Faced with budget shortfalls and continued high unemployment, federal, state and local policymakers, are focused on trimming spending and creating jobs. Anti-poverty advocates want to protect funding to address immediate needs. Assets advocates (who may also care about those same programs) want to protect spending on assets, but are also still looking for the “big win” that would require new spending on asset-building incentives. This session will explore three strategies to win on an assets agenda in the current environment – building broader alliances with “revenue coalitions”; framing your issues in policymakers’ terms; and focusing on what is achievable now, while teeing up bigger investments for down the road – and a concrete example of one asset coalition’s success.

 

• Robb Gray, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (Presentation - PDF)
• Robin McKinney, Maryland CASH Campaign (Presentation - PDF)
• Amy Saltzman, Hatcher Group (Presentation - PDF)
• Jennifer Brooks, CFED (Moderator) (Presentation - PDF)