Posted on June 9, 2008

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Oklahoma Adopts Ford Foundation-Sponsored Children's Savings Account Program

The State of Oklahoma has announced a pilot program to test the effect of long-term savings accounts for children designed to provide them with a financial nest egg to grow over the course of their lifetimes.

SEED for Oklahoma Kids is the largest in a national $25 million initiative supported by the Ford Foundation to test the impact of children's savings accounts on families, while promoting saving and opening the door to education, employment, and homeownership later in life. Similar programs are being piloted in a dozen other communities throughout the country, including Chicago, St. Louis, Philadelphia, and Austin.

The Oklahoma program will provide a thousand newborns with a $1,000 start-up account that will help fund their college education. Families can add to the accounts and in some cases receive matching funds from partnering institutions.

"The Ford Foundation believes that helping families save for the future is key to promoting economic and social mobility among all Americans, especially low-income households," said Frank DeGiovanni, director of economic development at the foundation. "Our funds serve as risk capital to develop the best new strategies to help more families enter the economic mainstream."

“Landmark Children's Savings Accounts Program Launches in Oklahoma With Support From the Ford Foundation.” Ford Foundation Press Release 6/04/08.

Primary Subject: Children and Youth
Location(s): Oklahoma

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