FAQs for the
Individual Development Account Program
For the answer to a question, click on the question below or scroll down the page:
- How large would my program need to be in order for my church/ministry to effectively partner with the Chalmers Center?
- What will be the monetary cost in order to start an IDA program?
- What are the staffing requirements to start an IDA program?
- When is the deadline by which I need to enroll with the Chalmers Center?
- Who do I contact to begin partnership with the Chalmers Center?
Q. How large would my program need to be in order for my church/ministry to effectively partner with the Chalmers Center?
A. There are no scale requirements for participation in the program. One of the goals of the whole project is to demonstrate that IDAs not only work but flourish when done on a small, relational scale. For this reason we encourage everyone who is interested to participate. We do recommend, however, that you have multiple program participants. People are encouraged by fellowship around shared experiences. Moreover, it may be prudent to have three or four participants so that if someone does withdrawal from the program, peer support is still available.
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Q. What will be the monetary cost in order to start an IDA program?
A. Relative to the lasting effects on successful IDA participants, the cost will be fairly small. The primary financial burden will come from raising matching funds for the accounts. The actual cost will depend on a number of different programmatic factors including:
1) Match Rate
2) Match Cap
3) Target Asset
4) Number of Participants
Depending on your program’s decisions on these issues, matching costs per participant will probably begin around $1,000. The Chalmers Center believes that much of this money can be raised through local congregations. This approach to fundraising allows for the programmatic flexibility that is the strength of small scale IDA programs and permits the church to embody Jesus Christ by loving the financially poor. There are, however, other funding sources available.
There are a number of free financial education curricula available (i.e. Money Smart published by the FDIC) but others may require some sort of purchase or licensing fee. Some programs choose to ask their participants to attend training offered by other organizations. In this case, depending on the arrangement between your organizations, there will probably be some sort of class fee. Your organization will need to decide whether the IDA program, the participant, or a combination of both will bear that cost.
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Q. What are the staffing requirements to start an IDA program?
A. The time requirements for running an IDA program on a small scale are minimal. This is where the church and small church-connected ministries have a distinct advantage. Congregants can be given an opportunity to use their gifts in record keeping, teaching, mentoring, encouragement, kindness, and hospitality to form meaningful relationships with the participants. If congregant volunteers fill these rolls, all that remains is some type of coordination effort. On a small scale, it is possible to keep additional staffing requirements to an absolute minimum, if they are necessary at all.
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Q. When is the deadline by which I need to enroll with the Chalmers Center?
A. The Chalmers Center envisions this project as being an on-going process. Therefore there is no deadline for enrollment. Please feel free to contact us at any time.
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Q.Who do I contact to begin partnership with the Chalmers Center?
A. Please contact:
IDA Program Officer
Chalmers Center
14049 Scenic Highway
Lookout Mountain, GA 30750
Phone: 706-956-4119
E-mail: info@chalmers.org
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