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The hidden hand that uses money to reform troubled police departments

Kit Ramgopal Brenda Breslauer

July 19, 2020 |

NBC News |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Smaller cities that cannot afford costly payouts for civil settlements in police misconduct cases rely on liability insurance, which can act as a regulator when insurers demand reforms up to and including disbanding troubled departments. While police killings have decreased in large cities over the past six years, they have increased in the suburban and rural areas served by the vast majority of police departments. “Loss prevention” measures that require policy and personnel changes have been proven to work, but insurance that fails to police the police can also shield cities from accountability.

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Poor credit is a barrier to affordable housing. Lending circles are a tool for those in poverty

Nicole Hayden

February 14, 2020 |

Desert Sun |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Coachella Valley, California

Lift to Rise, a Coachella Valley nonprofit that pushes for housing and poverty policy change, launched a local lending circle program aimed at serving minority residents break the cycle of poverty. Partnered with San Francisco-based Mission Asset Fund, the lending circle helps those with poor credit or no credit at all to build up a spending history, have access to loans, create a savings account, improve their score, and more. Since 2008, Mission Asset Fund has partnered with more than 50 organizations across the U.S. to provide lending circles to more than 9,000 clients.

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Free the Floodplains!

Yen Duong

November 11, 2019 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Charlotte, North Carolina

There is a unique, homegrown local flood buyout program in Charlotte, NC that helps homeowners on floodplains relocate safely and with financial security. This came as a result of the city and county of Charlotte forming a joint storm water utility in the 1990's, which generated money by fixing aging pipes and other storm water needs—funding the local “Quick Buy” program. This gets the aid to the homeowners much quicker than FEMA money does and has since relocated 650 families and saved $25 million in losses.

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Bridges to Wealth tackles Philly's wealth gap through smart investment training

Alyssa Biederman

October 01, 2019 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

A University of Pennsylvania professor's observation of the wealth disparity in West Philadelphia led to the creation of Bridges to Wealth: a program that teaches financial literacy to marginalized communities who have historically been shut out of building wealth. College students in the program teach financial literacy to high school students alongside computer technology and technical skills. Bridges to Wealth has grown to offer personal finance and investing advice to adults as well as young students.

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There Is Power in a Debtors' Union

Hannah Appel

July 12, 2019 |

Dissent Magazine |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Debtors’ unions can use collective nonpayment of debts to fight against unfair lending practices. Amid the United States’ student loan financial crisis, debtor organizations like the Debt Collective leverage organization and collective action to seek financial justice. Prior to forming the Debt Collective, activists in the group Rolling Jubilee purchased and cancelled student debt portfolios from Corinthian Colleges Inc.

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Living with Fire Part 3: Private-sector approaches to a public problem

Amanda Eggert

July 11, 2019 |

Montana Free Press |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Bozeman, Montana

Wildfire Defense Systems is hired by insurance companies to send firefighting crews throughout 20 states to protect insured property at risk from wildfires. The company justifies its services as a needed supplement to overworked, publicly funded wildfire-fighting crews. Critics say it gives rich homeowners an unfair advantage. Since its founding in 2008, it has responded to nearly 600 fires, protecting millions of properties and saving insurance companies more than $750 million in potential claims.

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As Floods Keep Coming, Cities Pay Residents to Move

John Schwartz

July 06, 2019 |

The New York Times |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Nashville, Tennessee

The city of Nashville is a model for other U.S. cities focusing on how to deal with homes that are flooding more consistently than before. The National Flood Insurance Program exists to help insure homes that wouldn't be covered by private insurance; for some homeowners, the frustration of constant flooding is alleviated by the city's initiative to buy back those properties from their owners, turning them instead into more environmentally friendly parks, paths, and other flood buffers.

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Kenya: Livestock Insurance Causes Paradigm Shift in Addressing Drought

Duncan Mboyah

July 02, 2019 |

Science Africa |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Nairobi

In the Horn of Africa, the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation has introduced insurance schemes for pastoralists who rely on livestock farming but are at risk for ever-increasing droughts due to climate change. This is already helping some of the 20 million livestock herders across the region.

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How Agile working can solve tough challenges

Megan Clement

June 14, 2019 |

Apolitical |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Chile

To solve its country's toughest problems, the government of Chile, and its Government Lab, applies a problem-solving framework called Agile working. The methodology, which the Lab applies to 70% of its projects, involves an iterative approach to problems.

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Schools Aim to Teach Teens Financial Savvy

Anne Tergesen

March 23, 2019 |

Wall Street Journal |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Kentucky

A growing number of states have started to require financial education in high schools. Studies have shown that in states that mandate financial literacy classes as part of the core curriculum, students have less credit card debt and less expensive student loans.

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