National Council of La Raza: Topics

Community and Family Wealth-Building

Community and Family Wealth-Building Related Content Related Publications (73) Related News Items (134) Related Events (4) Related FAQs (3) Related Viewpoints (51)

The mission of the NCLR Community Development program (NCLR-CD) is to build healthy communities through the creation of social, political, and economic wealth. NCLR seeks to measurably increase the level of liquid, nonliquid, and institutional assets held by the Hispanic/Latino community. This will be measured both by the wealth of individual families and the amount of capital assets controlled by Latino institutions. Latinos hold fewer assets than other Americans, proven by virtually every tangible standard. NCLR brings considerable resources to this issue, a strong track record in community development, the largest Hispanic Community Development Finance Institution (CDFI) providing low-cost capital to communities, and demonstrated capacity to analyze and shape public policy. The principal barrier to increasing the community’s wealth is the lack of access to capital such as home mortgages, small business loans, commercial loans, and ownership of community facilities. The programs provided under Community Development to address these issues are the NCLR Homeownership Network, Real Estate Development, the Raza Development Fund (www.rdf-nclr.org), Economic Mobility Centers, and the Asset Development Initiative. See program descriptions below for more information on each of these.

Related Programs

Asset Development Initiative (ADI): The Asset Development Initiative tackles public policy issues such as access to financial services, financial education, auto and mortgage lending discrimination (asset protection), homeownership, and retirement wealth challenges including Social Security reform.
NCLR Community Development Programs: The NCLR Homeownership Network (NHN) consists of 43 NCLR affiliates in 20 states, funded by HUD and the private homebuying industry.
Technical Assistance: The Community Development department uses a “Partnerships of Hope” model for technical assistance, which requires mutual agreements with specific outcomes and deliverables from each party.
Raza Development Fund: The Raza Development Fund, Inc. (RDF) is a support corporation of the National Council of La Raza, established in 1998 as the community development lending arm of NCLR.
Economic Mobility Centers: Economic Mobility Centers assist Latino families to work through Community Based Organizations (CBOs) and financial institutions to connect to an array of affordable financial services.
Affiliate Awards Program: The Affiliate Member Services (AMS) administers annually two separate awards for NCLR Affiliates: the Family Strengthening Awards and the Affiliate of the Year Award.

Related Policies

Federal Policies

Tax Reform: Taxes are key to making sure that Latinos are served well and fairly. A progressive tax system ensures that those who can afford to pay do so.
Latino Credit Card Use: Increasing Latino access to affordable credit.
The Federal Budget: Given the importance of the federal budget for America’s communities, the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) recognizes that it is essential for Latinos to be engaged in the dialogue, which shapes national budget priorities.
Remittances: With over half the Latino population in the U.S. remitting funds to their families and friends abroad, reforming the remittance transfer market is critical for the Latino community.
Protecting Assets and Wealth: With growing economic clout, Hispanics – especially those who have limited proficiency in English – have become a more attractive target for predators in the marketplace.
Homeownership: Increasing Latino homeownership is critical to building wealth in the Latino community.
Social Security Reform: In 2018, it is projected that Social Security will begin to pay out more than it will generate in tax revenues. Several proposals have been developed for bringing Social Security into long-term balance. A major change to the current system’s structure could have serious implications for Latino retirees.
Retirement Security: Retirement security is important because the strength of a worker’s retirement wealth portfolio dictates his/her economic well-being, and that of the workers’ family during retirement years.
Access to Financial Services: While income from work remains key to the economic progress of Latinos, assets and financial wealth, which are built and improved through savings and checking accounts, stocks, bonds, and homeownership, have become increasingly important to ensuring the long-term financial security of families.
Financial Counseling: The need for financial education in the U.S. has led to an increase in financial education products and programs.