Conference Goals and Highlights

The 2004 IDA Learning Conference will bring together accountholders and leaders representing nonprofits, foundations, corporations, governments, youth initiatives, and financial and academic institutions to:

• Showcase Innovations and best practices that continue
  to strengthen the impact of asset-building initiatives.
  
  
• Highlight Opportunities to increase the number of
  accountholders through AFIA and other policies.
  
  
• Share Strategies to create millions of asset accounts for
  low-income families over the next decade.

Experience rich history and culture

The 2004 IDA Learning Conference will take place in New Orleans, Louisiana, home of Mardi Gras, the Hurricane, and, most important, a vibrant Louisiana IDA collaborative that has served over 1,730 individuals through its statewide network.

New Orleans is a contemporary city steeped in history that predates the United States. The city comes to life through its distinct and diverse culture: a melting pot of French, Spanish, African-American, Choctaw, Acadian, German, Italian, Irish, and Vietnamese influences.

New Orleans is known for unforgettable dining, intoxicating live music, Old World charm, and good time living. And the conference site, the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, is at the heart of it all.

Connect with new partners and old friends

For the first time, OCS is generously supporting this effort to convene the largest and most exciting IDA conference to date. Clarence Carter, director of OCS, is invited to address conference participants and highlight his vision for poverty alleviation and the role that assets strategies, particularly the Assets For Independence Act (AFIA), play in achieving it. OCS' participation in this conference is significant and holds great promise.

Other highlights include Time-to-Talk roundtables and lots of opportunities for fun, including a "A Taste of New Orleans" welcome reception and a special gathering—"Puttin' Salt on the Beans," an IDA Fais Do Do—sponsored by the Assets Alliance, a new organization designed to ensure effective technical assistance delivery of IDAs.

Share lessons and innovations

      Pre-conference Sessions (Optional)

• Introduction to IDAs
  Review the history and rationale of asset building, including the policy and practice of IDAs.
  
  
• Winning Communications Strategies to Advance IDAs
  Learn how to market the IDA/asset-building concept to funders, journalists, policymakers, and other key audiences.
  
  
• Developing, Growing, and Sustaining Regional Collaboratives
  Obtain resources to design and implement a substainable regional IDA collaborative that quickly reaches scale.

      Plenary Sessions

• Plenary Session 1 (Opening Session)
  Sharing our Visions
  Share visions for reaching millions of potential asset holders within the next decade. Panelists will discuss innovations in practice, policy, research, and market development and the roles stakeholders can play in achieving this significant goal.
  
  
• Plenary Session 2
  Poverty in America: Putting Assets in the Solution
  Reaffirm why assets matter and explore how, as many struggle to find solutions to the poverty puzzle, countless people in the IDA and assets field are transforming the lives of millions of low-income people.
  
  
• Plenary Session 3
  Celebrating How Far We Have Come and Where We are Going
  Join CFED in commemorating its 25th anniversary. CFED will celebrate the progress of IDAs by recognizing the accomplishments and innovations of the diverse field.
  
  
• Plenary Session 4
  Success Stories
  Enjoy IDA and asset-building success stories. A popular panel at past conferences, new asset owners will share how their lives have changed and what they are doing to help propel the movement forward.
  
  
• Plenary Session 5 (Closing Session)
  Forging our Paths: The Road to Sustainability
  Learn the practical steps along the paths to scale and sustainability. Panelists will explore how philanthropy helped build the field and discuss what it will take for the private sector and policymakers to support IDAs and asset-building accounts.