Upcoming Webinars
Northwest Access Fund is pleased to announce a six-part webinar series held on the third Wednesday of every month focused on supporting people with disabilities start and run small businesses and pursue self-employment. This series is provided with the support of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s PRIME grant program.
Choosing a Business Structure
Wednesday, December 18, 2024 at 12pm
This session will cover an important part of starting a business: choosing a business structure. In this time together, we will provide a brief overview of the common business structures and important considerations that will help you choose a business structure that fits you best.
Presenter:
Molly Sullivan, Griffin-Hammis Associates
CART closed captioning and ASL Interpretation will be provided.
Self-Employment Income and Social Security Disability Benefits
Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 12pm
This session will provide entrepreneurs with disabilities with information and resources to create a personal financial plan for self-employment income and changes, if any, to disability benefits, including Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security income.
Presenter:
Molly Sullivan, Griffin-Hammis Associates
Courtney Pugh, Griffin-Hammis Associates
CART closed captioning and ASL Interpretation will be provided.
Discovering Personal Genius and Self-Employment
Wednesday, February 19, 2025 at 12pm
This session dives into strategies for identifying a business concept that fits the person. The session will explain how the Discovery process can be used to identify business concepts that are based on a person’s skill, passion, and conditions of employment.
Presenters:
Ciara Ladroma, Griffin-Hammis Associates
CART closed captioning and ASL Interpretation will be provided.
The Benefits of Being a Certified Disability Owned Business Enterprise
Wednesday, March 19, 2025 at 12pm
This session explores the benefits of becoming a certified Disability Owned Business Enterprise (DOBE). Join this conversation with Phillip DeVliegher, Vice President of Supplier Diversity at Disability:IN, as he shares details about the benefits and steps to becoming certified.
Presenters:
Ciara Ladroma, Griffin-Hammis Associates
Philip DeVilegher, Disability:IN
CART closed captioning and ASL Interpretation is provided.
Give Yourself (and Your Business) Credit!
Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at 12pm
Is your credit score keeping you from obtaining the things you need or want? Credit can be a valuable asset for you and improving your credit doesn’t require draining your bank account.
Presenter:
Lisa Jones, Northwest Access Fund
CART closed captioning and ASL Interpretation will be provided.
Managing Business Finances
Wednesday, May 21, 2025 at 12pm
Learn the basics of how to set up and manage the finances of your small business. This session discusses the importance of separating business and personal finances and covers financial management basics like budgeting and bookkeeping.
Presenter:
Bea Bany, Northwest Access Fund
CART closed captioning and ASL Interpretation will be provided.
Past Webinars
Navigating the Gig Economy
View Webinar Here
This first session of our Inclusive Entrepreneurship webinar series covers work in the gig economy, including what gig work is, the benefits and challenges, and considerations for pursuing gig work while accessing benefits, such as the need to track and report income.
Presenters:
Ciara Ladroma, Griffin-Hammis Associates
Neena Massey
Give Yourself Credit!
View Webinar Here
Is your credit score keeping you from obtaining the things you need or want? Credit can be a valuable asset for you and improving your credit doesn’t require draining your bank account.
Join Northwest Access Fund Director of Economic Inclusion Lisa Jones to learn the secrets of obtaining and keeping a great credit score.
This webinar covers:
- How to improve your credit score without spending money
- What factors ACTUALLY affect your credit score
- Creating strong, active lines of credit to increase your credit score
A good credit score can save you over $250,000 in your lifetime, let us help you get started!
CART closed captioning and ASL Interpretation is provided.
ABLE: Access to Savings
View Webinar Here
Join Northwest Access Fund Financial Coach & Benefits Planner Allison Falleur Barber to learn how to save while accessing Social Security benefits.
This webinar explains ABLE Accounts and how they can be used to save without affecting access to SSI and/or Medicaid. SSI and Medicaid have resource limits that stop people from building savings. ABLE Accounts are a federally recognized way to save and keep SSI or Medicaid eligibility. They are open to people with disabilities whose disability began before the age of 26. Funds in ABLE Accounts can be used in many ways – join us to learn more!
This webinar will cover:
- The reasons we need to use ABLE Accounts
- Eligibility and how to open an ABLE Account
- Qualifying expenses
- Annual and lifetime contribution limits
- How to add and withdraw funds
CART closed captioning and ASL Interpretation is provided.
Give Yourself Credit!
View Webinar Here
Is your credit score keeping you from obtaining the things you need or want? Credit can be a valuable asset for you and improving your credit doesn’t require draining your bank account.
Join Northwest Access Fund Director of Economic Inclusion Lisa Jones to learn the secrets of obtaining and keeping a great credit score.
This webinar covers:
- How to improve your credit score without spending money
- What factors ACTUALLY affect your credit score
- Creating strong, active lines of credit to increase your credit score
A good credit score can save you over $250,000 in your lifetime, let us help you get started!
CART closed captioning and ASL Interpretation is provided.
ABLE: Access to Savings
View Webinar Here
Join Northwest Access Fund Financial Coach & Benefits Planner Allison Falleur Barber to learn about how to save while accessing Social Security benefits.
This webinar explains ABLE Accounts and how they can be used to save without affecting access to SSI and/or Medicaid. SSI and Medicaid have resource limits that stop people building savings. ABLE Accounts are a federally recognized way to save and keep SSI or Medicaid eligibility. They are open to people with disabilities whose disability began before the age of 26. Funds in ABLE Accounts can be used in a number of ways – join us to learn more!
This webinar will cover:
- The reasons we need to use ABLE Accounts
- Eligibility and how to apply for an ABLE Account
- Qualifying expenses
- Annual and lifetime contribution limits
- How to add and withdraw funds
The webinar includes CART closed captioning and ASL Interpretation.
2022 Social Security Benefits Increase: What Does This Mean for My Budget and Other Benefits?
View Webinar Here
Join Northwest Access Fund Financial Coach & Benefits Planner Allison Falleur Barber to learn about the historic Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) made to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits in 2022.
This webinar reviews the changes to SSDI and SSI, outlines how other benefits might be affected, and offers some steps that those accessing these benefits might wish to take.
We will cover:
- How the Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) affects the cash benefits associated with SSDI and SSI.
- How this might impact other benefits, including SNAP benefits, Section 8 housing, and Medicaid and Medicare.
- Recommendations of steps you could take to help manage these changes.
This event was in English with live CART captioning and ASL interpretation. To view the ASL interpretation in the recording, you will need to download the files from the top right in the Zoom portal and watch the “Gallery” recording.
Tools for Managing Medical Debt
View Webinar Here
Julia Kellison, an attorney with the Northwest Justice Project, and Tony Gonzalez, an attorney with Columbia Legal Services, will share strategies and tools for managing medical debt and accessing available resources such as charity care. This workshop is designed to help individuals understand the options that might be available regarding medical debt or collections, as well as providing professionals with an understanding of how they can best support clients in navigating debts, collections, and garnishments, particularly in relation to medical debt.
This event was in English with live CART captioning and ASL interpretation. To view the ASL interpretation in the recording, you will need to download the files from the top right in the Zoom portal and watch the “Gallery” recording.
This virtual workshop is organized by Northwest Access Fund and is offered at no charge to the community through the Washington State AgrAbility Project, a grant program under the USDA.
Accessing Social Security Disability Benefits as an Adult
View Webinar Here
Join Northwest Access Fund Financial Coach & Benefits Planner Allison Falleur Barber to learn about transitioning to adult Social Security disability benefits.
This webinar focuses on transition at age 18, both from childhood Social Security disability benefits to adult Social Security disability benefits or arriving at a point where you are now eligible for adult benefits.
We will cover:
- The differences between Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Income (SSDI)
- The eligibility and application process for SSI and SSDI
- Eligibility based on your own or another’s work history
- How to establish a household of 1 for SSI purposes
- How to work while accessing Social Security benefits
This event was in English with live CART captioning and ASL interpretation. To view the ASL interpretation in the recording, you will need to download the files from the top right in the Zoom portal and watch the “Gallery” recording.
ABLE: Access to Savings
View Webinar Here
Join Northwest Access Fund Financial Coach & Benefits Planner Allison Falleur Barber to learn about how to save while accessing Social Security benefits.
This webinar will explain ABLE Accounts and how they can be used to save without affecting access to SSI and/or Medicaid. SSI and Medicaid have resource limits that stop people building savings. ABLE Accounts are a federally recognized way to save and keep SSI or Medicaid eligibility. They are open to people with disabilities whose disability began before the age of 26. Funds in ABLE Accounts can be used in a number of ways – join us to learn more!
This webinar will cover:
- The reasons we need to use ABLE Accounts
- Eligibility and how to apply for an ABLE Account
- Qualifying expenses
- Annual and lifetime contribution limits
- How to add and withdraw funds
This event was in English with live CART captioning and ASL interpretation. To view the ASL interpretation in the recording, you will need to download the files from the top right in the Zoom portal and watch the “Gallery” recording.