SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 19, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- --Community Organizer and Advocate Matt Silva to Build Awareness Around EARN's Proven Prosperity-Building Strategies
EARN, the nation's leading provider of microsavings for low-income workers, has received a $100,000 grant from the Levi Strauss Foundation to identify, document, and share real stories of low-income people overcoming financial barriers and achieving prosperity. Using a portion of that funding, EARN has welcomed Matt Silva as its new Levi Strauss Fellow for Nonprofit Communications. Experienced in community outreach and online technology, Silva will be working to communicate the impact of the award-winning organization's work through the exceptional stories of EARN Savers -- people who are changing the future for their families through their involvement with EARN. The project's goal is to illuminate a proven path to prosperity for millions of low-income American families and for policy leaders nationwide.
"We are very grateful to the Levi Strauss Foundation for their continued support of EARN over the years, and thrilled to welcome Matt aboard," said EARN President and CEO Ben Mangan. "EARN is deeply committed to documenting the impact of our work on people's lives. Sharing these stories will advance EARN's mission by giving hope and powerful examples to millions of low-income families across America."
"We are so proud to work with EARN. The Levi Strauss Foundation was there at the beginning when EARN got its start in 2001, and we haven't looked back," said Daniel Jae-Won Lee, executive director of the Levi Strauss Foundation. "Over the past ten years, we have worked together to support asset building through social and economic solutions that create new cycles of prosperity for low-wage earners. EARN's clients are living proof that assets can be leveraged to create opportunities and long-term economic stability. By reaching out to EARN's clients, the Levi Strauss Fellow will identify their powerful success stories to spread the word and spur others to embrace savings as a powerful tool in the fight against poverty."
Levi Strauss has been an instrumental long-term partner ever since EARN's founding in 2001. Their support of EARN is rooted in Levi's strong and deep commitment to asset building: helping low-wage workers build wealth and invest in life-changing assets such as saving for college, purchasing first homes, or starting small businesses. Over the years, Levi Strauss funding has enabled EARN to expand its core services and to become a nationwide leader in asset-building policy -- and now, to dramatically grow its communications work.
In his role as EARN's Levi Strauss Fellow, Matt Silva brings significant experience in advocacy outreach and communications. Most recently, Silva served as the Outreach Coordinator at the San Francisco Neighborhood Parks Council, a citywide park advocacy organization focused on improving the overall health of San Francisco's 230 public parks. Prior to working with the Neighborhood Parks Council, Silva worked as a community organizer for an affordable housing developer in Boston and before that with homelessness advocacy organizations in his hometown of Providence, Rhode Island. Silva, who holds an A.B. in Sociology from Brown University, helped co-found Providence's street newspaper, called Street Sights.
EARN's Levi Strauss Foundation funding follows closely upon announcements of the receipt of a $125,000 grant from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation and $500,000 in funding from the Ford Foundation.
About the Levi Strauss Foundation
The Levi Strauss Foundation aspires to be the embodiment of the energy and events of our time. We seek to actively drive pioneering change by funding programs that push the frontiers of possibility around the world. Visit http://www.levistrauss.com/about/foundations/levi-strauss-foundation to learn more.
About EARN
EARN is an award-winning California-based nonprofit that gives low-income workers the power to create economic prosperity for their families for generations to come. Since 2001, EARN has helped tens of thousands of low-wage families through innovative financial products including matched savings accounts, checking accounts for the unbanked, micro-loans, and money management coaching. EARN's powerful combination of lasting assets and financial know-how enables families to build wealth and achieve life-changing goals such as saving for college, purchasing first homes, or starting small businesses. Through its policy and research arm, EARN evaluates its impact and reports on new data regularly, sharing lessons learned and best practices in order to transform the financial services landscape and to champion effective public policies. EARN's ultimate vision is that millions of well-informed, low-income American families will achieve financial success through proven strategies, fair public policy, and their own hard work. Visit www.earn.org or follow us at http://twitter.com/Earn and http://facebook.com/EarnOrg.
SOURCE: EARN
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