November 2023 | Newsletter

Centering Community Voice in Decision Making: feature by?Center for Effective Philanthropy

The Center for Effective Philanthropy has published a blog authored by our CEO Markita Morris-Louis on the ways in which we have centered and institutionalized a practice of incorporating client voice across our organization.?

Markita writes: "At Compass Working Capital?we recognize that our clients are experts in their own lives...Our clients know the challenges they face, approaches that have failed them in the past, and which programs and policies should be implemented to improve lives. We don’t need to make these decisions for them — we need to work alongside them. It’s our job to listen, incorporate what we hear into our strategies, and advocate for client-driven solutions."??Read more.

Compass coauthors op-ed on racial wealth gap for Boston Business Journal

The Boston Business Journal published an op-ed?by our CEO Markita Morris-Louis and Josh Muncey, founder of the Muncey Group, about the housing affordability crisis that Black and Hispanic/Latino/a/x families in Massachusetts face.

To help repair the long history of?housing discrimination and systemic racism that contributed to racial homeownership gap, Josh Muncey, along with several private funders, created?the?Welcome Home Fund, which provides?unrestricted cash grants to Black and Hispanic/Latino/a/x families in our Boston FSS programs to become first-time homeowners. Programs?like the Welcome Home Fund, as well as wealth-building programs like the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program, need to be scaled so that we can put the "American dream" of homeownership within reach for more families.?Read more.

News & Updates

• The Wells Fargo Foundation has become the first?corporate funder to make a significant philanthropic investment in Compass’ seven-year strategic plan, committing?$3.45 million over the next three years to help expand access to the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program.?Read more.
• Compass CEO Markita Morris-Louis spoke about asset building programs like FSS as it relates to?racial health inequity?at the Boston Medical Center Health Equity Summit?panel on Black economic mobility.??
• Compass Program Committee Chair Sabrina Nu?ez-Diaz testified in support of Massachusetts Baby Bond bills?as a powerful way to increase the financial security?of Black and/or Hispanic/Latino/a/x families with low incomes. We thank Sabrina, as well as Treasurer Goldberg, State Representative Vargas, and State Senator Feeney for their leadership on these bills.?
• Compass is proud to celebrate?Hispanic/Latinx Heritage?Month to honor the experiences and stories of our staff and clients. We thank our Latinx Affinity group for organizing activities such as?virtual salsa lessons and sharing?opportunities to learn like?NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts (El Tiny).??

What We're Reading

Latine Homeownership and the American Dream

Prosperity Now

"Homeownership and financial security are key to achieving the American Dream for Latines. ?According to the?Pew Research Center, 33% of Latines said homeownership is an extremely important life goal for them. Among those who felt they had achieved the American Dream, 26% attributed it to homeownership and financial stability. Of those who did not feel they had achieved the American Dream, 31% cited homeownership and financial stability."

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To Latinx or Not to Latinx: A Question of Gender Inclusivity Versus Gender Neutrality

National Library of Medicine

"Despite heated discussions about its pros and cons,?the use of Latinx in academia has grown dramatically. For instance, a PubMed search of the word Latinx yielded 755 articles, of which 71% were published in 2020. Clearly, now is the time to answer the following question: Should we be using Latinx at all, and, if so, how? Here I tackle this question by reviewing the meaning of the term Latinx within the context of gender neutrality versus gender inclusivity."

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Black, Hispanic household wealth grows, but stubborn gap persists

Marketplace

"But some of the recent growth in Black and Hispanic wealth is a bit of an illusion. Since those households?generally started?with less wealth, small changes had a large impact. And the Fed’s report points out that despite faster wealth growth, the gap in absolute dollar value between Black and Hispanic households’ wealth and white households’ wealth actually widened during those years.?“What we are seeing is the legacy of historical racism, discrimination and redlining,” said Vanessa Perry with the Urban Institute’s Housing Finance Policy Center."

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America Pulled Children Out of Poverty. Now It’s Set to Reverse Course With a Vengeance.

New York Times

"The annual Census Bureau report released earlier this month?revealed?that child poverty more than doubled in the United States last year, the largest single-year increase on record. The news feels less like a surprise and more like a confirmation, if not a deliberate choice. Many federal pandemic relief programs in health care, food assistance, housing and child care — most notably the expanded child tax credit — have either expired or are set to expire, which in all likelihood will ensure that child poverty will continue to accelerate"

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