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FABN Joins the US-Mexico BPP
About the US-Mexico BPP
Census 2010 Initiative - A Success!

Building strong financial futures for working families in the Southwest Border

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"If you and your organization are serious about reducing poverty in your community, then being a member of FABN can assist by delivering a broader range of information and data of how similar Border communities are developing Family Economic Success models for low-income working families. Their work is tied to a national movement for debt-reduction and asset building programs."

Mark Alvarado
City of El Paso, Texas

The Frontera Asset Building Network (FABN) is a coalition of organizations striving to help working families increase their income, stabilize their financial lives and build wealth. FABN’s work focuses on those living along the southwest Border of the United States.

FABN fosters strong collaborative partnerships to leverage community resources to strengthen economic opportunities for working families.

The network is a dynamic learning community with over 80 members. Members offer an array of asset building strategies including:

• Free tax preparation assistance;
• Helping families claim Earned Income Tax Credits and Child Tax Credits;
• Providing Individual Development Accounts;
• Offering micro-enterprise opportunities; and
• Other asset building strategies.

FABN Joins U.S.-Mexico Border Philanthropy Partnership

FABN officially became part of the U.S.-Mexico Border Philanthropy Partnership (BPP) on June 1, 2010. The BPP and FABN have collaborated for many years. Most recently, both groups co-convened their annual meeting last October 2009, “The Border: A region of promise.”

In 2009, the BPP and FABN discussed the best possible way they could collaborate, support one another’s work and leverage resources for the greatest possible impact for border communities. After significant review and reflection, FABN’s advisory committee with BPP leadership agreed to join forces and become a single organization serving the border region.

Becoming part of the BPP brings many important benefits for BPP and FABN, as well as member organizations. Immediately, FABN will work closely with the BPP to ensure the successful implementation of its Family Economic Success program. Among other goals, this project aims to greatly impact asset building programs for low-income families in the border region including workforce development solutions, food security, and public policy advocacy.

FABN member organizations are invited to join the BPP to take advantage of the resources and opportunities this powerful union and BPP membership offers.

• Access to information, data, research and knowledge on current and future trends relevant to the well being of border communities;
• Capacity building including resource mobilization, marketing and communications, program development and leadership development;
• Access to organizations from along the border and across the US and Mexico;
• Inclusion in a bi-national forum that promotes stewardship and leadership on critical family economic success and quality of life issues regionally .

To learn more about BPP membership and its benefits click here

The U.S.-Mexico Border Philanthropy Partnership

The BPP is a bi-national membership organization that strengthens and grows community philanthropy in the US-Mexico border region by:

• collaborating and providing leadership on cross-border issues of common concern
• mobilizing more effective philanthropic resources to address border issues
• strengthening philanthropic capacity to further the sustainability of border communities

The BPP improves quality of life for the border region by inspiring and harnessing cross-border collaboration, leadership on issues of common concern and more effective philanthropic resources.

To this end, BPP offers products and services that help our members better serve their constituents including:

• data, research and general knowledge on trends affecting the region
• capacity building in particular for emerging foundations
• access to organizations and networks from across the border region, representing a spectrum of sectors
• inclusion in a globally unique bi-national forum that promotes stewardship and leadership

To learn more about the BPP visit their website

Census 2010 Initiative a Success

We thank all our members, partners and colleagues who helped make our Census 2010 initiative such a success.

We estimate that we helped over over 200,000 hard-to-count people living along the border be counted and we know we reached many more through our joint and collaborative efforts. The majority of these individuals were immigrants and/or undocumented persons, families with young children, families of mixed legal status and those living in transient communities including migrant farm workers.

Download the full report of the network's Census activities here.