Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
* Please note: These answers are for general informational purposes only and may be changed at any time.*
Applying for an IDA Current Savers Graduates Other
Q: What is an IDA? What are the benefits for me?
A: IDA means Individual Development Account. An IDA is a special type of savings account to help you build an asset. An asset could be a college education, your own business or a home. The benefits of the IDA are learning how to better manage your money (free financial workshops), earning a matching grant to use for your asset goal ($450- $4,000) and advice to help you succeed.
Q: This sounds too good to be true – is it?
A: IDAs are a great opportunity but they are not “something for nothing”. You must complete the financial education and save on a monthly basis. If you don’t save, you do not earn any match funds. Also, you must spend the funds for one of the approved goals – you cannot use it for other purposes. For more information on IDAs, visit CFED .
Q: Am I eligible for an IDA if I have received public benefits?
A: If you or someone in your household receives public benefits (including unemployment, social security income, social security disability income or food stamps) you must also have earned income in order to be eligible. Your savings contributions to your IDA account must come from earned income (as defined in section 911(d)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
Q: What if I change my mind?
A: If you no longer want to participate, you can close your IDA at any time and receive all of your own savings back, with no penalty. However, you will lose the matching funds and will not be able to re-open your account.
Q: How do I know if I qualify?
A: Take this short quiz to see if you qualify (for education or business) or look at our available programs to see the eligibility requirements for each one. In general, our programs serve low-income, working residents of Santa Clara, San Mateo and Alameda Counties who have a goal of education, business, U.S. Citizenship or homeownership.
Q: Why are the eligibility requirements different from what I saw last time?
A: Depending on the funding source (who is supporting the program), we offer new programs with different eligibility requirements. This means that you might not qualify right now but another program might be available in the future that you do qualify for. Please check back occasionally to see our new IDA offerings.
Q: If I don’t qualify, what can I do?
A: It depends on why you do not qualify. If you think you might qualify in the future, please wait and check back with us then. Otherwise, please look at our resources page for other programs and assistance.
Q: Where can I find an IDA program that serves my community?
A: Opportunity Fund currently serves people living in Santa Clara, San Mateo and southern Alameda counties. Visit the IDA Directory or Assets for Independence to search the hundreds of programs across the country.
Q. What are the steps to apply? (Business, education, homeownership)
A: After you see if you qualify for the program, the next step is to attend an orientation and apply for the program. At the orientation you will fill out an application and schedule a 1-on-1 interview with our IDA staff. Interviews are held in San Jose and San Francisco by appointment only. You will need to bring your photo ID, most recent tax return (form 1040), recent pay stubs and a plan to use the IDA funds (such as a school budget). After your interview you receive notification by mail if you qualify. The next step will then be to attend our financial education classes.
Q. What are the steps to apply? (U.S. Citizenship)
A. The first step is to meet with a Citizenship Agency in Santa Clara County to make sure you are ready to apply for U.S. Citizenship. At your appointment, they will give you a referral form if you are ready to apply.
Q. What is covered during the financial education classes?
A. All our financial education classes cover the following topics: banking (picking the best bank and accounts for you), budgeting (how to manage your money), saving (strategies to save more money), credit (credit scores and reports, how to improve your credit), loans (how to pick a loan or credit card), and investing (where and how to invest). Depending on your goal, you will also take one or more classes on Education, Small business, Citizenship, Homeownership or another goal. Completing the financial education classes is required to participate in the IDA program. These classes are held on Saturdays and weekday evenings and are offered free of charge to IDA participants. Click here to read what other IDA participants wrote about the classes.
Q. What type of account is the IDA? Is it insured?
A. The IDA is an insured money market account held at Citibank N.A at 1303 South Mary Avenue, Sunnyvale CA 94087. There is no charge to open this account. Your savings do earn a variable interest rate. To open an account, you must first qualify for the program and complete the financial training. You will open your account during the financial education classes – you do not need to go to the bank directly.
Q. Can I get disqualified after I join?
A. After you open your IDA account, you are required to save a minimum of $20 every month that you are in the program. If you do not make a deposit for 3 months, your account will be closed and you will be removed from the program. You will not be disqualified if your income goes up, if you move or if your family size changes, as long as you continue to save.
Q. Where does the money come from to pay for these accounts?
A. Opportunity Fund raises money from a variety of public and private sources including federal and local government, private foundations and individual donors.
Q. What are some examples of how other savers have used the IDA funds?
A. For post-secondary education, savers have used funds to pay for tuition, books and supplies at community colleges, universities and vocational schools such as De Anza College, San Jose State and University of Phoenix. For business, savers have used funds for licenses, equipment and other costs to start and expand many types of businesses ranging from housecleaning to catering to childcare to photography and many more. For home purchase, savers have used funds for closing costs and the downpayment to buy condos, townhomes and single family homes here in the Bay Area and across the country. For U.S. Citizenship, savers use funds to pay the direct cost of applying for Citizenship plus fingerprinting fees.
Q. Who should I contact with questions about my account?
A. Your individual contact person is listed on your account statement in the upper right hand corner. If you don’t know who it is, please call (408)516-4699 and Angelita will transfer you to your contact person.
Q. How do I change my address or contact info?
A. Email Fritzie@opportunityfund.org or call 408-516-4687. Please be sure to include your IDA account number and full name in your email or message.
Q. How do I change my ACH (automatic deposit) amount, date or account?
A. Please fill out the ACH Change Form and fax or mail to us. Please send any changes 5 business days before your ACH date (by the 1st or 10th of the month). If you are changing your checking account, please attach a void check. If you are changing the date, there is a $10 fee. There is no fee to change the amount or checking account.
Q. How do I login to my IDA+ Online Account for the first time?
A. One your account is opened, you will get an email from ida@opportunityfund.org (sent to the email you listed on your IDA application). The email might be in your junk mail/spam folder, but is not spam. Click on the link in the email to go to your personalized login page. Create your user name and password, then click "Create my Account." You will then be asked to login for the first time - reenter your username and password and click "Sign In".  See detailed instructions here. After you have created your account, you can login at any time from this link.
Q. How does ACH (automatic deposit) work and what does it cost?
A. ACH stands for Automatic Clearinghouse. It is an automatic deposit from your checking account (at any bank) into your IDA Savings account at Citibank. ACH is transferred on the 5th day of each month for the amount you select and funds are available in your IDA ten days after the transfer. There is no fee for using ACH. However, if your ACH cannot be completed due to insufficient funds or a closed checking account, you will be charged $10.00. This fee is in addition to any fees charged by your bank due to insufficient funds. If your ACH cannot be completed two months in a row, it will be automatically cancelled.
Q. How can I deposit extra money in my IDA?
A. You can go to any Citibank branch in the U.S. and deposit cash or a check into your IDA. Remember to bring your IDA account card or number with you - they cannot look up your account by name.
Q. How can I get help planning for my goal?
A. Start by looking at our list of resources for education, business and home purchase. Also, make an appointment with your IDA contact person or business advisor to get help making a plan.
Q. What are the steps to make a matched withdrawal?
A. First, you must save in the program for a minimum of 6 months* and have completed a workshop for the asset (or had 2 appointments with your business advisor). Second, get the required paperwork for the asset you are planning to buy. Then fill out and sign the Withdrawal Form. Send all paperwork to us by fax or mail - or online for education withdrawals only. Please note that it takes up to 5 business days to process all withdrawals – plus mailing time. *(4 months is the minimum saving time for U.S. Citizenship).
Q. How long do I have to use my IDA matching funds? What happens if I don’t use them by the deadline?
A. It depends on your program – check your Program Agreement or Statement for your “Program End Date”. You usually have 1,2 or 3 years from the time you started saving. Any matching funds that are not used by the deadline will go to help another person and your remaining savings will be returned to you.
Q. What exactly can I use the money for?
A. It depends on your asset goal and what is allowed under your specific program. Please read the full list of allowable purchases (and required paperwork) for each goal. Please note that depending on your specific grant, some goals may not be allowed.
Q. How do I report my IDA on my taxes or for other programs?
A. For tax purposes, you are only required to report any interest you earn on your own savings that is more than $10 per calendar year. You are not required to report IDA match you have earned on your taxes. Depending on what program you are applying for, you may be required to report your own savings and/or the IDA match – please ask your contact person.
Q. How do I withdraw money if I have an emergency?
A. Fill out and sign the Emergency Withdrawal form and fax to us. We will call you when your funds are ready to be picked up at Citibank in Sunnyvale at 1303 S. Mary Avenue, Sunnyvale CA 94087. Usually you can pick up your check the same day unless it is a holiday or weekend.
Q. How do I close my account?
A. Fill out and sign the Account Closure form and fax or mail to us. Please be aware that if you close your account before you use the matching funds, you will lose the matching funds and will not be able to re-open your account.
Q. How can I give back to the program?
A. Thank you for asking! One way you can help is by participating in our graduate group Alumni in Action to share your personal story. This helps us raise additional money to serve more clients. We also greatly appreciate your donation of time or money.
Q. Can I tell my friends and family about the IDA program?
A. Yes – we encourage you to get the word out to people who can benefit from the program. If you are interested in becoming trained to teach financial education classes in your community, please contact ida@opportunityfund.org
Q. What else is out there to help me achieve my goals?
A. Visit our list of resources for general finances, education, business and home purchase. If you are a small business owner, you may wish to consider our Small Business Loan program.
Q. Can I qualify for another IDA account?
A. Sorry but no. We only offer one account per person per lifetime in order to serve more people.
Q. What organizations does Opportunity Fund partner with?
A. We partner with a variety of nonprofit, government and financial institutions to offer our IDA programs. View our partners.
Q. How do you know that the grant funds are actually used for a certain goal?
A. All match funds are provided in a check written directly to the asset provider (school, title company, business etc), match funds are never provided to the saver.
Q. How can I offer IDAs to my clients or students?
A. For individual clients, please help them determine if they qualify. For larger groups (minimum 15) please contact Angelita Hernandez at (408) 516-4699 or angelita@opportunityfund.org to schedule an orientation.
Q. What other programs does Opportunity Fund offer?
A. We also offer Small Business loans ranging from $1,000 to $200,000 and Real Estate Lending to nonprofits who are buidling affordable housing and community facilities. Please contact those departments directly with any questions regarding their programs.
Contact Us: (866) 364-4391 or ida@opportunityfund.org
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