Midas in Action: Working with LCW

This is the third in a series, Midas in Action, of several blog posts detailing wealth inequality in Massachusetts and how the MIDAS Collaborative is partnering with several different nonprofit organizations to combat the myriad obstacles individuals of low to moderate income face in the pursuit of financial security.

The previous two columns have detailed MIDAS’s partnerships with organizations that focus on uplifting and empowering marginalized individuals towards financial security and confidence. However, no one exists in a vacuum; these individuals must be supported by the communities around them. Lawrence Community Works (LCW) fosters holistic community empowerment by way of increasing housing opportunities and providing support systems for those just getting on their feet. MIDAS has partnered with LCW to increase accessibility to their programs and, again, employ a matched-savings program to provide sturdy financial foundations that are both vital to the process of wealth accumulation and confidence-building in the ability to do so. The matched-savings program currently has 19 participants, as well as 23 graduates, all of whom are Latino or Hispanic. The program has helped its participants to accumulate approximately $316,000 in savings since its inception in 2018.1 The program also boasts 11 active participant cohorts — groups that provide support and a social network of people working towards the same goals from in and around the same communities. Lawrence Community Works, in partnership with MIDAS, has created a matched-savings program that works to create sustainable growth in underserved communities by fostering environments in which such growth is possible.