Our Mission:
help low-income single working mothers enhance their wealth building capacity through Homeownership and the application of basic financial and behavioral economics principles.
Our Work
Equitable Opportunity Initiative's aim is to help low-income single working women enhance their wealth building capacity by addressing what the US Census Bureau researchers have determined to be the most significant determinants of household wealth, owning a home and having a retirement account.
Money Management
Our money management program is about helping her better understand basic financial principles and better understand her relationship with money so she can make better financial decisions. Also, our money management program can assist in stemming the cycle of poverty. Studies have shown that when parents teach their kids about money it affects how they handle money as adults.
The Financial Basics
There is a strong link between financial literacy and financial wellness. Those who are more financially literate are more likely to plan and save for retirement, to have non-retirement savings and to better manage their debt; they are also less likely to be financially fragile. The program covers 6 areas of essential financial principles.
• Setting financial goals and objectives.
• Creating a spending plan or budget.
• Effectively saving money. (Saving with a purpose).
• Investing, including retirement accounts.
• Reducing debt.
• Maintaining good credit.
Behavioral Economics
By being aware of some common Behavioral Economics principles, our participants will be able to employ better practices to help them save more, spend less, and plan ahead for their financial goals. The program covers 3 behavioral economic heuristics that may affect their decision making.
-
Loss aversion.
-
Present bias.
-
Hyperbolic discounting.
Information Retainment
EOI program participants will receive a call to action twice a month, encouraging them to either use, teach, write about, or apply the information they have learned. This is because higher percentages of information retention come from immediately using the information or teaching, writing, or doing something with it.”
Homeownership Pilot Program
The second step in helping our program participants enhance their wealth-building capacity is creating homeownership opportunities.
We will begin our homeownership opportunities program in Midwestern and Southern States where the price-to-rent ratio is more favorable. We believe that success in steps 1 and 2 will give us a sound foundation to promote our plan to create affordable housing opportunities in Los Angeles County and, hopefully, with other organizations following suit in cities across the U.S.
The LA Plan
Equitable Opportunity Initiative's aim to help low-income single working women is more than a wealth building solution. It is a social justice solution. It is a way to address the racial and gender wealth gaps created and perpetuated by the traditional housing system. It is a way to give low-income single working women the opportunity to achieve financial stability, build wealth, impact their communities, and create a more equitable and inclusive society for everyone.
The Woman Behind EOI
Roberta has always been everybody’s mom, so it is no surprise that after she retired from 35 years in the hospitality industry, she started a nonprofit organization called Equitable Opportunity Initiative.
“Although the focus of this work is directed upon the economic stability of low-income single working women, I firmly believe that this will benefit our communities; most of our program participants are mothers and from them come the community.”
R.A. Enriquez