Financial Empowerment Institute

Earn IT. Keep IT. Grow IT.

Financial Empowerment Institute

Hard Outcomes: Foster economic mobility and community-wide prosperity. Educate and coach low-income and/or credit-challenged households to improve their financial management knowledge and skills in tandem with growing their credit scores.

Objectives: Multi-layered approach to financial literacy where participants will learn about their relationship with money, the importance of understanding ones credit score, debt reduction strategies, and the importance of saving. In addition to understanding their relationship to money and what factors make up their credit score and net worth, they will be able to apply these strategies to either purchase a home, launch their business and how to establish business credit, and/or receive career services to assist with closing the wealth gap and increasing generational wealth.

Approach: Make expert financial counseling affordable and even free to TANF-eligible families. Combine in-class learning with one-on-one coaching and personalized budgeting. Connect graduates to other wealth-building resources such as homebuyer education and down payment assistance. Enlist co-presenters and program sponsors to enhance effectiveness.

Evidence: One in three families in Columbus live paycheck to paycheck. Those in poorer zip codes spend up to 10% of their income on payday lenders. Solving poverty isn’t just about a job. It’s also about building financial stability.