Asset Building Strategies

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State Policy

Asset Building Strategies supports state legislators, advocates and intermediaries to advance policies and strategies that enable low- and moderate-income families to build financial assets. Services include research, planning, technical assistance and public presentations.

Projects:

  • Faculty/National Conference of State Legislatures

    Heather McCulloch has presented and served as faculty for national retreats for state legislators as part of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)/Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) Partnership on Family Economic Success (audio recording | Presentation [PDF]), NCSL-sponsored events in individual state capitols (e.g., presentation in Jackson, Mississippi [PDF]) and NCSL annual meeting (e.g., presentation to NCSL Labor and Economic Development Committee [PDF]).

  • Support for State Asset Policy Initiatives

    Asset Policy Initiative of California

    Heather McCulloch co-founded the Asset Policy Initiative of California/APIC—a statewide effort to advance policies that support low- and moderate-income families to build financial assets—working under contract with the San Francisco-based nonprofit, EARN. She served as the primary consultant to the initiative providing research, planning, outreach and facilitation services. She currently serves as a member of the APIC steering and executive committees, supporting EARN to plan and implement the APIC state policy agenda. She has presented on the work of APIC and other state asset policy initiatives to state legislators [PDF] and national audiences.

    Ho’owaiwai – The Hawai’i Asset Policy Initiative

    Informed by the work of APIC in California, the Hawaii Alliance for Community-Based Economic Development convened a statewide meeting in February 2004 to launch Ho’owaiwai – the Hawai’i Asset Policy Initiative. Ms. McCulloch supported the drafting of the framing paper for the meeting, “Families Defining Economic Success: Redefining Wealth and Poverty in Hawaii,” and served as a consultant to plan and facilitate the meeting. She has since continued to advise the initiative on a formal and informal basis.

    State Asset Leaders Learning Circle

    Under contract with the national asset-building intermediary CFED and supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Ms. McCulloch initiated and co-facilitated a gathering of state asset policy leaders, funders and asset-building intermediaries in 2005. Meeting participants have since formed the State Asset Leaders Learning Circle to share promising practices and key learnings from state initiatives underway around the country. Ms. McCulloch facilitated the first meeting of the group and has supported the planning for subsequent meetings on a formal and informal basis.

  • Brief: State Policy Options for Building Assets—New America Foundation

    Under contract with the New America Foundation, Heather McCulloch co-authored the report: “State Policy Options for Building Assets” [PDF], which describes a menu of state policies to support asset-building for low- and moderate-income households. The report aims to inform the work of state legislators and their staff, national intermediaries, statewide asset policy advocates and asset policy funders.

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Heather McCulloch is synonymous with asset building. She has made numerous presentations at meetings of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) where lawmakers give her high marks for her knowledge about asset building policies. She is the first person I go to for information about the field.

—Mary Fairchild, National Conference of State Legislatures

Heather possesses a rare, sterling combination of vision, leadership and management acumen. Her thought leadership on national and state issues were key as she helped found EARN’s policy arm, APIC, and her work has been replicated in states around the nation.

—Ben Mangan, CEO, EARN and Asset Policy Initiative of California