In regards to financial institutions and asset building programs, the World Institute on Disability's Access to Assets Program (ATA) does provide technical assistance concerning disability issues. We provide disability awareness training, education on disability access concepts and practice for asset building programs and financial institutions. ATA also provides technical assistance for disability organizations that want to learn more about asset building programs and how they can help their constituencies.

For Training and Technical Assistance, contact:
Megan O'Neil
Access to Asset Project Coordinator
World Institute on Disability
510 16th Street, Suite 100
Oakland, CA 94612
megan@wid.org
Toll-Free Technical Assistance Hotline:
1-866-723-1201

Strategies for Reaching the Disability Market

The National Organization on Disability produced these tips on how to best serve and reach the disability community.
Date: 06/28/2001
National Organization on Disability

• Get early feedback from people with a variety of disabilities in your product development.
• Create advisory committees including people with disabilities to evaluate company-wide accommodations, facilities, and adaptive devices.
• Include people with a variety of disabilities to help develop your marketing strategy.
• Integrate people with disabilities as models, actors, and spokespersons in your advertising.
• Use examples of accommodating disability needs in advertising to illustrate your company's expertise at addressing all customers' needs.
• Know your customer. Do research on people with disabilities to orient your product development and marketing strategy. N.O.D.'s Harris Survey is a good starting point.
• Affiliate with a national disability organization. Conduct cause-related marketintg programs that benefit disability organizations while giving maximum exposure to your brand name.
• Although people with disabilities share a stronger common identity with one another than ever before, make sure your accommodations and product ideas reflect the diverse needs of the disability community. Do not assume that one modification will work for everyone.
• Support efforts to improve access for people with disabilities in the surrounding community.
• For the best local and regional access to people with disabilties, contact N.O.D. State Representatives, Governors' Committees on Employment of People with Disabilities, local cable access channels, radio shows, and independent living centers.
• Reach potential customers with disabilities through special-interest magazines, national radio, cable television networks, or the Internet.
• Reach the disability community through your mainstream advertising avenues. For every person with a disability, there are many family members and friends who are sensitive to and who support disability issues.
• Make sure that your company has aggressive recruiting efforts and good employment policies for people with disabilities, and that disability is included in your company's diversity training. People with disabilities are more likely to patronize a business that has an established culture of inclusion.