According to the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED), over 1.3 million American children born each year – and more than half of minority children – are born into families with negligible savings to invest in their futures.

The Alabama Asset Building Coalition has partnered with the Birmingham (Alabama) Childcare Resources to develop a Children's Savings Accounts Programs (CSA) program to assist working Alabama families with the cost of child care, provide parents with financial coaching and help children save for college.

The program is called Building Brains and Bank Accounts. The program has the potential to expand educational and economic opportunity for low- and moderate-income families. Building Brains and Bank Accounts aims to change the dialogue in the home to include resources and an actual plan for sending a child to college.

Parents enrolled in this program will be recipients of financial assistance for child care, administered by Childcare Resources; will receive financial coaching by Gateway Financial Freedom; and will establish Child Savings Accounts (CSA) with matching funds provided by PNC Bank. Alabama Asset Building Coalition will administer the CSA’s and Southern Regional Asset Building Coalition will provide technical assistance. New Rising Star Community Development Federal Credit Union (Birmingham) will serve as the home financial institution for establishing the accounts. For more information about the program, please contact The Alabama Asset Building Coalition at [email protected].