For more than 20 years, Southern Good Faith Fund has directly served Arkansas and Mississippi communities and influenced positive state-wide change.

Asset Builders
Increasing incomes alone cannot break the cycle of poverty; people also must build assets.

How?
• Matched savings accounts for buying a home, starting a business, or going to college
• Children’s college-savings accounts
• Homebuyer, credit, and foreclosure counseling
• Tax filing assistance and innovative banking products

Impacts:
• Total Assets Purchased: 595
• Accrued IDA Matched Savings: $1.3 Million
• Amount Leveraged in Mortgage Loans: $5.5 Million

Public Policy
Serving our mission at the local level is only a part of what we do; we also work at state, regional, and national levels through public policy.

How?
Our Public Policy program conducts research and applies the knowledge and experience of our direct-service programs to develop and advocate for policy change.

Impacts:
• Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) – $1.15 million annual state funding increase
• Aspiring Scholars Matching Grant Program – Almost 1,000 families enrolled in first year
• Minimum Wage – Coalition-led effort secured a raise for 127,000 Arkansans
• Payday Lending – Coalition-led effort helped close all payday lenders (peak number, 275) that once operated in Arkansas

 

The Power to Care
Since 2007, we’ve partnered with Entergy Arkansas and community agencies across our state to deliver utility assistance to low-income elderly and disabled customers in Arkansas.

Impacts
• Total Funds/Grants Awarded: More than $1.5 million
• Total Applications Processed: More than 9,000
• Total People Helped: More than 13,500
• AR Counties Served: 63 out of 75