Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project (NEDAP) is a resource and advocacy center that works with community groups to promote economic justice in NYC’s low income communities and communities of color. NEDAP leads the NYC Immigrant Financial Justice Network, which conducts community education, organizing, and policy advocacy to promote immigrants’ economic rights and financial inclusion.
Design Challenge
Create a series of know-your-rights guides that describe immigrants’ rights and options with respect to opening bank/credit union accounts, obtaining loans and establishing a credit history, sending money home, and avoiding financial scams that proliferate in immigrant communities. The guides may be used stand-alone, or combined to comprise a full course.
Project Objectives
NEDAP and Rodrigo Corral Design are collaborating to produce a series of Financial Rights Guides that will be widely disseminated through the NYC Immigrant Financial Justice Network and to other NYC groups serving diverse immigrant communities. The goal of the project is to arm new immigrants with concrete information about their rights and where to turn for free, trusted help. Immigrant groups will use the material as an education and advocacy tool with their members. The guides will be translated in Spanish and other needed languages, including French, Chinese, Korean, Nepali, Urdu, and Bengali.
Description of deliverables
- Series of five-color brochures detailing immigrants’ rights and options in one area of financial justice. The brochures will include FAQs, and resources for more information or free legal help.
- Translations of guides into multiple languages.
- First print run (500 copies of each brochure).
Audience/community outreach and involvement
The primary audience for the “Know Your Rights” series is new and low-wage immigrants and NYC community groups. Through meetings and focus groups, NEDAP received feedback from partner organizations and their members on design drafts and topics. NEDAP will promote and distribute the series of guides through extensive networks of community and nonprofit organizations, ethnic media, foundations, schools, and churches. Partner groups will also assist in securing translation of the finalized “Know Your Rights” series into French, Chinese, Korean, Nepali, Urdu, Bengali and other needed languages.
Impact at city level, and beyond.
The “Know Your Rights” series will arm new and low-wage immigrants with information needed to exercise their financial rights, avoid fraud, report discrimination and take action on behalf of themselves and their communities. This information will fill a huge void in NYC and beyond, and help preserve potentially millions of dollars in immigrant communities.