Prosperity Now

10/15/2026

How can we transform ingenuity into economic opportunity and lasting small business growth?

On November 5, Prosperity Now’s Atlanta Regional Summit will bring together leaders, practitioners, and community partners to examine the challenges and solutions shaping entrepreneurship and small business success.

Through eight breakout sessions, attendees will dive into some of the region’s most pressing questions: How can we close gaps in access to capital? What does it take to connect small businesses with new customers and contracts? And how can financial services, community partnerships, and business support systems better meet the needs of entrepreneurs?

From the child care businesses that support working families to the financial systems and market opportunities that help entrepreneurs succeed, these sessions will highlight promising approaches, persistent challenges, and opportunities for collaboration.

Swipe through to discover the breakout sessions and join us in Atlanta for the third and final stop of our 2026 Regional Summit Series.

Register today: https://web.cvent.com/event/b4339f6d-c258-4a84-ab0c-24ba008dfb55/register?RefId=Landing+page+-+Public+Reg+-+Atlanta+&rp=f0d54d95-d19c-4783-88a1-71d0f00052d2

10/13/2026

We're thrilled to announce that Prosperity Now is a finalist for The Anthem Awards in TWO categories!

Our Next-Generation Savings Readiness Report has been recognized in the Humanitarian Action & Services categories for:

- Trend, Insights or Impact Report

- Excellence in Data

This recognition highlights our work to advance child savings opportunities and support organizations with the research, insights, and tools they need to help families build financial security for the next generation.

Now we need YOUR vote!

We're also in the running for the Anthem Community Voice Award, and your support can help us bring this recognition home!

Vote here: https://celebrate.anthemawards.com/PublicVoting #/2026/health/industry-specific-program/non-profit

Voting closes October 29 at 11:59pm PT.

Thank you for supporting our work to expand economic opportunity for children and families!

10/07/2026

More than 200 tax practitioners, community organizations, financial institutions, technology leaders, funders, and policymakers representing 35 states came together in Minneapolis for Prosperity Now’s VITACon.

As communities prepare for the 2027 filing season, we launched our updated VITA Train curriculum and new Asset Building for Children (ABC) Initiative tools, practical resources designed to help practitioners support families as they claim tax credits, protect their refunds, navigate new child savings opportunities, and make informed financial decisions.

Throughout the day, participants explored Saver’s Match readiness, rural tax services, education partnerships, consumer protection, child savings, technology, and the power of trusted community relationships.

As Marisa Calderon, President and CEO of Prosperity Now, shared: “Tax time can put real money back into a household, and trusted VITA practitioners help families understand what they qualify for and what steps to take next.”

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Minneapolis and to our partners who make this work possible.

Learn more: https://prosperitynow.org/?p=7207&preview=true&_thumbnail_id=7208

Next stop: Atlanta on Nov. 5 for the third and final stop in Prosperity Now’s 2026 Regional Summit Series, focused on entrepreneurship and small business. Join us: https://web.cvent.com/event/04b670bd-5206-4310-a76e-c74c0dfc5752/summary?environment=P2&RefId=Landing+page+-+Public+Reg+-+Minn&rp=65202867-6bd6-44fc-b8a3-e4fbb5e60a72

10/07/2026

VITA programs asked for practical guidance, and the next ABC Initiative resources are now available.

Today at VITACon, Prosperity Now is releasing a frontline toolkit, talking-point guides, partnership guidance, adaptable communications resources, initial state and local fact sheets, and Spanish-language versions of the core training and priority tools. The package builds on the four-module train-the-trainer curriculum already available in Change Machine.

The work continues through December 15 with expanded localized materials, family-facing explainers, market activation resources and common reporting definitions ahead of the 2027 filing season.

Explore the resources: https://abc-changemachine.talentlms.com/plus/

The ABC Initiative is supported by Citi Foundation.

10/06/2026

Updated VITA Train materials for the 2027 filing season are now available.

Launched today at VITACon, the updated curriculum is designed to help VITA leaders and trainers prepare staff and volunteers, strengthen consistent processes, and work through filing-season readiness before sites open.

The training is part of Prosperity Now’s broader initiative to support VITA programs, including readiness webinars, technical assistance, peer learning, and practical guidance as tax rules and implementation details evolve.

Access VITA Train: https://login.circle.so/sign_in?request_host=network.prosperitynow.org

Made possible with funding from the Wells Fargo Foundation.

10/04/2026

As families navigate new tax and savings opportunities, what role can tax time play in helping them build greater financial security?

Next week at VITACon, our afternoon plenary, Tax Time and the Future of Financial Independence, will explore that question through conversations with leaders working across tax opportunity, child savings, philanthropy, and community-based services.

The plenary will feature a fireside conversation with Amanda Renteria, CEO of Code for America, and Marisa Calderon, President and CEO of Prosperity Now, followed by a discussion with Marco Chavarin, Senior Program Officer at Citi Foundation, and Ben K. Wikner, Executive Director of The Well Center at Cross Community, moderated by Chrissi Johnson, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at Prosperity Now. The conversation will look at how the trusted tax-time moment can connect families with information, resources, and savings opportunities, and what it takes to make those opportunities accessible in the communities families already turn to for support.

Explore the full agenda: https://web.cvent.com/event/04b670bd-5206-4310-a76e-c74c0dfc5752/websitePage:319bd3ef-50f0-49b1-9028-22919bbbc6d3?RefId=Landing+page+-+Public+Reg+-+Minn&rp=65202867-6bd6-44fc-b8a3-e4fbb5e60a72

10/02/2026

What families experience at tax time in 2027 is being shaped right now.

VITA organizations across the country are recruiting volunteers, planning outreach, and preparing for the tax, savings, and policy changes families will encounter in the next filing season.

On October 6, that work comes together in Minneapolis.

At VITACon, practitioners and leaders working across tax preparation, technology, savings and public policy will focus on what it takes to turn new policies and programs into resources families can actually understand and use, from preparing for the next filing season to helping parents navigate new child savings accounts.

The conversation will include Amanda Renteria, CEO of Code for America; Melvin Carter, CEO of FUSE and former Mayor of Saint Paul; Nisha Botchwey, PhD, Dean of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs; Evan Romanoff of the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office; Marco A. Chavarín of Citi Foundation; Julissa Calderon; Prosperity Now President and CEO Marisa Calderon; and practitioners doing this work every day.

As Marisa puts it: “What turns a policy into resources a family can use is a trusted local organization helping them take the next step.”

The decisions families will face next year are being prepared for now.

Read our latest media advisory for more on what’s ahead at VITACon and how organizations are getting ready for the 2027 filing season:

Rohit Chopra, Julissa Calderon, and Mayor Todd Gloria headline Prosperity Now's San Diego Regional Summit on August 12 at the University of San Diego.

10/02/2026

Melvin W. Carter III launched CollegeBound Saint Paul to give children a start on college savings at birth. What can other communities learn from that experience?

On October 6, the former Saint Paul mayor and new FUSE CEO joins Dave Uejio, Chief Operating Officer of Prosperity Now, and Dr. Dr. Nisha Botchwey, Dean of the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, for VITACon’s closing conversation, From Resilience to Prosperity: Building a City Where Families Can Thrive.

Carter brings experience turning local policy into programs families can use. Botchwey brings a perspective on how public policy and the places people live shape their health and opportunities. Uejio brings experience at the intersection of consumer protection, financial services, and public policy. The conversation will explore how trusted institutions, accessible tax services, and early investments in children can strengthen families’ financial security.

That connection runs throughout VITACon: helping families claim tax credits, connecting them with savings opportunities, and strengthening the organizations they turn to for support. This closing conversation brings those efforts together with the decisions local leaders make about the communities families call home.

Join us in Minneapolis on October 6 to explore what that means for your work and your community.

Register: https://web.cvent.com/event/04b670bd-5206-4310-a76e-c74c0dfc5752/register?RefId=Landing+page+-+Public+Reg+-+Minn&rp=65202867-6bd6-44fc-b8a3-e4fbb5e60a72

10/01/2026

For Marisa Calderon, the future of homeownership is not an abstract policy conversation. It's about whether families can still see a path from working and saving to owning a home.

At the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), Marisa drew from her family's experience and decades of work in housing to connect the pressures families are feeling today with the systems shaping their choices: rising prices, too few homes, access to affordable mortgage credit, and trusted guidance through an increasingly complicated market.

Her message was also about what comes next: Increasing housing supply, strengthening partnerships across sectors, and making sure financial institutions understand how families are actually navigating today's economy.

That same connection between people's day-to-day financial realities and the decisions shaping our economy is at the heart of Prosperity Now's Regional Summit Series.

Hear from Marisa and leaders from across the country at our next two stops:

📍 Minneapolis | VITACon | October 6

📍 Atlanta | November 5

Come be a part of the conversation: https://prosperitynow.org/events/

10/01/2026

Meet the Fall 2026 VITA Support Fund recipients.

With support from the Wells Fargo Foundation, 26 VITA organizations will receive grants of up to $20,000 to strengthen staffing, volunteer capacity, technology, outreach, language access, accessibility, and service delivery as they prepare for the 2027 filing season.

Funding is one part of a broader readiness strategy. On October 6 at VITACon, Prosperity Now will release updated VITA Train materials, followed by readiness webinars, technical assistance, peer learning, and practical guidance through the filing-season preparation period.

Meet the recipients: https://prosperitynow.org/prosperity-now-announces-fall-2026-vita-support-fund-request-for-proposals-funded-by-wells-fargo-foundation-2/

Supported by funding from the Wells Fargo Foundation.

Accounting Aid Society Arkansas Asset Builders BakerRipley Capital Area United Way Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of San Antonio, Inc. Center For Siouxland Hoosick Area Church Association