A New Start Financial Services offers a variety of programs to meet your business needs
Non-Profit Services
A New Start Financial Services offers a variety of support programs to the community. Select a program below to learn more.
Interfaith Work
Although we enjoy religious freedoms in the United States, others are not so fortunate in other countries such as Myanmar, the Philippines, and many other countries around the world. For example, after the Marawi City siege in the Philippines, many of city’s Muslim residents became displaced and some had to move far away from their home city. Many of the city’s former residents are heavily discriminated in their new cities in every walk of life. They are bullied at school, discriminated at both work and during the job search, and in even at their own small business. ANS sponsors interfaith projects and provides microloans to these displaced individuals.
Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is distinct from syncretism or alternative religion, in that dialogue often involves promoting understanding between different religions or beliefs to increase acceptance of others, rather than to synthesize new beliefs.
This program holds workshops to empower congregations and community organizations to work together nationally and internationally by leveraging strengths to address community challenges and gain acceptance of one another regardless of their faith.
Another key area of this program is directly and indirectly working with youth and adults vulnerable to becoming sympathizers to and supporters of violent extremism. Our success is measured by our ability to dissuade individuals from joining terrorist organizations, offer compelling alternatives to violent extremist narratives, and empower individuals to be progressive religious men and women.
Career Development for the Disabled
Merriam-Webster defines disability as “a physical, mental, cognitive, or developmental condition that impairs, interferes with, or limits a person's ability to engage in certain tasks or actions or participate in typical daily activities and interactions.” The Department of Labor statistics shows that this population is greatly unemployed. It is this program’s mission to change the way we define and view disabilities. We help people with disabilities find employment and reach their full potential. We partner with local, regional, and national businesses to find employment for our clients. In addition, we provide workforce development services, mentorship, job search assistance, job placement, coaching, adaptive skills assessment, case management services, and job development for our clients.
Youth Internship Programs
Students entering the work force still lack basic skills technical and soft skills to grow and advance. In addition, many career development programs are generally 9-5 while most students attend school during those hours. A large majority of students lack college level research, referencing, and data mining skills despite growing up with a readily accessible internet. Students face a very competitive work force and employers are reluctant to hire anyone under 18 and college students due to scheduling conflicts and labor laws.
A New Start serves as an internship/mentorship provider for inner city high school students in the Miami-Dade County. The Academic Year Internship is designed to give students real-life work experiences, helping them discover first-hand what it takes to be successful in that particular career field, and achieve various program learning outcomes. Students have the opportunity to earn an honor’s grade as well. Students are also given personal development time to work on their career interests and receive writing assistance with their scholarship applications. In the summer, students are enrolled in a Summer Paid Internship program sponsored by Miami-Dade County Public Schools and may earn an honors grade and 1 college credit. We are continually expanding our programming to expose our students in the areas of STEM, basic sewing, crafting, and cooking nutritious meals. We are always in need of sewing machines, scissors, induction cooking tops, and knife sets. We also sponsor high school programs and clubs.
In addition to the Academic Year Internship, we provide internship and mentorship opportunities to local area high school and college students from Kendall to Fort Lauderdale. Undergrad students receive up to 30% of their grade when they are enrolled in our program. Graduate students complete their capstone projects with us which is worth up to 50% of their grade. The Colleges and Universities we partner with are Miami Dade College, FIU, Barry University, DeVry University, and Keller Graduate School.
Financial Literacy
As part of both our tax program and our Homebuyer program, we teach financial literacy to our clients on various topics such as credit ratings, disputing items on their credit report, saving techniques, and the tax consequences of settling debt owed.
Civic Engagement
Although this past election had record voter turnout, overall turnout remains very low across the board throughout the years. Some residents are still not registered to vote and/or are not exercising their right to vote. In addition, voters lack a thorough understanding of the issues being voted on and will vote based on party lines or by name rather than properly researching each candidate.
ANS provides and promotes civic and human rights education, using community-driven methodologies that focus on increasing awareness of civic and human rights principles, and building a deeper understanding around the value of respect for the rights of vulnerable populations and marginalized communities to a democratic society. This program supports inclusive participation in formal and informal governance processes and increases collective societal empathy for political diversity and the expression of differing views. In addition, ANS runs voter’s drives and telethons to encourage marginalized and/or underrepresented populations to vote. This is a mandatory function of all student interns and volunteers. This program assists and encourages residents to vote and has events to educate voters on techniques on how to properly research election issues and candidates.
Citizenship / Immigration Outreach & Asian Cultural Affairs
“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” ~ Audre Lorde, Our Dead Behind Us, 1986
Immigrants are stigmatized with not knowing English, assimilating American culture, and illegal activities despite not given the proper support and encouragement to achieve societal expectations. This program holds culture shows and workshops in the community to further introduce residents to Asian culture, food, and traditions.
In addition, ANS provides outreach and assistance to Hispanic populations through programs that orientate individuals and families on American customs and navigating various areas of government. In addition, we translate immigration documents and written information in order to help residents complete their citizenship forms. Lastly, we provide assistance with helping residents apply for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). We also, support and partner with a number of Hispanic serving organizations to advance our mission.
International Outreach
The notion that economic and political problems drive crime is very real. Through interviews of convicted criminals and an analysis of crime data, the findings link one’s economic and political problems as a driver for crime. In 2014 study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, it found that “persons in poor households at or below the Federal Poverty Level (39.8 per 1,000) had more than double the rate of violent victimization as persons in high-income households (16.9 per 1,000) for the period 2008–12…Serious violence (rape or sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assault) accounted for a greater percentage of violence among persons in poor households (38 percent) than in high-income households (27 percent)” (McCarthy, 2014). Although the data reflects US statistics, the data is applicable around the world as other studies have resulted in the same findings.
We have staff in various countries that further ANS’ mission such as Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, and Philippines. We routinely work with refugees/asylum seekers and sponsor educational events in schools in marginalized communities such as our Youth Outreach in Jamaica. Children were provided books, toys, and school supplies during our one-day event there.
Health Education & Outreach
ANS is involved with the following health related programs:
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HIV education outreach to marginalized communities. Testing during events is done in collaboration an agency partner. We also provide linkages to treatment organizations.
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Human trafficking is the modern day slavery. Victims could be subjected to forced labor, sex trafficking, and a number of illegal schemes. Child marriage also has key elements of human trafficking as well. We provide education and awareness, and linkages to victims that come to us for services.
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Other health awareness campaigns. In partnership with other agencies, we routinely give out multi-language health brochures to promote awareness on current health issues such as Zika brochures and refrigerator magnets to help better educate people on mosquito control and Zika virus prevention and safety. We also place health awareness brochures in our corporate partners’ front desk or lobbies.
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Assist with coordinating Medical Stays with our hotel partners.
Entrepreneurship & Mentorship
Despite generous tax write-offs, opening and sustaining a small business in the early stages is still very difficult for many small business owners/ entrepreneurs. Electric and gas costs for businesses are anywhere from triple and ten times higher than the costs of same sized and usage residential homes. Combine that with no tax breaks on local taxes and fees, professional accounting expenses, short staffing, and access to legitimate start-up capital, it obvious to see why the failure rate of new businesses is so high. Many small business owners/ entrepreneurs are strong in their discipline but, weaker in the five core business areas of management, administration, marketing, accounting/finance, and human resources. These are the true pillars of business success and not the 5P’s of People, Planning, Product, Performance/Process, and Profit. Those are outcomes and outputs of a successful business and not key functional areas.
In an age of women empowerment, women are still behind the terms of pay and advancement. Combined with unshared traditional responsibilities with children and household management, women are forced to juggle and make career decisions that may not benefit them. In addition, much of the women empowerment programs lack gender equality (male presenters), lack focus on breaking age old stigmas such as emotional intelligence and business acumen, and fostering teamwork in relationships.
This program works to empower small business owners, female, and LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs through coaching, mentoring, and technical assistance.
Women and LGBTQ+ Empowerment
This past June was one of the biggest Pride months to date. In addition, the US Women’s soccer team won 4th World Cup. However, women still face pay inequities and LGBTQ+ persons still face discrimination. Gender equality and female empowerment are core development objectives, fundamental for the realization of human rights and key to effective and sustainable development outcomes. No society can develop successfully without providing equitable opportunities, resources, and life prospects for males and females so that they can shape their own lives and contribute to their
families and communities. Although many gender gaps have narrowed over the past two decades, substantial inequalities remain across all sectors.
This program holds workshops and seminars for women and works in conjunction with our Entrepreneurship & Mentorship program.
HUD Approved Homebuyer Workshops
Many potential homebuyers are intimidated about home ownership because they feel the process is complex. One way to minimize the fear of the home buying process is to provide clear and consistent information and high-quality guidance for buying a home.
“The United States has the best colleges and universities in the world, but we’re not doing the best job of preparing our students to be college- or career-ready,” said U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Investing in financial literacy will ensure that students have the tools and resources they need to make informed decisions about pursuing and paying for college, saving, understanding credit, opening a bank account, and planning for the future.
This program provides HUD workshops and case management to residents aspiring to buy a home.