publications
News & Publications
First Look: Black Economic Equity Movement – A Guaranteed Income Project (Sept 2024).
Black youth face systemic barriers that perpetuate the racial wealth gap, limiting access to education, employment, and financial stability. The Black Economic Equity Movement (BEEM) is a two-year Guaranteed Income project providing $500/month and optional Financial Mentoring to Black young adults. This initiative examines GI’s impact on financial, mental, and physical health to inform equitable economic policies.
MyPath – Advancing Financial Capability for Opportunity Youth through a National Youth Workforce System (April 2023).
Between 2018 – 2022, MyPath collaborated with YouthBuild USA to integrate our financial capability models into several of their youth employment programs. This report illuminates the conditions and resources that are vital to supporting opportunity youth-serving programs to develop systems that create access to the financial mainstream and pathways to financial stability and wealth-building.
MyPath National Youth Banking Standards (October 2022).
These Standards have been evaluated by outside researchers and proven to effectively engage youth employment program participants in banking and saving. They are intended to be used alongside technical assistance and training provided by MyPath to support the integration of youth-friendly accounts and tested financial education into youth employment and workforce settings.
MyPath – Guaranteed Income Plus Financial Mentoring Pilot Brief (June 2022).
This brief highlights the promising results of MyPath’s Youth Financial Mentoring model which was offered alongside the nation’s first Guaranteed Income (GI) Pilot serving transition age foster youth. The study found that financial mentoring paired with GI can yield strong banking, savings and credit outcomes and boosts mentees’ financial confidence. We are grateful to have partnered with the County of Santa Clara, Excite Credit Union, Community Financial Resources and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation in this pivotal study.
Financial Capability and Asset Building With a Racial- and Gender-Equity Lens: Advances From the Field (December 2021).
MyPath, Inclusiv, Change Machine, the Center for Social Development at Washington University, and Oklahoma Native Assets Coalition recommend 5 strategies social service organizations can use to implement a racial- and gender-equity lens to address the racial wealth gap and improve financial security.
Economic Bill of RYTS (Real Youth Troubles & Solutions) (May 2021).
MyPath youth leaders partnered with youth from across the country to spotlight the resources, tools, and knowledge that all youth need in order to get on a path to building wealth.
nLIFT – Fulfilling the Promise of Fintech (Autumn 2018)
In 2018, nLift members – including MyPath, Commonwealth, EARN, The Financial Clinic, The Federation, Mission Asset Fund, and Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners – developed a manifesto sharing their vision for increasing the financial inclusion of low- to moderate-income households through technology-driven platforms.
On My Path: Young Workers’ Financial Decision-making (September 2018).
This analysis is part one of a three-part blog series to share the results of MyPath’s analysis of our interactive MyPath Money platform with cities, nonprofits, and financial institutions in the youth financial capability field. Our goal: to spotlight the power of reaching young people as they earn their first paychecks and set them on the path to confidently using financial products and services that meet their evolving needs.
Youth Credit Matters (September 2018).
This brief highlights key findings from MyPath’s recently published research Not Getting Enough Credit (April 2017) regarding a pilot study of MyPath Credit- a credit-building model designed specifically for low-income working young adults.
Not Getting Enough Credit: Exposing Credit Needs Among Opportunity Youth, And Introducing An Innovative Solution – MyPath (April 2017).
This brief outlines the key findings of the pilot study of our groundbreaking credit-building model designed specifically for low-income working young adults. It demonstrates the very real credit needs among our nation’s young people, as well as a solution that has generated tangible outcomes.
Financial Coaching for Youth and Young Adults: The Professionalizing Field of Financial Counseling and Coaching: A Journal of Essays from Expert Perspectives in the Field (May 2016).
In this essay, Executive Director Margaret Libby shares the critical design and delivery elements of the tested MyPath Credit model, which combines financial coaching, credit-building and saving for low-income young adults. Ms. Libby presented the essay highlights during The Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund’s Professionalizing Field of Financial Counseling and Coaching Conference on May 5th, 2016 in New York City. A paper from University of Georgia researchers on its early results and lessons is forthcoming.
Boosting the Power of Youth Paychecks: Integrating Financial Capability into Youth Employment Programs – Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (April 2016).
The first experimental design study conducted on a youth financial capability model in the country, Boosting the Power of Youth Paychecks: Integrating Financial Capability into Youth Employment Programs, was published by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco in partnership with MyPath and Vernon Loke of Eastern Washington University. Two scalable versions of MyPath Savings were tested against a comparison group. Both treatment groups received an in-person orientation, two accounts, direct deposit, a savings contract, and three online, money management modules. In addition, one treatment group also had Peer Coaches trained to lead in-person activities and discussions related to the online content. Both models produce powerful outcomes, increasing youth financial capability, including banking, saving, and money management. Adding Peer Coaches boosts financial knowledge gains, and is best suited for programs with longer durations.
QUICK SNAPSHOT of Boosting the Power of Youth Paychecks: Integrating Financial Capability into Youth Employment Programs – MyPath (April 2016).
This two-page overview highlights the key outcomes from the MyPath Savings study, including 97% of participants engaged in bank accounts; 100% set MyPath Savings goals; 96% met their MyPath Savings goals; and statistically significant differences in financial confidence between treatment and comparison groups. The addition of Peer Coaches to the MyPath Savings model boosted some outcomes.
Partnerships for Financial Capability Brief – Center for Financial Services Innovation and the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (September 2015).
This brief highlights the power of integrating credit products and financial coaching into workforce settings for low-income youth and young adults. MyPath is grateful to the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions, Center for Financial Services Innovation, and the Kresge Foundation for supporting MyPath Credit, as well as Self-Help Federal Credit Union, for its partnership in offering youth-friendly credit products.
Increasing Youth Financial Capability: An Evaluation of MyPath Savings Initiative – The Journal of Consumer Affairs’ Special Issue on Starting Early for Financial Success (February 2015).
We co-authored this paper together with our outside evaluators from Eastern Washington University, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and the Center for Social Development. The article focuses on the pilot results of our MyPath Savings model, highlighting new data analysis– in addition to statistically significant changes in financial behaviors, MyPath improves youth self-efficacy, future outlook and confidence.
The Power of Credit Building – Credit Builders Alliance & Asset Funders Network (2014).
MyPath Credit’s innovation and promise were highlighted in this national paper, which showcases the importance of both building and rebuilding credit with low-income populations. MyPath Credit was featured as the only such program serving youth in the United States.
Building Financial Capability in Youth Employment Programs – Report by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (2014).
MyPath Savings was featured in this national paper highlighting best practices in integrating financial capability into youth workforce settings. The paper summarized the outcomes of a national convening held in Washington DC in late 2013 sponsored by the CFPB and the Department of Treasury.
Increasing Financial Capability among Economically Vulnerable Youth: MyPath Pilot and Year Two Updates – The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (December 2013).
The success of our MyPath Savings program pilot in San Francisco was showcased in this Working Paper published by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Center for Community Development Investments, which garnered attention from President Obama’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability.
