Giving Compass' Take:

• Signe-Mary McKernan covers Michigan's plan to raise asset limits for programs assisting low-income families following evidence-based research.

• How can you use research to improve your giving efforts?

• Read about harnessing the power of evidence in philanthropy.

Last week, Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer announced plans to raise asset limits across three programs serving low-income families.

Previously (PDF), Michigan families could have savings of no more than $5,000 to qualify for food benefits, $3,000 to qualify for cash benefits, and $500 to qualify for emergency relief benefits. This policy change raises the new asset limit to $15,000 for all three programs. All programs still require applicants to have low incomes.

Urban Institute research found that policy changes like this improved families’ financial security in the following ways:

  1. More savings among low-income households. Increased level of saving has been found to reduce economic hardship in the face of volatile income.
  2. More participation in the mainstream financial market. Families were 5 percent more likely to have a bank account.
  3. Lower SNAP “churn” and administrative costs. The likelihood that households cycled on and off the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) decreased 26 percent.

Read the full article about Michigan's plan to encourage savings for low-income families by Signe-Mary McKernan at Urban Institute.