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Policy Matters

Thanks to the support of the Oregon Legislature, Oregon Housing and Community Services, and hundreds of donors throughout the state, Oregon has the most effective IDA Initiatives in the country.  With more than 1,100 graduates, Oregon's IDA Initiative has helped bolster the middle class by helping Oregonians develop long lasting life skills.  Participants have used the program to:

  • Launch new businesses.
  • Gain access to higher education and professional training.
  • Purchase homes in neighborhoods around the state.
As defined in statute IDA Participants are of low income.  The Oregon IDA Initiative assists participants in their efforts to join Oregon's middle class.  Through financial education and coaching participants learn skills that stay with them long after they graduate.  A survey of participants that completed the program found that their regular deposits to savings grew from 23% when they entered the program to 65% when they graduated.  Of those, 59% have started and emergency savings fund and 18% have started an IRA.