A growing number of welfare experts recognize the need to support families in their exit from poverty by encouraging the accumulation of wealth and assets, as opposed to maintaining a set level of income. IDAs are matched savings accounts designed to help low-income and low-wealth families accumulate a few thousand dollars for high return investments in education or job training, homeownership, or micro enterprise (small-business start-up). IDAs are designed to increase savings and investments for the working poor, welfare recipients, and citizens teetering on the edge of life-long poverty. Just as the GI bill provided hundreds of thousands of families the opportunity to acquire a home and enter the middle-class, the IDA is a tool that can help low-income citizens strive toward their dream of leaving poverty for good.

An IDA account is a savings account established at a local financial institution under a qualified individual’s name. That individual must meet IDA program acceptance criteria (under 200 percent poverty, earned income, etc.), complete a financial management course and training related to their asset goal, and save money toward their future dream over a period of between six to thirty-six months. Once they have completed the program, their savings of up to $1,000 is matched by the Michigan IDA Partnership (MIDAP) at a ratio of 3:1 for a home purchase and 2:1 for post-secondary education/job training or to start or expand a small business. IDAs help low-income families plan a path out of poverty and help create economic stability in their lives to remain self-sufficient.

For more general information on Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) visit the Corporation for Enterprise Development web site at http://www.cfed.org/

For information on IDAs in Michigan please visit the Michigan IDA Partnership web site at http://www.cmif.org and click on Michigan IDA Partnership or contact: