Build Your Nest: Compass Working Capital in Chicago

Written by Moriah Garcia Nelson, Chief Program Officer, Compass Working Capital 

In June 2025, over 1,000 families in Chicago were automatically enrolled in a program that could change their financial futures. No applications. No waiting lists. No weighing whether the time investment would be worth the benefit. These families-residents of Chicago Housing Authority (CHA)-were simply in.

The concept isn’t new. Participation in retirement savings increased tremendously when employers began automatically enrolling workers in 401(k) plans. The simple shift removed awareness, decision fatigue, and inertia as barriers, dramatically increasing participation. The principle: make the beneficial choice the default.

Now, that same behavioral economics insight is reshaping how families with low incomes access asset building. Compass Working Capital, a nonprofit dedicated to ending asset poverty, has spent more than a decade helping families build savings and assets by leveraging the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program and delivering financial coaching. Since launching its first FSS partnership in 2010, Compass has demonstrated a track record of success and has worked with 7,300 families to build $35 million in savings across 15 states and Washington, DC.

In Chicago, Compass and Chicago Housing Authority, with support from Greenlight Fund Chicago, launched “Build Your Nest” last June, the largest test of an automatic enrollment model for FSS. This enrollment would typically take years to achieve through traditional opt-in methods.

This isn’t about replacing what works. The traditional opt-in FSS model has supported thousands of families to build assets and achieve goals to build a better future for themselves and their families. Build Your Nest represents an evolution of this proven model, capitalizing on a strong foundation while removing barriers to make asset building more accessible. When the team launched outreach in October to raise awareness and encourage participation in optional financial coaching, families responded with enthusiasm: more than 200 engaged with team members, and 51 coaching appointments were scheduled in just two weeks. Seven months in, zero families have opted out, 884 participants have been contacted, 128 appointments have been completed, and participants have already collectively saved over $400,000.

Why Chicago

Chicago wasn’t chosen by chance. While 33% of Chicago families live in asset poverty, lacking enough savings to survive at the poverty level for three months, that rate exceeds 50% for Black and Hispanic/Latino/a/x families who have been systematically excluded from traditional wealth-building opportunities. Chicago’s asset poverty rate surpasses its income poverty rate of 17%, revealing families earning enough to meet basic needs but lacking the cushion to weather emergencies, pursue opportunities, or build intergenerational wealth.

Chicago offered a ready and aligned partner in CHA. The housing authority shares Compass’s mission and values, and holds a special “Moving to Work” designation from HUD which is a federal program that allows them to test innovative approaches like opt-out enrollment.

When Greenlight Fund Chicago identified Compass as an organization to bring to the city, the alignment of mission, regulatory flexibility, and community readiness made the partnership a natural fit. The question wasn’t whether opt-out could work in Chicago, but how quickly it could demonstrate results that other cities might replicate as Compass works to make asset building the norm in subsidized housing nationwide.

How Opt-Out Works

In traditional FSS programs, families must learn about the opportunity, complete applications, and actively choose to enroll, all while managing work, childcare, and countless daily demands. Even programs that invest in marketing and outreach grow gradually, and many families who could benefit never make it through the door.

Build Your Nest flips the model. Families are automatically enrolled in FSS’s powerful savings component from day one. As their income increases, a portion is placed into a federally funded escrow savings account that they can access upon graduation. Financial coaching is offered as an optional resource, and the graduation process is streamlined. The program remains voluntary, with the option to opt-out without penalty. Making enrollment the default rather than an additional hurdle, Build Your Nest removes the barrier that prevents so many families from accessing an asset-building opportunity they’re already eligible for.

Looking Ahead

The early success of Build Your Nest is just the beginning. Compass is also pursuing authorizing legislation to unlock automatic enrollment testing beyond “Moving to Work” housing authorities. The work in Chicago is helping make that case. 

Over the next few years, the Chicago team is focused on offering services families can use to improve their goals by deepening community connections and expanding support that meets families where they are. The goal is to make financial coaching and other supports as accessible as the savings themselves and to make connections that transform a savings program into a community of families building assets together, supporting one another’s dreams, and demonstrating what’s possible when barriers fall away.

Join the Movement

Build Your Nest demonstrates what’s possible when innovation meets partnership. As Compass, Chicago Housing Authority, and Greenlight Fund Chicago continue testing and refining this approach, they’re proving that asset building can, and should, be the default for families in federally assisted housing nationwide. Whether you’re a funder, policymaker, housing authority leader, or advocate, there’s a role for you in expanding this approach. Connect with us to learn how you can get involved!