As we recover from COVID-19’s financial devastation, how can we reimagine a more equitable future for the immigrant workers who kept our country moving forward? In this pivotal moment, we need bold policies and investments that meet people where they are with dignity and respect. In The Future of Building Wealth, a compilation of essays from leaders around the country, MAF CEO José A. Quiñonez offers MAF’s vision for showing up and doing better for immigrant families. Our community-centered approach embraces the complexity of immigrant families’ financial lives and develops elegant, timely, and culturally relevant solutions that meet their financial needs.

In 2015, MAF’s CEO José Quiñonez was invited to contribute MAF’s perspective to a joint publication from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED), with the support of the Citi Foundation. The resulting book titled What It’s Worth: Strengthening the Financial Future of Families, Communities, and the Nation, is a collection of more than 30 essays that document the financial health and stability of Americans across the country. The authors put forth promising strategies for improving economic security and mobility in low-income and underserved populations.

In MAF’s piece, “Latinos in the Financial Shadows” highlights the informal lending practices common among immigrant communities, documenting the important role they play in the lives of people operating outside the financial mainstream. It reviews MAF’s strategy for formalizing these informal financial relationships through our Lending Circles program and attests to the impact of our work.