Family Assets for Independence in Minnesota

Publication Date: Sep 2001
Published by: Microfinance.com
Document Type: Paper

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What are the characteristics of poor Minnesotans and how do they affect savings?

This paper is based on data from Family assets for independence in Minnesota (FAIM) in its preliminary stages. The data were collected fifteen months after the program began. The purpose of FAIM pilot project is to help working poor Minnesotans to build wealth and to achieve long-term economic self-sufficiency.

Some of the participant characteristics and their savings outcomes that the study mentions are:

• Gender: Gender had no link with saving.
• Race/ethnicity: Compared to Caucasians, Native Americans were less likely to exit.
• Education: People who completed high school were more likely to exit than people with less education.
• Employment: Compared to the full-time employed and students, the unemployed, and people who were not working, were less likely to exit.
• Asset ownership: Participants who owned a check-in account or a car were less likely to exit.

• The poor can save in Individual Development Accounts (IDA);
• FAIM participants, compared to the US low-income population, are better educated, more likely to be employed, and are more likely to have a bank account;
• Compared to others with similar incomes, FAIM participants are more likely to be disadvantaged in terms of gender and marital status, but are less likely to be disadvantaged in terms of education, employment status, and the use of banks.