Associated Ministries' mission is "building community that is humane, compassionate, and just." It is the lead agency for the Pierce County Asset Building Coalition, with its mission "To actively engage Pierce County residents in building prosperity."

Description:
The Pierce County Asset Building Coalition is a partnership of municipal and county governmental agencies, non-profit and faith-based social service agencies, banking and educational institutions, and charitable foundations. Partners support efforts to identify barriers to prosperity in Pierce County and help citizens protect and grow their assets. Our goal is to help low-income people become self-sufficient, contributing members of the community and its economy.

On the regional level, we work with asset building partners in neighboring counties to leverage resources for training, outreach, and education. At the state and national level, partners include members of the Washington State Legislature, Department of Financial Institutions, Community Trade and Economic Development, the Internal Revenue Service, and AARP, among others, who are impacting State and national policy and providing avenues for advocacy regarding asset building issues.

Too many families are “asset poor”—they do not have the resources to sustain themselves at the poverty level for a three month period if their income is halted. A temporary job loss or health problem can throw them into crisis. The PCABC grew out of a community concern and commitment to go beyond the safety net to help low-income wage-earners build and protect their assets, to understand and access the resources to which they are entitled, to become skilled in handling their finances, and to become financially literate so they expect and demand fair treatment in their efforts to move from poverty to self sufficiency.
Coalition partners are developing programs to give low-income wage-earners the tools they need to control, manage and increase their financial resources. Our areas of focus are:

•Improved outreach and education regarding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
•Free tax preparation by IRS trained and certified volunteers
•Electronic filing for rapid refunds
•Streamlined referrals to other social services programs
•Financial literacy education
•Protections from predatory lending, fraud, and consumer scams
•Improved access to mainstream banking services
•Individual Development Accounts enabling participants to save for long-range goals such as college, buying a home or opening a small business

History:
Associated Ministries was incorporated in 1969 as the association of churches throughout Pierce County. It has acted as an incubator for other organizations that are now tax-exempt charitable organizations in their own right: Emergency Food Network, Pierce County AIDS Foundation, and Habitat for Humanity are examples. Associated Ministries sponsors the annual Hunger Walk to support local food banks and anti-hunger work around the world. Associated Ministries conceived the idea of forming a coalition to help low-income people around the county, the basis of the Pierce County Asset Building Coalition. The coalition began in the fall of 2005 and established organizational structures in the spring of 2006.

Contact people:

Barbara Gorzinski, Program Manager, (phone), (email) Robin Mason, Administrative Assistant, (phone), (email)

Address:

1224 S. I St. Tacoma, WA 98405 (See a map)

Directions:

Associated Ministries is located on the corner of South 13th and South I St. in the hilltop neighborhood of Tacoma.   Nearest Bus Stop: 12th and Yakima St., 5 min. minute walk