The mission of Co-opportunity is to create neighborhood stability and economic prosperity by increasing the income, earnings and wealth of residents of the Greater Hartford region. Co-opportunity accomplishes this by providing services in the areas of financial education and counseling; workforce development; and asset building, including homeownership. Co-opportunity envisions a community where residents have the personal skills and financial assets sufficient to assure stable futures for themselves and their families.

Description:
Co-opportunity serves primarily low- and moderate-income Hartford residents. A prominent local innovator in the field of human services, Co-opportunity operates Youth Build Hartford, a comprehensive education, vocational training and leadership development program for 18 – 24 year-old disengaged and at-risk youth and young adults. Co-opportunity is a HUD-approved housing counseling agency providing housing counseling, homebuyer education, landlord training and rental and default prevention counseling to area residents. The agency coordinates the annual Earned Income Tax Credit campaign in Hartford, which in 2007 directed the efforts of 10 community-based and institutional partners to provide free tax electronic income tax preparation and financial education and savings opportunities to over 3650 filers. Co-opportunity serves as the lead agency for the Hartford Asset Building Collaborative, a coalition of community-based organizations, financial institutions and other private funders dedicated to promoting Hartford residents’ family economic security through financial education and asset building programs. In this capacity, Co-opportunity is a key contributor to the United Way of the Capital Area's Working Families Initiative, providing coordination and training to WFI's budget coaching component.

History:
Co-opportunity was founded in 1987, with the primary mission of supporting the development of limited-equity housing cooperatives through technical assistance, training and advocacy. From that start the agency broadened its focus to housing counseling and homebuyer education.
In 1997, recognizing that stable incomes are prerequisites to homeownership and financial security and building on its reputation as a highly effective training provider, Co-opportunity launched YouthBuild Hartford. With major support from HUD and the city, YouthBuild has been making significant contributions to Hartford’s workforce development efforts from its inception. YouthBuild Hartford is currently the only YouthBuild program in Connecticut.
In 2001 Co-opportunity moved ahead in two significant areas. It became a HUD certified housing counseling agency, one of three in Hartford. In this role, it assists hundreds of families each year, including numerous referrals from CHFA, Hartford Habitat for Humanity, and other partners. Co-opportunity was recognized by the Connecticut Mortgage Bankers’ Association in 2004 with its Annual Affordable Housing Award “for contributions made to improve access to affordable housing in the State of Connecticut.”
Also in 2001 Co-opportunity launched the first Individual Development Account program in the capitol region and oversaw the founding of the Hartford IDA Collaborative, now known as the Hartford Asset Building Collaborative. As the Collaborative’s lead agency and as a result of its commitment to financial education, savings, and other asset building strategies that foster family economic success, Co-opportunity became a United Way partner agency in 2004.
In 2005 Co-opportunity embarked on its most recent major initiative. It assumed responsibility for managing the annual Hartford EITC s Campaign. As a result of its efforts over the last three years the Campaign achieved a 73% increase in the number of filers served and returned approximately $23.5 million to the local economy.
As a result of its work promoting increased economic security for residents of greater Hartford, in 2006 Co-opportunity was recognized by the Bank of America with one of its highly competitive Neighborhood Builders Awards.

Contact people:

Donna Taglianetti, Executive Director, (phone), (email) Timothy Cole, Director - Development And Community Relations, (phone), (email) Laura O'Keefe, Volunteer Manager, (phone), (email)

Address:

20-28 Sargeant Street Hartford, CT 06105 (See a map)

Directions:

From I-91 or I-84 West Take 1-84 West, Exit 48 Asylum Street. Stay in far right lane off exit. Take first right before traffic light onto Garden Street. Go through 3 lights. Sargeant Street is your next. . . (more) For maps or information, please see http://www.cttransit.com/