The Family Economic Security Partnership (FESP) is a public, private and nonprofit collaboration dedicated to increasing the income and building the assets of low-income families and individuals living in Contra Costa County. While acknowledging the significance of direct service provision, FESP also increases awareness of the root causes of poverty and the importance of policy/advocacy to focus on the structural and systemic changes needed to end poverty. First 5 Contra Costa provides staff support to FESP.

Join the FESP Coordinating Council! We meet quarterly, listen to speakers, learn about resources, and collaborate to address poverty and promote financial stability. See the latest presentation materials. Sign up for our emails, contact FESP@first5coco.org.

FESP is also involved in the following efforts:

• Effective Movement Building: We sponsor trainings for agencies on advocacy and how to become more engaged in policy advocacy work. New presentation by the Alliance for Justice: Assess your agency’s capacity for advocacy.
• Policy Advocacy Deeper Dive Project: FESP, SparkPoint Contra Costa, and the Building Movement Project engaged in a six month process to assess SparkPoint Contra Costa’s interest and capacity to engage in policy advocacy. Read the Case Study about the effort here.
• Ensuring Opportunity, the Campaign to End Poverty in Contra Costa County: We helped launch this countywide campaign to raise awareness of poverty and identify solutions. Learn more at Ensuring Opportunity Campaign to End Poverty in Contra Costa County.
• Poverty Messaging Study: Communications expert Anat Shenker Osorio completed this report for the Ensuring Opportunity Campaign on Contra Costa’s perspective on poverty (A Tale of Two Counties: An Analysis of Language). She also offers these communications briefs: Messaging for Economic Justice , Putting Families First, Good Jobs for All.
• Earn It, Keep It, Save It Contra Costa: We support this free tax assistance program operated by the United Way of the Bay Area to help low-income working families claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and other federal tax credits. Visit the Earn It! Keep It! Save It! website or call 211 for tax assistance locations or to become a trained tax preparer.