The Arizona Saves Staff

Arizona Saves has had its best year yet. Here are a few of our accomplishments for 2008:

• Strong Partnerships!  As a volunteer-driven organization, we rely on our partners for marketing and outreach to low- and moderate-income families.  Key partners include IRS Volunteer Tax Prep Sites in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe; City of Phoenix family services centers, Bank of America vanguard volunteers who have adopted community partners who want financial education, Catholic Community Charities, Meridian Bank, and many other organizations.
  
• Staff!  We now have 5 member staff with 3 new positions: Assistant Director, Volunteer Manager & Adult Program Coordinator, part time Site Coordinator and Administrative Assistant (+ AmeriCorps VISTA for Kids Save Program)
• Volunteers!  Arizona Saves hosted 10 train-the-trainer events, attended by 203 individuals; 72 of these became active volunteers teaching community workshops.  Their 1,670 hours served equate to $33,400 of volunteer, in-kind value to Arizona Saves.
• Enhanced Curriculum & Handouts!  Our dynamic curriculum responds to the feedback of our target audience, volunteers and partners.  Spanish-language handouts have been developed (thanks to Lauren Brandt!) to meet the needs of our partners requesting bi-lingual workshops
• Cost Effective!  As a volunteer-driven organization, our hard cost per workshop is about $10 per adult participant.
• Crisis Budget Program!  Arizona Saves' response to distressed homeowners affected by the foreclosure crisis and economic downturn is in full swing.  Our Crisis Budget training is a nationally recognized program based on Neighborworks curriculum for foreclosure prevention.  Twelve (12) active volunteers teaching workshops with Arizona Saves program partners NHS Phoenix to help homeowners facing possible foreclosure.
• Outcomes!  We developed a Financial Profile survey developed based on Annie E. Casey Centers for Working Families guidelines to track and evaluate the impact of financial education.
  

Hours served by Awardees:

Noemi Garcia from Concerned Citizens for Community Health (left) and Peggy Romero-Reyes from the City of Phoenix at the annual meeting.

Lauren Brandt (left) presents Susan

Erickson of Northern Trust Bank (right) with an Adult
Financial Instructor award.

 Arizona Saves 2008 Media Report

The media report covers website traffic by quarter.  The month and dates with the most website traffic numbers will be noted. This report also includes the number of times Arizona Saves was featured in a written publication or broadcast on the radio or on television.  Other topics incorporated in this report are the electronic newsletter and brochure distribution numbers.

Website Traffic Report for December 2007 -November 2008

Arizona Saves AmeriCorps *VISTA,

Veronica Loper

Technical Definitions:                                         

• Hit - A request for a file from the web server.  A website receives a hit any time that a page is accessed. 
• View - a page view is each time a visitor views a webpage on your site, irrespective of how many hits are generated.
  
• Visit - A series of requests from the same uniquely identified client with a set timeout. A visit is expected to contain multiple hits and page views. 

Website Statistic Findings:

• The total number of visits, views, and hits increased in each quarter of 2008. We recorded a total increase of 5,539 visits, 8,637 views and 45,571 hits per quarter. 

• The month of October 2008 received the most traffic, with 5,402 visits, 11,675 views, and 61,099 hits.  This statistic could be in correlation with increased media coverage for Arizona Saves.  During October, Call 12 for Action aired the "Family Budget Challenge" series, Arizona Saves' Financial Education Symposium was publicized, and several articles on the Crisis Budgeting and Foreclosure Prevention workshops were published.

• Website traffic skyrocketed when Jennifer Quillin was interviewed by Channel 12 to speak about Arizona Saves' Crisis Budget Workshop on 6am, November 11, 2008. That Wednesday's views, visits and hits were double that of the previous Wednesday and of the day before.
  

Arizona Saves 2008 Publication Log

Arizona Saves was featured a total of 14 times in written publications in 2008.   Newspaper articles, online articles, and community publications are incorporated in the category of written publications.  Some of the key publications include Arizona Republic, Sedona Red Rock News and the Arizona Capital Times.  October was the busiest month for Arizona Saves media coverage in written publications.  Foreclosure prevention and budgeting were the most recurring topics in relationship to Arizona Saves.  Please view the provided media report for more detail on the dates, topics and staff featured in each publication.

Arizona Saves 2008 Broadcast Log

Arizona Saves was featured in on-air broadcasts at total of 20 times in 2008.  We were featured seven times on Channel 12 and 13 times on several radio stations broadcast throughout the Valley.  Arizona Saves was featured several times on Call 12 for Action's "Family Budget Challenge" series in which three local families took on the challenge of saving as much money as possible during the month of October.  Arizona Saves' was the go to organization for helping these families find ways to manage their money.  Arizona Saves' assistant director, Jennifer Quillin, hosted an online blog in which she shared information about budgeting and saving. 

Other Important Media Information for 2008

• Over 4,320 Arizona Saves brochures were distributed to community partners from May 2008 until now. 

• On June 25, 2008, Arizona Saves developed its first electronic newsletter through Constant Contact's online email marketing software.  Since then, the e-newsletter has been distributed to over of 1,200 of Arizona Saves partners, board members, clients and volunteers.  The electronic newsletter will continue to be sent out on a quarterly basis to communicate to all people affiliated with the organization.  

10 Smart Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund

Its YOUR Money, DON'T BLOW IT

By Jennifer Quillin, Assistant Director

Are you among those pondering what to do with your tax refund?  You might immediately spend it on consumer electronics, retail goods, gas, and dinners out at your favorite neighborhood eatery.  This gives our flagging economy a jolt of energy and really puts the FUN in Refund!

We suggest that you are smarter than that. Put your extra money to use where it will do you the most good!  Remember YOU are the CEO in charge of your own money, so where can it do the most good?

Here are 10 suggestions from experts for smart ways to spend the windfall:

1. LOWER YOUR DEBT AND CREDIT CARD BALANCES:  Your refund is free money that can go toward very expensive interest and debt.  Pay down the balance on credit cards, starting with the one with the highest interest rate.  Also, pay off old debt or collections that are hanging over your head.

2. EMERGENCY SAVINGS:  Establish an emergency savings fund. Absolutely everyone needs at least $500 in the bank.  Go a step further and shoot for $1,000.  Experts suggest 3-6 months' living expenses, but everything helps. Keep the money in an interest-bearing savings account.  Now you'll will have money available for irregular or unexpected bills like insurance, car registration, new tires, dental emergencies, etc.

3. IMPROVE YOUR CREDIT:  Consult with a credit expert (visit www.moneymanagement.org or www.arizonahcc.org) who provides credit counseling to determine how to improve your credit score by paying down debt, paying off collections or judgments, etc.  A higher credit score means big savings in interest on future financing & insurance premiums.

4. GET AHEAD:  Pay for monthly recurring expenses, such as child care, utilities, prescriptions, insurance premiums, student loan payments or rent. Don't be in the position of having to use a credit card to pay for summer air conditioning bills.

5. BUILD HOME EQUITY:  Apply the refund as your DOWN PAYMENT on your first house!  Or, if you're a homeowner, add the refund to your next mortgage payment, which will build up equity in your home and reduce the amount of interest you pay over the life of the loan.  HOME MAINTENANCE:  Repair nagging house problems that will only get worse, such as plumbing leaks or termite infestation.

6. PAY MEDICAL COSTS:  Pay down medical debt, or pay for much-needed, delayed medical procedures.

7. STOCK-UP:  Purchase several months' worth of supplies you use frequently, such as household cleaning products, paper products, frozen food, pet food or diapers.

8. CAR REPAIR:  Use the refund to keep your car in tiptop shape. (The cheapest car to drive is the one you already own, when you're keeping up on oil changes and doing regular maintenance.)

9.  RETIRE:  Remember the journey to your golden years starts with the first $100.  (A)  If you've been afraid to enroll in your workplace 401(k) plan because of the hit on your take-home pay, use your refund to ease the transition.  (B) Throw $300 into a savings account paying 4%, add that much every year until you retire, and if you're in your 20's now, you'll wind up with about $30,000.  Enough to retire on, no but a lot better than retiring with nothing.

10. COLLEGE FUND:  Begin, or add it to a child's college fund or one for yourself.