Board, the FDIC, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released a joint statement on CRA consideration for activities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The joint statement details changes to financial institutions when working with customers, expands...
Empowering Michigan communities: Immediate and long-term policy responses to COVID-19
We’ve seen the many ways that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected and altered our daily lives and business as we know it. The crisis is exposing the weaknesses in our social safety net like never before—and financially vulnerable households that were living paycheck-to-paycheck before the pandemic are especially at risk. There are immediate and long-term...
Governor Whitmer announces sensible policy for Michigan assistance programs
By Ross Yednock, Director of the MEIC at CEDAM Michigan policy has long held our state’s families living in or near poverty back from saving for emergencies and planning for the future. That has now changed, thanks to Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s announcement earlier this year that increased asset limits for three Michigan assistance programs. As...
CEDAM is Celebrating 10 Years of AmeriCorps
We’re excited to announce that CEDAM is celebrating 10 years of hosting AmeriCorps programs! Throughout the year, we’ll be interviewing alumni, highlighting current members, and sharing the impact our members have on their communities. To kick things off, check out these 10 fun facts about CEDAM’s AmeriCorps programs: More than 250 Michiganders have served with...
Meet our new events & membership specialist, Shawn Masters!
CEDAM is excited to welcome and introduce our new events & membership specialist, Shawn Masters! Shawn joins our team with a long history working in the nonprofit sector and a strong connection to our organization’s mission. Emily: Tell me about your experience in the nonprofit world? Shawn: My very first experience with nonprofit work, I...