It's tough for many people to save for a rainy day, setting aside a few dollars for emergencies or a vacation.
Try doing it when every penny is dedicated to food, rent and paying a dental bill because you don't have insurance.
A new statewide program aimed at reducing poverty rates by encouraging savings celebrated its kick-off Thursday, giving a loud thank-you to numerous participating nonprofit agencies and corporate sponsors willing to finance the effort.
The thrust of the Utah Individual Development Account Network is to help low-income families establish a savings account so they can build assets.
For every dollar saved, institutions will kick in another $3.
Participation in the program requires a minimum of a year and up to 36 months, strictly monitored, and can result in $6,000 that can be used to purchase a home, pay for education or finance a small-business startup.
"The whole thing is really designed to help people get out of poverty by acquiring assets," said Martha Wunderli, program coordinator. "Most of the existing programs out there are simply money into the pocket for basic needs like food and shelter."
Overseen by Utah Issues, the program has five pilot sites scattered throughout the state: the Salt Lake Community Action Program, the Housing Authority in Salt Lake City, the Erin Kimball Foundation in Southern Utah, Community Action Services in Utah, Wasatch and Summit counties and the Family Connection Center in Davis County.
Wunderli says this type of management structure allows Utah Issues to coordinate the operations of the program, which is then delivered to the nonprofits' clients without having to have it developed separately.
"These network models allow more people to be served at a wider variety of areas throughout the the state," she said.
Individual Development Accounts began in 1993 and grew into a national initiative in 49 states. Utah passed legislation in 1997 to form IDAs, but they did not begin here until 2002, when Salt Lake Neighborhood Housing launched its program.
Wunderli said building the assets of Utah's low-income families is crucial.
"This is a new strategy for ending poverty," she said. "Middle-income people have been asset-building for years. If you buy a home and do nothing but mow the lawn, you are building equity."
Wunderli noted that while 10.2 percent of Utahns live below the poverty line, 20 percent qualify as asset poor, meaning one fifth of Utahns do not have sufficient net worth to survive three months without income.
The genesis of the statewide program began in September 2002, after Wunderli said Federal Reserve representatives pitched the idea to the Utah banking community and nonprofit organizations.
More than a dozen financial institutions have signed on to participate in the program, which has income eligibility standards and will also include mandatory financial literacy classes for participants.
"That is the beauty of this," she said. "The bankers do more than just give money, they are giving us their fiscal expertise, and we can pass that on."
E-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com