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Wealth Accelerator Director Yaw Owusu-Boahen: "We're not just talking about it—we're doing it."
A new initiative in New Haven designed to close the racial wealth gap will send $2,000 apiece to 82 program participants — 20 of whom will receive an additional $20,000, all with the goal of helping marginalized communities build generational wealth.
The group undertaking this new cash-transfer effort is called the Wealth Accelerator. The pilot program will launch this summer. It aims to test a new wealth-building model through Connecticut’s pioneering “baby bonds” program, designed to address economic disparities across racial and ethnic groups.
On Wednesday, community members gathered at the Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology in Science Park to launch the initiative.
Launched in 2023, Connecticut’s baby bonds program is designed to provide financial support to children born into low-income families. Under this statewide program, babies born to households enrolled in Medicaid receive an initial deposit of $3,200 into a state-managed investment account. The funds are intended to grow over time, with beneficiaries able to access the money between the ages of 18 and 30 for a variety of purposes, such as paying for higher education, purchasing a home, or starting a business.
Building on this, the Wealth Accelerator’s pilot, the Cash Catalyst program, aims to provide valuable insights into how these funds might be spent when the first wave of baby bond recipients come of age in 2041.
Slated to begin this August, the Cash Catalyst program will give over 80 participants, aged 18 to 30, a combination of financial education and direct cash payments, totaling $564,000. The initiative will also offer $20,000 “cash injections” to a smaller group of participants to simulate the baby bond funds’ intended use in real-world conditions.
According to the CT Mirror, the money for this program has been provided in part by M&T Bank, Edward Jones, and the Connecticut Project.
The Cash Catalyst program is modeled after Connecticut’s baby bonds program but with a key difference – rather than waiting for recipients to turn 18 in 2041, the pilot will give funds to participants immediately. As a result, this program could have immediate impacts in New Haven, helping participants take steps toward financial stability and wealth creation at an earlier age.
Yaw Owusu-Boahen, the director of the Wealth Accelerator, said at Wednesday’s event that the program is designed to test how participants will utilize the funds in real-world scenarios. He highlighted that the goal is to observe whether the funds are used to pay down debt, save, or invest in education. These observations will provide valuable insights to refine the future distribution model of the baby bonds program.
As part of that effort, the Wealth Accelerator includes a 10-member resident council that plays a key role in shaping the program’s direction. Arden Santana, who chairs the council, said her role is to ensure the community’s voice is reflected in every stage of the program’s development. “My job is to facilitate the council’s work and be a direct link to the community, making sure its needs, interests, and aspirations are heard,” she said.
Beyond finances, Santana emphasized the importance of centering participants’ emotional and mental well-being.
“What’s important to me in this role is to be able to influence the introduction of mind wellness — of mental wealth, if you will,” she said, noting that many in the program are first-generation homeowners, college students, or business owners who may face internal conflict as they move beyond what’s familiar to their families. She hopes the initiative helps participants navigate that dissonance while building sustainable, holistic wealth.
The program will begin with an educational component, as all participants will attend a series of eight financial literacy classes covering budgeting, investing, and long-term financial planning. These lessons will be reinforced through access to the MoneyByrd financial app, which will help participants track their financial goals and continue to build their financial skills.
Karen DuBois-Walton, the president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven and a member of the Wealth Accelerator’s steering committee, expressed her optimism for the pilot’s success.
“The clearest way to help people build wealth and lift themselves out of poverty is with money. It’s a simple concept, but one that has a real impact,” DuBois-Walton told the Independent Friday. “Programs like this provide the financial foundation that allows people to take the next step, whether it’s saving for a home or covering expenses that often serve as barriers to upward mobility.”
DuBois-Walton went on to highlight how the Cash Catalyst program not only provides a financial boost but also focuses on the long-term success of its participants. She emphasized the importance of financial education, explaining, “It’s not just about giving people money; it’s about teaching them how to manage it. Many people, including those from higher-income backgrounds, don’t fully understand how money works. We want to make sure people not only receive funds but also gain the knowledge and skills to make that money work for them.”
Erik Clemons, founding CEO of the Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology (ConnCAT), framed the program as a community-wide responsibility.
“This is a team effort,” he said. “People have to conspire to help people in need — not just those present today, but those who have yet to be born.”
Clemons, who grew up in poverty, said his lifelong mission has been to help others overcome the same barriers he faced. He described the Cash Catalyst as an extension of ConnCAT’s broader mission to combat systemic poverty through workforce development, education, and entrepreneurship. “This is not just a ConnCAT effort,” he added. “This is a community-driven effort.”
In a message sent the day after the launch event, Owusu-Boahen said, “What excites me about this program is how ambitious it is. A lot of people talk about trying to solve the wealth gap, trying to do something for low-income communities. This is an initiative that’s actively giving direct capital, providing financial assistance, and offering partnership recommendations to real people in our community to help them build their wealth. We’re not just talking about it — we’re doing it.”
The Wealth Accelerator’s pilot program aims to lay the foundation for the broader expansion of the baby bonds initiative, with Owusu-Boahen hopeful that the lessons learned from this pilot will inspire similar programs nationwide. He stressed that the program is focused on showing historically marginalized communities that they are valued, offering them an opportunity to improve their financial standing and build wealth that has been out of reach for previous generations.
As the first group of participants begins receiving funds this summer, the state and its partners will continue to monitor the program’s outcomes, learning valuable lessons about wealth-building, financial education, and the unique challenges faced by marginalized communities.
In the long run, the goal of the Wealth Accelerator and its pilot programs is clear: to create sustainable economic opportunities and lift people out of poverty, one community at a time.