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By Ona Porter, Aug 30, 2025
As we wonder every day what the next policy or budget proposal coming down from Washington will do to undermine the well-being of New Mexicans, we hardly know where to focus our advocacy and engagement. Some have even given up trying, but not staff at Prosperity Works, whose mission it is to work for social, economic and environmental justice. Invited by the Sierra Club to represent New Mexico, I recently joined advocates from 12 other states to discuss with our congressional delegation the impact of the proposal to defund the $4 billion Low Income Energy Assistance Program. The impact of that cut on New Mexicans would be devastating; 44,000 households received assistance in 2023, and that is but a fifth of those eligible because the federal budget has been chronically underfunded. Home energy is an essential commodity, and LIHEAP prevented 11,000 disconnections in our state. Of those participating in the program, many sacrificed food, medicine and medical care to keep their bills affordable. They also maintained their home temperatures at unhealthy and unsafe levels. As climate change leads to more frequent, more extreme weather events, access to heating and cooling is more important than ever. In our recent legislative session, enabling law for a low-income discount rate was adopted. It allows and encourages investor-owned utilities like PNM to design a program that addresses the needs of their customers. This is a critical step toward reducing the “energy burden” — the percentage of a household’s annual income that is not only stressful but dangerous to families. Always with an eye on the root cause of problems, Prosperity Works provides energy efficiency retrofits that lower use, costs and emissions while preserving aging housing stock and improving the health, safety and comfort of homes. These measures combined with the proposed low-income discount rate and LIHEAP are essential tools in our fight for economic and environmental justice. If you think advocacy and engagement does not work, consider our mantra: “Don’t tell me NO, tell me how!” The Senate passed the LIHEAP budget last week. On to the House! We know our representatives are ready not only to vote for LIHEAP funding but to lead with determination, and we thank each of them. Read the story on the New Mexicans website here: https://heyor.ca/OjgDUL
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The author of the July 7 essay, “New Mexico must embrace a sensible energy policy,” by Hunter Thomas would like us to believe that strong clean car policies adopted by New Mexico and 12 other states are radical and harmful. But when it comes to cleaning up the transportation sector, it is very simple: stronger clean car standards are a key mechanism to get more electric vehicle options to the state for consumers who want them, open up a robust secondary EV market, and cut deadly tailpipe pollution in New Mexico.
New EVs are now sticker price comparable to new gas-powered cars, and that’s before the federal and state incentives and rebates that provide even more savings. With volatile gas prices being a perennial concern, EVs are also much more affordable to fuel and maintain. It is estimated that by 2050, clean car standards will save New Mexicans $300 million from vehicle lifetime fuel savings and lower maintenance costs. Misrepresenting New Mexico’s clean transportation policy is cynical and ignores the urgency of our air quality crisis and need for creative, accessible solutions that benefit all New Mexicans, especially those disproportionately impacted by tailpipe pollution whether or not they own a car. Putting more electric vehicles on New Mexico’s roadways is a key step in cleaning up our air for everyone. ONA PORTER Founder Emerita & Clean Energy Leader, Prosperity Works Full-Time Bank On Fellow Will Lead Coalition of Government Leaders, Community Organizations, and Financial Institutions in New Mexico to Bank the Unbanked
November 17, 2023 – Millions of Americans across the country are outside of the stabilizing financial mainstream, without a safe banking account to manage their money and build towards a stronger financial future. Across the country, Bank On coalitions work to connect residents to safe, affordable accounts – and Prosperity Works just received a new grant to launch Bank On New Mexico and supercharge these efforts. Prosperity Works and national nonprofit the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund) announced Delma Madrigal as Bank On New Mexico’s Fellow for a two-year term to advance banking access efforts at scale, including through identifying opportunities to connect access to safe accounts to programs and payments. Bank On New Mexico is one of six Bank On coalitions across the country whose work will be supported by this cohort of the Bank On Fellows initiative. The goal of the national Bank On movement is to ensure that everyone has access to safe and affordable financial products and services. Now in its fourth Wells Fargo Foundation-supported cohort, the national Bank On Fellowship Program provides funding to six Bank On coalitions to support a full-time staff position for two years — a “Fellow” — to lead coalition activities. Launched in 2017 with generous support from the Wells Fargo Foundation, it is the first national initiative focused on building experienced banking access leaders across the country, equipping them with the training, tools, and resources to make significant advancements in local banking access efforts while at the same time generating best practices for other coalitions. Dedicated local leadership is critical to moving beyond general education and literacy efforts and instead into identifying systemic integration points – from unemployment insurance to tax refunds to other program and payment streams – to connect unbanked people to safe, affordable accounts at scale. “A key requirement for economic prosperity is access to a safe and affordable transactional financial account,” said Ann Lyn Hall, Chief Executive Officer of Prosperity Works. “Prosperity Works has supported thousands of New Mexicans to access financial accounts to build assets. We are very excited to expand our asset building work through the development of the Bank On New Mexico Coalition.” The CFE Fund leads the national Bank On movement, supporting local coalitions working to connect individuals and families to the financial mainstream through partnerships between local governments, financial institutions, and community organizations. The Bank On National Account Standards define characteristics of a safe, affordable, and fully functional consumer account; accounts certified as meeting Bank On Standards are available at over 400 banks and credit unions across the country in over 46,000 branches, comprising 60% of the U.S. deposit market share. “Banking access is foundational to financial stability,” said Jonathan Mintz, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund. “A safe, affordable, mainstream account is critical to helping people manage their money and improve their financial health. Bank On coalitions across the country connect people to safe accounts at scale, and a dedicated coalition leader will only supercharge this work. We are proud to partner with the Wells Fargo Foundation to support Bank On New Mexico and their new full-time Fellow, Delma Madrigal, in helping New Mexicans connect to safe financial products.” Bank On New Mexico is a new Bank On coalition whose goal is to decrease the number of unbanked and underbanked people across the state of New Mexico. The coalition is being led by Prosperity Works a non-profit that has focused on economic prosperity statewide for the last 20 years. The Bank On New Mexico fellow, Delma Madrigal, comes to Prosperity Works after successfully launching the Bank On Burque Coalition for the City of Albuquerque. Her experience also includes projects for supporting individuals with navigating “cliff effects” and exploring resources to pursue financial and educational goals. She is passionate about utilizing and adapting project management methods and tools within non-traditional spaces and non-profit work. “Continuing the momentum built in launching Bank On Burque is exciting,” said Delma Madrigal, Economic Equity Director of Prosperity Works. “Expanding access to economic opportunities for all New Mexicans is what Prosperity Works is well known for and is the perfect organization to now provide the leadership and support for bringing the Bank On movement to other parts of New Mexico.” “We’re excited to support the continuation of our partnership with CFE Fund and welcome our fourth cohort of Bank On Fellows to lead banking inclusion efforts in markets with high concentrations of unbanked households,” said Bonnie Wallace, head of Financial Health Philanthropy at Wells Fargo. About the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund) The CFE Fund supports municipal efforts to improve the financial stability of households by leveraging opportunities unique to local government. By translating cutting-edge experience with large scale programs, research, and policy in cities of all sizes, the CFE Fund assists mayors and other local leaders to identify, develop, fund, implement, and research pilots and programs that help families build assets and make the most of their financial resources. The CFE Fund is currently working in over 100 cities and counties representing 75 million people, and has disbursed over $64 million to city governments and their partners to support these efforts. For more information, please visit www.cfefund.org or follow us on Twitter at @CFEFund. About Prosperity Works Prosperity Works is a nonprofit that supports limited-income New Mexicans build and protect assets they need to be successful. Whether that’s investing in education, providing low-interest lending options, assistance for buying a home, providing fair lending information, or even lowering energy bills. Prosperity Works collaborates with other nonprofits, businesses, government agencies, and financial institutions to make these life-changing strategies a reality. For more information, please visit www.prosperityworks.net or follow us on Twitter at @ProsperityWork  In 2021, New Mexico passed community solar legislation which authorized projects to be built here. They are large, 30-acre solar farms that provide electricity to many households and businesses without barriers that can be faced with rooftop solar such as cost, home ownership or roof health. Community solar is available to renters and homeowners, no matter the condition of their roofs, and to people without capital to make an investment in other forms of solar. Community solar is cleaner and cheaper to produce.
Access to community solar helps limited-income New Mexicans lower their energy bills so that they can use these financial resources on other critical needs. Community solar projects pass the electricity-generating savings to their customers. Households with limited incomes will be able to save up to 30% on their monthly electric bill and market rate customers 10%. This savings is critical to lower the energy burden in households. Energy burden is the percentage that a household spends on their utility bills compared to their annual income. In middle-income homes, the energy burden is about 2%. In low-income homes in New Mexico, the energy burden goes as high as 30%. Over the last two years, Prosperity Works has completed several community solar initiatives to ensure the deepest impact for low-income households in New Mexico. We wrote a best practice guide for the State of New Mexico so that the over 45 projects that will be built in the state will benefit our most vulnerable households. Currently, we are partnering with several community solar projects to help households sign up for community solar. We want to share information about community solar with more New Mexicans. If you have a group that we should reach out to, please let us know. If you would like us to provide you with more information about community solar, let us know by filling out this interest form. Thank you to all our supporters who continue to sustain our work!  Prosperity Works recently launched our energy equity work in the Town of Bernalillo. Right now over 40 households are signed up to receive energy efficiency upgrades like new energy-efficient lighting and power strips, weatherstripping, smart thermostats and more. Help support the innovative initiatives of Prosperity Works such as this one which safeguards the assets of low-income families in New Mexico by giving using the link below.
Get access to safe lending options now that the 36% interest rate cap has gone into effect2/28/2023  New Mexico has finally cracked down on predatory lending in our state by capping interest rates on small-dollar payday loans at 36 percent. Prosperity Works knows that having access to small-dollar loans is a necessity for many residents in our state. Check out our Safe Accounts & Loans page for the options you need to find the right lender for you. Visit the page by using the button below:
Prosperity Works, Town of Bernalillo, City of Albuquerque, and more, celebrate Energy Equity Day1/18/2023
“Today we are excited to continue our work to address the unequal burden that energy costs place on lower-income households within the Town of Bernalillo after seeing great success with our program in Albuquerque, ” said Prosperity Works CEO, Dr. Ann Lyn Hall. “These energy upgrades will not only help lower bills for limited-income families but also allow them to focus on their health and financial freedom.” Through capital stacking and partnerships with local city governments, the PNM Good Neighborhood Fund, the New Mexico Gas Company, and EnergyWorks, Prosperity Works offers these energy efficiency upgrades at no cost to homeowners. “The Town is proud to announce our first-ever Energy Equity Day Celebration. Together with our partners at PNM, NM GAS CO., and Prosperity Works, we will provide resources to community members to improve the quality of life in their homes and help reduce costs and carbon emissions,” said Jack Torres, Mayor of Bernalillo. “We are grateful to these partners for offering these wonderful benefits to Bernalillo residents.” “We’re keeping equity in the front seat of our strategies outlined by the Climate Action Plan,” said City of Albuquerque Sustainability Officer, Kelsey Rader. “Our frontline communities face the highest energy burdens, and we are taking steps with our community partners to ensure equitable access to energy efficiency upgrades and more to build a climate resilient future for all.” About Prosperity Works Prosperity Works is an economic equity and justice organization that is best known for launching the first Individual Development Account initiative in New Mexico and for the award-winning Prosperity Kids program. The organization is committed to fighting for greater financial inclusion and opportunity for all New Mexicans. Key areas of advocacy include providing equitable access to renewable energy for income-restricted families, bringing awareness to community programs and organizations designed to help limited-income individuals, and developing financial capability training and coaching for all New Mexicans.  Prosperity Works is excited to announce a $125,000 investment from Wells Fargo to help New Mexicans grow assets through matched savings accounts. These accounts can be used to purchase or repair a home, to grow a business, to attend college or to buy a car to get to work. We are grateful to our partners at Wells Fargo for their ongoing commitment to Prosperity Works. The funds received will be used to serve limited-income individuals in New Mexico with a focus on indigenous communities and rural areas of the state.
"We are excited and so grateful for the generous support from Wells Fargo to expand assets for New Mexicans through our individual development account program," said Dr. Ann Lyn Hall, CEO of Prosperity Works. Tim Rios, Senior Vice President, Rural Strategy Leader at Wells Fargo is a strong advocate for asset-building strategies that lift up rural communities. Without the help of Lauren Hornett, VP of Senior Social Impact Specialist, and Katie Rollyson, VP of Social Impact and Sustainability Specialist, Prosperity Works wouldn’t be able to reach into these communities and help individuals in need. “We are proud to support Prosperity Works’ efforts to ensure New Mexicans have access to opportunities, knowledge, and assistance they need to achieve economic prosperity,” said Lauren Hornett, Wells Fargo Vice President and Senior Social Impact Specialist. Stay up to date with what our partners are doing by following us on social media. You can also learn more about our IDA program here. |
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Our first financial institution roundtable was a success! Thank you to the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund), the Credit Union Association of New Mexico (CUANM), Guadalupe Credit Union and Nusenda Credit Union for introducing CUANM members to the Bank On movement and answering questions about starting the process for having a Bank On certified account. 
Have you seen the “Translators” documentary? “Translators” was produced by Park Pictures in partnership with U.S. Bank as part of the U.S. Bank Access Commitment, the bank’s long-term approach to help close the racial wealth gap. The documentary was directed by Emmy-award winning filmmaker Rudy Valdez and was screened during the Tribeca Festival in June. 
Bank On New Mexico is a collaboration between banks and credit unions, nonprofit and community organizations, and government agencies to ensure that consumers have access to Bank On certified accounts. Together, we are working to encourage economic equity and expand access to safe and affordable accounts.
Prosperity Works is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to supporting limited-income New Mexicans build and protect assets they need to be successful. Whether that's investing in education, providing low-interest lending options.
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