If you search the Internet for the term “wealth building,” you’re likely to get a slew of websites from financial planners and other so-called experts who try to define for us what a prosperous life is and what one needs to do to achieve it. Save X amount of money each month, start an investment account by this age, acquire these assets – the list goes on. But all of this advice comes out of a framework that assumes wealth is simply defined as assets owned minus debts owed and that everyone’s top goal is to maximize their net worth as much as possible.

But when we asked Black mothers from Springboard to Opportunities – a nonprofit that works alongside residents living in federally subsidized housing in Jackson, Mississippi as they pursue their goals in school, work, and life – what they believed it meant to build wealth or live a prosperous life, they did not talk about asset accumulation or stock portfolios. They didn’t even talk about big houses or fancy cars. Instead, they described a life that was free from chronic stress and worry, where they have free time to spend with their children and invest in their own interests. They described being part of a safe and caring community, and paying all their bills with enough left over for savings and self-care or fun activities.

What our families described was a deeper and richer vision of prosperity than a typical wealth building framework – one that we have started calling holistic prosperity. Based in four interconnected and interdependent principles – Financial Stability, Time Autonomy, Dynamic Well-being, and Social Capital – this framework is grounded in the expertise and experience of low-income Black mothers and acknowledges that for a family to feel wealthy and believe they are living a prosperous life, it takes more than just cash and assets.

While a mother might be making enough income to feel financially stable, if she’s working 60 hours per week with no time for rest, her children, or her community, it does not feel like a prosperous life. Or if she is working reasonable hours but her pay is so low that she cannot afford the dues for her child to be on a sports team or play in the band, she still feels like she is coming up short.

Springboard is anchored in a belief that the families we serve know better than anyone else what they need to reach their goals and care for their own family, and they should be able to define for themselves what a whole and prosperous life looks like. Yet their voices and experiences are seldom considered when we create wealth building or even poverty-alleviation strategies. Instead, our policies and programs are grounded in false, deficit-based narratives that particularly surround Black women living in poverty and lead to paternalistic and punitive requirements that hinder a family’s ability to even build financial wealth, let alone the other aspects of holistic prosperity that our families have identified as essential aspects of thriving communities.

As we consider how to take a community-driven approach to wealth-building, we must start by examining the assumptions and beliefs we bring to the conversation. Too often, our programs and policies have left family voice out, and in doing so, have failed to create solutions that align with the needs or dreams of the people these solutions are meant to serve. But when we actually include families in the process and trust their expertise, we can create programs and policies that are grounded in dignity, equity, and trust and pursue their vision of holistic prosperity.

Sarah Stripp is the Director of Socioeconomic Well-being at Springboard to Opportunities, where she leads the organization’s cash-based initiatives and socioeconomic policy priorities. With more than a decade of experience in the nonprofit sector, she provides strategic direction and leadership, supporting families in reaching their goals.