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U.S. mayors' group, America Saves pick city for special financial initiative starting Sept. 20

By Betty Lin-Fisher
Beacon Journal business writer

Published on Sunday, Aug 03, 2008

Akron has been chosen — and challenged — as the first of four cities in the nation to become a ''Savings Community'' in a special initiative by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and America Saves, a nonprofit group that encourages consumer savings.

The Akron area was chosen as a result of the Beacon Journal's Reclaim the Dream project, which encourages individuals to save money and reduce debt, and Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic's leadership of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in 2004 and 2005, during which time the Dollarwise savings program was launched.

America Saves is a national organization operating through the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America. Its advisory board includes the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the U.S. Treasury Department.

Details are still being worked out, but America Saves and the conference of mayors plan to offer special financial education events during Dollarwise Week, which starts Sept. 20. The initiative will continue until America Saves Week, which starts Feb. 22, 2009.

The initiative hopes to get each of the four cities, or ''Savings Communities,'' to come up with a savings goal, highlight real-life individuals and give them opportunities to partner with money counselors to remake their
budgets and to offer other financial education.

The Beacon Journal's Reclaim the Dream series began in June with a week of reports on how to manage household finances and continues with the profiling of five local families and how they are creating budgets to better manage their money. (See today's Business section.)

''Akron has your campaign to build on and an activist mayor,'' said Nancy Register, national director of America Saves and associate director of the Consumer Federation of America in Washington, D.C.

''[A] basis for doing something like this is a committed leader — someone who wants to do it — and also the community is interested and behind it. I think your series and your initiative provided the evidence in a real way. Akron seems to have a real sense of community.''

Plusquellic said he's fully supportive of the projects.

Dave Gatton, a senior staffer with the mayors' conference, said his group will use Akron's collaboration as a model for the three other communities.

The Reclaim the Dream project has been joined by WKSU-FM radio, PBS Channels 45 and 49 and the University of Akron to sponsor a public forum at E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall on Oct. 14. In addition, the offices of the mayor and Summit County executive are working with the Beacon Journal and the John S. Knight Center downtown for a financial fair on Oct. 18.

And since the Reclaim the Dream pledge drive was begun five weeks ago, Beacon Journal readers have pledged to save or reduce their debt by more than $315,000 over a six-month period. Specifically, readers have pledged to store away more than $142,000 toward a savings fund and reduce their debt by more than $173,000. A pledge form appears on the front page of today's Business section and is available online at Ohio.com.

Gatton said he'd love to see the four ''Savings Communities'' compete with each other, but since this is the first year, it's too early to know whether that will happen.

''If we can do [it] this year, we'd like to replicate it and get more places doing it the following year,'' Gatton said.

Akron's project and the other communities will become ''total pilots for the nation,'' Register said. ''We hope that next year as a result of your success, someone will challenge Akron to [save] more than you did.''
 

Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com.

Akron has been chosen — and challenged — as the first of four cities in the nation to become a ''Savings Community'' in a special initiative by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and America Saves, a nonprofit group that encourages consumer savings.

The Akron area was chosen as a result of the Beacon Journal's Reclaim the Dream project, which encourages individuals to save money and reduce debt, and Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic's leadership of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in 2004 and 2005, during which time the Dollarwise savings program was launched.

America Saves is a national organization operating through the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America. Its advisory board includes the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the U.S. Treasury Department.

Details are still being worked out, but America Saves and the conference of mayors plan to offer special financial education events during Dollarwise Week, which starts Sept. 20. The initiative will continue until America Saves Week, which starts Feb. 22, 2009.

The initiative hopes to get each of the four cities, or ''Savings Communities,'' to come up with a savings goal, highlight real-life individuals and give them opportunities to partner with money counselors to remake their
budgets and to offer other financial education.

The Beacon Journal's Reclaim the Dream series began in June with a week of reports on how to manage household finances and continues with the profiling of five local families and how they are creating budgets to better manage their money. (See today's Business section.)

''Akron has your campaign to build on and an activist mayor,'' said Nancy Register, national director of America Saves and associate director of the Consumer Federation of America in Washington, D.C.

''[A] basis for doing something like this is a committed leader — someone who wants to do it — and also the community is interested and behind it. I think your series and your initiative provided the evidence in a real way. Akron seems to have a real sense of community.''

Plusquellic said he's fully supportive of the projects.

Dave Gatton, a senior staffer with the mayors' conference, said his group will use Akron's collaboration as a model for the three other communities.

The Reclaim the Dream project has been joined by WKSU-FM radio, PBS Channels 45 and 49 and the University of Akron to sponsor a public forum at E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall on Oct. 14. In addition, the offices of the mayor and Summit County executive are working with the Beacon Journal and the John S. Knight Center downtown for a financial fair on Oct. 18.

And since the Reclaim the Dream pledge drive was begun five weeks ago, Beacon Journal readers have pledged to save or reduce their debt by more than $315,000 over a six-month period. Specifically, readers have pledged to store away more than $142,000 toward a savings fund and reduce their debt by more than $173,000. A pledge form appears on the front page of today's Business section and is available online at Ohio.com.

Gatton said he'd love to see the four ''Savings Communities'' compete with each other, but since this is the first year, it's too early to know whether that will happen.

''If we can do [it] this year, we'd like to replicate it and get more places doing it the following year,'' Gatton said.

Akron's project and the other communities will become ''total pilots for the nation,'' Register said. ''We hope that next year as a result of your success, someone will challenge Akron to [save] more than you did.''