Alexandra Hernandez's blog
MAF’s Charla Financiera Series Gets Off the Ground with the ITIN
On Wednesday, November 19th, MAF convened it’s first “Charla Financiera” or Financial Talk about the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) process at Centro del Pueblo in the Mission. The event featured IRS speakers, Xavier Guerrero and Patrick Brown, ACORN representative Graciela Reyna and Ricardo Calderon from CARECEN. The event convened community members and experts as well as community organizations in an effort to provide crucial and needed information about the ITIN application process, benefits and the resources available to help people obtain the ITIN.
As MAF helps individuals to asset build and save, it recognized the ITIN as the paramount gateway activity to increase participation in the financial mainstream. Obtaining the ITIN is the first step towards gaining financial stability for many working-class Latino immigrants who don’t qualify for a social security number; with an ITIN they can access mainstream financial services for cheaper fees.
MAF launches innovative Cestas Populares
Social Compact found that 44% of all families in the Mission District have no credit histories. Without credit, Mission families are locked out of the credit market all together, forced to turn to high-cost, predatory lenders for their financial needs.