As the nation’s first nonprofit exclusively dedicated to improving the financial health and future for people with disabilities, National Disability Institute (NDI) has been the leader working at the intersection of the disability and asset development communities. What once started in the basement of a local D.C. bank has now expanded north, south, east and west, with footholds in 35 states across the country and growing. Indeed, much progress has been made, but much more work lies ahead.
Currently, there are more than 54 million Americans living with a disability, nearly 1 in 3 of which live in poverty. What can be done to help?
One way is by ensuring more service providers, including financial counselors, have the necessary tools to address the unique financial challenges of people with disabilities. In that spirit, NDI and the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education® (AFCPE®) joined together to create a three part webinar series to provide financial professionals with education around the Americans with Disabilities Act, discuss the variety of available public benefits and community resources, and connect disability service providers and their clients to financial professionals in their local community. The series has been a tremendous success and highlighted the transformative effect each and every financial counselor, and all those involved in financial planning, can have on the lives of people with disabilities.
So, what can you do to help? Join us!
If you are a financial counselor and want to learn how you can better serve people with disabilities, there is still time to register for the final webinar. Scheduled for Wednesday, December 3, 2014, from 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM, part three of the webinar series will provide an overview of the disability service system to help connect your clients with in the local community. In addition, you will learn about strategies to increase outreach to the disability community and on best practices to build the collaboration between financial counseling/coaching programs and the disability community. To sign up for the webinar, please click here to visit the registration page.
Financial counselors are a trusted source of advice and help to countless Americans, and NDI and AFCPE are working to make sure that includes people with disabilities. We’d love to have you on board!
National Disability Institute (NDI) is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to building a better economic future for people with disabilities. The first national organization committed exclusively to championing economic empowerment, financial education, asset development and financial stability for all persons with disabilities, NDI affects change through public education, policy development, training, technical assistance and innovative initiatives. NDI and its Real Economic Impact (REI) Network have helped more than 2.3 million people with disabilities receive nearly $2.3 billion in tax refunds and credits. To learn more, visit www.realeconomicimpact.org. Engage with NDI on Facebook: RealEconImpact or follow NDI on Twitter: @RealEconImpact
Michael Morris is the Executive Director of the National Disability Institute (NDI) in Washington, DC. Morris has over 30 years of experience in and outside of government pioneering new strategies to improve the lives of people with disabilities. Morris serves as an advisor and technical expert to multiple federal agencies on policy and systems relationships at federal, state, and local levels to advance economic stability, mobility, and asset development for persons with disabilities.
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