Quick tour

Automated guide to a few favorite features


Issues

Break down the issues here

Strategies

Learn ways to take action here

Donor Link

Join the community here

Getting started

New to giving? Start here.

Safe & Stable Families

Print this page
Issues » Safe & Stable Families


How can my giving contribute to the physical and financial security of low-income families and neighborhoods? 

An abiding sense of insecurity, both physical and financial, is perhaps the most devastating feature of poverty. Increasing the physical and financial security of low-income communities, often on a family-by-family basis, is critical to a community’s long-term viability.

Safer families can be the result of community policing efforts, domestic violence programs and increased engagement in community affairs and decision-making. On the financial side, programs that help families establish mainstream banking relationships, avoid predatory lenders and save for the future lead to greater self-sufficiency and self-esteem.

Taken together, this increased security offers the breathing room needed for low-income families to play more active and positive roles in their neighborhoods and communities.

To learn how your giving can support efforts to enhance the physical and financial security of low-income families, read on.

Learn More About Safe & Stable Families


Measure the Results

Making a Difference

andersen fdn

Hugh J. Andersen Foundation: quiet philanthropy bucks trends and credit

Created in 1962 “to better people's lives and strengthen communities”, the Hugh J. Andersen Foundation does pretty much the opposite of what many foundations do. “The Hugh J. Andersen Foundation is not about making a huge, immediate impact and leveraging big dollars; we’re about doing many small, good things in our area,” says program director Brad Kruse.

Created by Andersen Family members, founders and owners of the Bayport, Minnesota-based Andersen Corporation, the Hugh J. Andersen Foundation's primary geographic area of focus is the St. Croix Valley, a mix of rural, suburban and urban communities that span the Minnesota/Wisconsin border just east of the Twin Cities. The Foundation primarily supports nonprofits in Washington County in Minnesota, and Pierce, Polk and St. Croix Counties in Wisconsin. Read More…

Search all stories »


Facts & Figures

  • The Center for American Progress takes a look at several claims made recently regarding the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, and provides clarification on many misleading issues.
  • Consumer counselors from six nonprofit groups are fielding phone calls from troubled homeowners dialing an 800 number for help. The volume of calls has recently increase from 300 a day to 3,000 a day.
  • Two-thirds of the states with the highest standards for Pre-Kindergarten quality are in the South.
  • More than 11 million parents lack health insurance, most of whom are not eligible for coverage under Medicaid
  • Health insurance premiums have jumped 87% since 2000, about four times the rate of wage increases.


In the News

  • A focus on bringing all students to academic proficiency risks leaving behind a group of promising students: high-achieving children from lower-income families, contends a new report by The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and Civic Ventures. There are about 3.4 million K-12 children who fit this description, according to this publication. Read More...
  • Giving by the nation's 707 community foundations reached $3.6 billion in 2006, finds a new report by the Foundation Center.  Community Foundations' estimated giving in 2006 rose 13.2 percent, surpassing the rate of increase for independent and corporate foundations. Read More...
  • America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2007, is a collection of sophisticated data at state and national levels to share information on child well-being in the U.S.   Provided by the Forum on Child and Family Statistics, a public-private entity, this information is used to inform policy makers and the public alike.  Read More...