CAAB

Investing in People, Strengthening Communities

The First CSA Program in the Mid-Atlantic Region is Launched in Washington, DC

 
Lincoln-Westmoreland Housing, Inc. and Capital Area Asset Builders (CAAB) have launched an innovative and ambitious Children's Savings Accounts Program for the benefit of the children of families residing in the buildings of Lincoln-Westmoreland Housing in Washington, DC.

 

Lincoln-Westmoreland Housing, Inc. and CAAB Launch the First Children's Savings Accounts Program in the Mid-Atlantic Region

Lincoln-Westmoreland Housing, Inc. makes a $500,000 investment in the long-term wellbeing of its resident families.
 
Children's Savings Accounts can put post-secondary education within reach by enabling kids to build college savings and raising their educational expectations.  
 

 

Washington, DC - November 22, 2017 - Lincoln-Westmoreland Housing, Inc. and Capital Area Asset Builders (CAAB) have launched an innovative and ambitious Children's Savings Accounts Program for the benefit of the children of families residing in the buildings of Lincoln-Westmoreland Housing in Washington, DC.

Children's Savings Accounts (CSAs) are long-term asset-building accounts. Research finds that students with such accounts for education purposes, compared to peers without such accounts, do better in school, are more likely to attend college and graduate, and show better on socio-emotional development indicators.

The Lincoln-Westmoreland Housing/CAAB CSA Program can put post-secondary education within reach of low-income families residing at Lincoln-Westmoreland Housing properties by enabling their children to build post-secondary education savings and raising educational expectations. Moreover, participating families can benefit from the financial capability and asset-building services to be provided by CAAB.  

"We are thrilled that children in our two buildings will be participating in the first housing-based effort to build financial stability that will last a lifetime. The research is clear and we are pleased to be able to help," said David Jacobs, President, Lincoln-Westmoreland Housing, Inc. 

"This project, instituting savings accounts with matched deposits, counseling, and other support, is a natural extension of Lincoln-Westmoreland Housing's efforts over the last 50 years in Shaw and DC. Until now, LWH has focused on providing high quality affordable housing; now we are investing in the community in a different way, with the hope of improving another essential aspect of our residents' lives," said Dahn Warner with KeyUrban, LWH's Owner Representative. 

Over the next two years, the Lincoln-Westmoreland Housing/CAAB CSA Program, will provide participating families and their children a long-term savings mechanism and matched savings for the achievement of post-secondary education; provide financial capability and financial coaching services; create a roadmap for families to achieve savings, build credit and manage debt; and, link families with financial capability and asset-building resources in Washington, DC. 

The Lincoln-Westmoreland Housing/CAAB CSA Program will benefit from the matched savings banking platform offered by Citi. CAAB maximizes the platform's escrow accounts and online system to ensure compliance with the program's objectives, track account transactions and provide client reporting 

"We applaud the significant long-term investment Lincoln-Westmoreland Housing is making in the wellbeing of its resident families and their children," said Joseph Leitmann-Santa Cruz, CAAB's Associate Director. "CAAB is very excited to partner with Lincoln-Westmoreland Housing on this creative and ambitious CSA Program which is the first one of its kind in the Mid-Atlantic Region. The program is in full alignment with CAAB's vision of Financial Security and Prosperity for All." 

 


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About Lincoln-Westmoreland Housing, Inc.                                                        

Conceived through an interracial partnership of Westmoreland Congregational United Church of Christ and Lincoln Congregational Temple United Church of Christ, in the wake of the 1968 riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Lincoln-Westmoreland Housing, Inc., a nonprofit affordable housing developer, built the 10-story, 108-unit, Lincoln Westmoreland Apartments in 1970 to provide much needed affordable housing in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, DC. 

Almost forty-five years later, the owner was able to leverage Tax Exempt Bonds and Low Income Housing Tax Credits to finance improvements to the original building and the development of a new apartment building on an under-utilized portion of the original parcel. 

The new 8-story building, named in honor of Channing E. Phillips (an avid, anti-poverty and civil rights leader who fought for decent housing and social justice for all and who served as a UCC minister), contains 56 affordable apartments available to households earning up to 60% of the Area Median Income, as well as ground floor retail.  Such housing is one of the greatest needs in District neighborhoods like Shaw, which has seen tremendous re-development in the last five years. 
 
 

About Capital Area Asset Builders


Capital Area Asset Builders (CAAB) is a nonprofit organization working to empower low- and moderate-income residents of the Greater DC Area to take control of their finances, increase their savings and build wealth for a better future.

Contacts 

 
Dahn Warner, KeyUrban, 202-744-5309, warner@keyurban.com

Joseph Leitmann-Santa Cruz, Capital Area Asset Builders,
202-419-1440 x102, jleitmann-santacruz@caab.org
 

How to give

Now, more than ever, non-profits like Capital Area Asset Builders (CAAB) need your help. Please support CAAB as we continue to help DC residents manage and/or improve their financial situation during these difficult times. If you can't afford to give a monetary gift, please visit our Amazon Wish List where you can choose from a variety of items that CAAB needs in order to better serve our community.

or send a check or money order to
Capital Area Asset Builders (CAAB)
c/o Joseph Leitmann-Santa Cruz, CEO & Executive Director
1100 15th St, NW, 4th Floor 
Washington, DC 20005