WEALTH CREATION

The Wealth Creation Initiative is designed to help Fresno families in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty build lasting financial stability. It advances two practical strategies: supporting families with the tools to grow their personal wealth and creating opportunities for residents to directly invest in neighborhood development.

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The first strategy, Shared Prosperity, equips families with resources to move toward financial security. This includes financial literacy training, workforce development programs, support for continuing education, and preparation for homeownership. By focusing on these areas, families are better able to manage their finances, access good jobs, and take the steps necessary to acquire assets such as a home.

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The second strategy, Community Investment Trusts (CITs), creates a pathway for residents to participate in local economic development. In this model, community members partner with an angel investor to purchase a vacant building and bring it back into use for commercial purposes. As the property generates revenue, dividends are shared between the investor and participating residents, ensuring that local families directly benefit from revitalization projects in their own neighborhoods.

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Several partner organizations bring these strategies to life. Helping Others Pursue Excellence (HOPE) leads the Community Investment Trust, offering entrepreneurs and business owners an opportunity to gain an ownership stake in Vision View, Fresno Airport District’s premier business center. United Way Fresno and Madera Counties leads Economic Mobility Programming, which provides customized support to develop individualized wealth-building strategies to help move individuals and families from financial hardship to long-term prosperity. This is done with immediate financial support through utility assistance, emergency funding and barrier elimination support, no cost tax preparation services, financial education about tax credits, ITIN status, and entrepreneurship, and increasing accessibility and knowledge of financial tools, including retirement funds, bank accounts, and trusts. In addition, the Advancing Fresno County Guaranteed Income Program provided a monthly supplement of $500 for one year to 150 low-income households with children under five in southwest Fresno and Huron, addressing concentrated poverty with direct financial support. The program was administered by the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission and is being evaluated by the Center for Community Voices at Fresno State. A report on the program’s impact and findings will be released by the end of 2025, with hopes that it will help inform future anti-poverty and wealth creation investments in the future. 

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Together, these approaches help families gain the tools to strengthen their financial position, while neighborhoods see reinvestment that residents themselves have a stake in. The result is more opportunities for families to build wealth and a more inclusive economy across Fresno.