Individual Development Accounts
Individual Development Accounts
Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) help you develop the financial skills needed to save for life-changing economic transformations, such as homeownership and going to school. IDAs provide a 5:1 match to your monthly savings, for one or two years.
Registration requires an annual DevNW Membership.
Build your saving muscles, watch your savings grow.
IDA participants earn matched savings toward the purchase of major assets, such as their first home, post-secondary education, a vehicle, or assistive technology for work.
An IDA works by providing a 5-to-1 match for your savings up to certain limits.
DevNW receives state funds to make the IDA program possible. The match money is a grant to you; it is not a loan and does not need to be paid back. Learn more about the Oregon IDA Initiative here.
General Eligibility Requirements
You must meet the following general eligibility requirements to participate in the program:
- Be an Oregon Resident.
- Have a household adjusted gross income, according to household size, at or below 80 percent of the median for your county. Check here for details.
- Have a household net worth at or below $20,000.
How Does the Program Work?
As an IDA participant, you have several responsibilities:
- Complete a total of 16 hours of education — eight hours of financial education (start with our Financial Foundations class series) and eight hours of education specific to the asset you are saving for. You must sign up for a DevNW Membership and complete Financial Foundations prior to enrollment. Click here to find a class near you.
- Demonstrate your ability to save by saving at least $25 in your own savings account for two consecutive months before applying for the IDA program (you may do this while you are completing Financial Foundations ).
- Work with a DevNW Asset Building Specialist to create a budget based on 30 days of tracked expenses, reflecting your ability to save on a monthly basis to reach your savings goal.
- Establish a savings goal and timeline for completion including making regular monthly deposits toward your goal in a joint/custodial account with DevNW.
- There is a $60 IDA application fee (separate from the DevNW Membership) collected at the time of enrollment in the program.
If you would like more information on the IDA program or our Youth IDA program, contact us at your local DevNW office.
IDAs are funding-dependent (sometimes we have a waiting list), on a participant-eligible, first-come-first-served basis.
Cost: $60 fee at the start of the program, plus $75 for your annual DevNW Membership.
If you would like more information on the Oregon IDA Initiative, visit the state-wide program website today.