An Individual Development Account, or IDA, is a special asset building savings account for low to moderate income individuals or families. Monies saved in an IDA are matched with philanthropic donations. As a result, one can receive another dollar or more for every dollar saved in an IDA. Typically, IDA savings and match money can be used to buy a house, pay for education, or start a small business. IDAs are usually offered through programs that involve partnerships between local non-profit organizations like BLCI, and financial institutions like CITI.
In 2008, Barrio Logan College Institute and CITI launched the College Bound Youth Asset Building Program. The program is designed to provide BLCI students with the opportunity to save and receive a 1:1 match for every dollar saved up to $500. All savings are restricted to expenses related to the pursuit of a post-secondary education. In addition to receiving matched funds for every dollar saved, participants will participate in a series of financial literacy courses. After signing up for the College Bound Youth Asset Building program, each student will open up their account with CITI Bank. BLCI will collaborate with CITI Bank to host the IDA accounts, and each month students will receive a report on their asset building progress.
Programs like BLCI establish their own criteria for how an IDA program works. In general, an IDA program can last for as short as one year or as long as five years from beginning to end. Participating students will be awarded with their earned matching funds once they have successfully met their savings goal. At BLCI, participants will be encouraged and monitored to reach their asset building goal, and once achieved, all funds saved and matched will support post secondary education expenses, such as text books, computers, and college tuition.