National Disability Institute’s History

In 2005, National Disability Institute launched as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, with a mission to build a better financial future for people with disabilities. Over the past 20 years, we have applied a cross-sector collaborative approach to adding to the available research on the financial status and behaviors of people with disabilities, improving the employment and financial outcomes of people with disabilities, providing policy recommendation to foster the inclusion of people with disabilities; and piloting and validating innovative approaches to generate scalable national models that result in high impact.

2005 – 2007

NDI launches as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Our inaugural activities focus on financial empowerment in collaboration with National Cooperative Bank in Washington, D.C., and national technical assistance (TA) for disability employment projects under the Law, Health Policy and Disability Center at the University of Iowa.
NDI’s commitment to first-of-its-kind research is established with the release of pioneering reports: A New Model for Community Economic Development and Individual and Family Asset Building for Persons with Disabilities and State of 21st Century Long-Term Services and Supports: Financing and Systems Reform for Americans with Disabilities, inaugural research on the tax and financial service needs of working Americans with disabilities; and IRS Wage & Investment Research on first ever national report on the Characteristics of Disabled Taxpayers Ages 18 to 59: Study of filing Patterns and Preferences for Receiving Tax Information & Services.
Real Economic Impact (REI) Tour is established with IRS SPEC Division to improve access to free tax preparation and claim of Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) by low-income taxpayers with disabilities. Initial implementation with 11 cities results in 7,600 returns and $6.9 million in refunds and quickly expands with mini-grants to 54 cities resulting in 36,275 taxpayers claiming $32.6 million in refunds across 200 partners.
NDI holds first statewide Asset Development Summit in Orlando, Florida, bringing together government, financial institutions, employers, and disability focused community organizations and asset building community partners to identify collaborative activities to advance a better economic future for individuals with disabilities and their families.
NDI partners with FDIC to release the Money Smart Program in Braille. This launches an ongoing relationship with FDIC that continues today.
NDI is awarded a contract by the U.S. DOL Employment and Training Administration (ETA) to provide training and TA to Disability Program Navigators in 45 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to improve participation in the Workforce Development System. This contract positions NDI as the national provider of training and TA to the public workforce system until present day.
NDI’s public policy work launches with the formation of a national tax advantage workgroup to review current bills on disability savings accounts (Rep. Conyer, Rep. Crenshaw, and Senator Dodd) which later became known as the ABLE Act, and a new policy committee on asset development as part of the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities, representing 100+ national disability organizations.

2008 – 2010

NDI creates and contributes to new reports: Building a Better Economic Future, A Progress Report for Individuals with Disabilities & Their Families in America, a national blueprint for designing a roadmap out of poverty for individuals with disabilities and their families, with the School of Community Economic Development, Southern New Hampshire University, and Burton Blatt Institute Syracuse University; and Opportunities for Community Development Finance in the Disability Market with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
NDI briefs White House Officials on top policy recommendations to promote economic development and self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities.
NDI’s REI Tour innovations expand access to free tax preparation for Veterans and for deaf and hard-of-hearing taxpayers through pilots in REI Tour cities.
NDI’s REI Tour along expands to 100 cities, resulting in 360,499 taxpayers filing returns, saving $72 million in tax preparation fees saved, and securing $351 million in refunds.
NDI joins the national initiative (Now MyFreeTaxes) to build awareness, use and access to an online self-preparation tax filing service tool using the existing VITA network of coalitions and ensuring full access for people with disabilities.
NDI pilots Building Assets, Promoting Choice and Community Participation for People with Disabilities financial education curriculum in collaboration with the North Carolina DD Council, independent living centers and other community groups.
NDI recruits State Workforce Investment Boards, Local Workforce Investment Boards and One-Stop Career Centers to become Employment Networks (ENs) under SSA’s Ticket to Work program, expanding choice for beneficiaries of Social Security disability benefits (SSI and/or SSDI).
NDI provides training, technical assistance and support to U.S. DOL’s newly funded Disability Employment Initiative (DEI), the predecessor to the DPN initiative, in 9 states to improve coordination and collaboration among employment and training and asset development programs implemented at state and local levels, and build effective community partnerships that leverage public and private resources to better serve and improve the employment outcomes of job seekers with disabilities.
NDI creates the Changing Face of Benefits curriculum and provides training on Social Security Disability benefits and work incentives in Florida, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

2011 – 2014

NDI’s REI Tour DeafTax VITA Pilot yields a 22 percent increase in the number of returns for deaf taxpayers resulting in $416,039 in tax refunds and $139,804 in the earned income tax credit (EITC).
NDI launches an Online Classroom with our first course – The Changing Face of Benefits – created with support from the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council to provide self-paced training on Social Security disability benefits and work incentives.
NDI’s REI Tour completes the final year of the REI Tour. From since 2005 – 2012, the NDI’s REI Tour partnership with the IRS and partners in more than 100 cities resulted in helping more than 1.5 million Americans with disabilities receiving more than $1.4 billion in tax refunds resulting in and saving $316.4 million in tax preparation fees saved.
NDI targets financial education for special education students through collaboration with Reading High School in Ohio to develop new financial education curriculum creates 6 Steps to Creating a Financial Education Program in your Classroom and training to teachers and transition specialists in New York, New Jersey, California, and Florida.
NDI hosts its 50th Asset Development Summit for Persons with Disabilities.
NDI expands its training and technical assistance activities to DEI Initiative grantees, the public workforce investment system, and the U.S DOL ETA to support 37 projects in 26 states.

2015 – 2017

NDI launches the American Dream Employment Network (ADEN) providing direct services to Social Security disability beneficiaries through Member sites of service.
NDI creates the DOL-funded National Center on Leadership for the Employment and Economic Advancement of People with Disabilities (LEAD Center), adding economic advancement as a core component of training and technical assistance to the public workforce system
NDI establishes the Achieving a Better Life Experience National Resource Center (ABLE NRC) to provide unbiased information on the Achieving a Better Life Experience law and opening, funding and maintaining an ABLE Account.
NDI releases three new ground-breaking reports: Financial Inequality: Disability, Race and Poverty in America; Banking Status and Financial Behaviors of Adults with Disabilities: Findings from the 2015 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households; and Financial Capability of Adults with Disabilities: Findings from the FINRA Investor Education Foundation National Financial Capability Study
NDI modifies the Asset Summit agenda to include additional partners and topics facilitating the first five Financial Inclusion Summits. The Summit addresses the financial knowledge, skill gaps and barriers that prevent Americans with disabilities from participating in the economic mainstream and focused on creating solutions to assure their access to mainstream financial services.
NDI documents 4,500 partners engaging in our content from across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. territories.

2018 – 2019

NDI teams up with the City of New York to launch Empowered NYC, a pilot innovation that equips financial counselors with the training and TA needed to provide inclusive financial counseling services to New Yorkers with disabilities, resulting in nearly half million dollars in savings and debt reduction. This is the foundation of NDI’s Disability Inclusive Financial Counseling model.
NDI submits comments on reforming the Community Reinvestment Act and published the article Closing the Disability Gap: Reforming the Community Reinvestment Act Regulatory Framework.
NDI releases new financial education guides for people with disabilities designed to provide financial educators, American Job Centers, State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies and community-based organizations access to financial resources and tools designed specifically for persons with disabilities.
NDI launches Center for Disability-Inclusive Community Development (CDICD), which works to improve the financial health and well-being of low- and moderate-income (LMI) individuals with disabilities and their families by increasing awareness and usage of the opportunities and resources available under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).
NDI, the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education® (AFCPE®) launch of Financial Inclusion Essentials, a self-paced online course with six modules designed for financial counselors, financial coaches, disability service providers, and others who want to learn more about building the financial well-being of people with disabilities.

2020

NDI holds national listening sessions to better understand the emerging needs of people with disabilities.
NDI launches the Financial Resilience Center (FRC) to provide resources that help those with disabilities and chronic health conditions navigate financially through the COVID-19 crisis, to include free financial counseling and self-paced financial education.
NDI launches the #ResilientPwD text messaging campaign to deliver evidence-based information, tips and interventions to support the resilience of people with disabilities and chronic health conditions.
NDI deploys COVID grants ranging from $15,000-25,000 to 39 community-based nonprofit organizations located across 20 states on behalf of a national bank.
NDI releases two pivotal reports, Race, Ethnicity and Disability: The Financial Impact of Systemic Inequality and Intersectionality; and The Extra Costs of Living with a Disability in the U.S. — Resetting the Policy Table.

2021 – 2023

Thomas Foley joins NDI as its new Executive Director.
NDI Disability Inclusive Financial Counseling launches training with partners in Louisville, KY and with United Way Bay Area SparkPoint Centers.
NDI’s LEAD Center creates the Secure Your Financial Future Financial Toolkit for People with Disabilities.
NDI research continues to influence the understanding of the financial status of people with disabilities and the impact of emerging technologies. Reports released include, Small Business Ownership by People with Disabilities: Challenges and Opportunities; Economic Impacts of Removing Transportation Barriers to Employment for Individuals with Disabilities Through Autonomous Vehicle Adoption; The Financial Health of People with Disabilities: Key Obstacles and Opportunities; and Advancing Economic Justice for People with Disabilities.
NDI launches the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)-funded Community Navigator Pilot Program (CNPP) to support entrepreneurs and small business owners advance their economic stability and self-sufficiency.
NDI creates the Small Business Hub and the inaugural Disability Owned Convening to expand our reach to entrepreneurs with disabilities nationwide through free comprehensive small business resources and peer-to-peer education.

2024 – 2025

NDI’s Disability Inclusive Financial Counseling shows positive impact. Insights, tools and processes are documented and systematized and the initiative expands from three cities to six cities.
NDI continues to advance research with our report, The Intersection of Technology, Disability Rights and Worker Rights; and research on the needs of workforce professionals to meet the AWDP Research – informing the field
NDI’s American Dream Employment Network reaches a ten-year milestone of $112 million in wages earned by people with disabilities returning to work, saving the Social Security Trust Fund $32 million.
NDI celebrates 20 years of impact.