News from the Shriver Center's Community Investment Unit

Funding and partnership opportunities for nonprofits and banks to offer financial education in Southern Illinois

Nonprofit organizations interested in offering financial education classes for low-income adults in southern Illinois are invited to attend a free, one-day bidders’ conference in Salem, Illinois. The conference will be held Tuesday, February 1, from 9am-4pm at the University of Illinois Extension Marion County Office at 1404 E Main, Route 50 East in Salem.  Continental breakfast and lunch will be provided.  A Request for Proposals will be issued at the conference to fund up to five nonprofits in southern Illinois at approximately $8,000 to $10,000 per site. Only nonprofits that attend the conference will be eligible to apply for the grants.

Participants will learn about the Financial Links for Low-Income People (FLLIP) coalition’s Financial Education Program (FEP), how to write a strong proposal to receive FLLIP FEP funding, and how to form partnerships to teach financial education to low-income adults.  Participants will also learn how to write persuasive proposals for support from private financial institutions and others from an experienced grant writer and foundation consultant.

Union Planters Bank will host a related luncheon for banks and credit unions interested in learning about the FLLIP Financial Education Program on Wednesday, February 2, from 11:30am-1:00pm., at the Kokopelli Golf Course at 1401 Champions Drive in Marion.  Luncheon participants will learn how to attract knowledgeable customers and new business by supporting free financial education classes for low-income adults.  The financial institutions will be encouraged to partner with local nonprofits to develop strong proposals and implement effective programs.
 
The bidder’s conference and luncheon are sponsored by the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, whose community investment unit coordinates FLLIP, a statewide coalition of advocates, educators, nonprofits, government agencies, and financial institutions dedicated to expanding financial education, asset-building opportunities, and access to mainstream financial services in Illinois. For more information about the Shriver Center and its community investment unit, please visit their Web site at http://www.povertylaw.org/advocacy/community_investment/index.cfm.

If you are interested in attending either the bidders’ conference or the bankers’ luncheon, please contact Yuri Gottesman  at 312.368.1033 by January 28, 2005.

Congratulations to Partnership Accounts for Individual Development (PAID nfp) in Champaign, the University of Illinois Extension of Peoria County, and the Christian Family Center Corporation in Peoria, for receiving grants to serve as Financial Links for Low-Income People (FLLIP) Financial Education Program (FEP) sites.  In partnership with local financial institutions, these nonprofits submitted strong proposals to provide free financial education classes to low-income adults in central Illinois. 

The financial education program, which is coordinated by the Shriver Center, is comprised of a series of workshops aimed at increasing financial literacy, savings, and assets among low-income adults.  The curriculum that the FEP sites use, All My Money and Your Money & Your Life, was developed by the University of Illinois Extension and FLLIP members.  It addresses topics such as developing credit, saving and spending, using mainstream financial services, tax issues, immigrant issues, identity theft, and public and employee benefits.

The Grand Victoria Foundation and Illinois Department of Human Services provide major funding for this program.

For more information contact Yuri Gottesman at 312.368.1033

More people are going to college; there’s no doubt about that.  But what impact does this trend have on issues like asset building, attainment, and sustainability?  And more importantly, who are receiving college degrees?  Are more low-income people and minorities completing college?

According to the First Quarter 2004 edition of the New England Economic Review, the national gap in college completion between blacks and whites has risen 5.3% from 7.3% in 1970 to 12.6% in 2000 (38).  Just because more people are going to college doesn’t mean the distribution of opportunity is getting better.  A rise in the disparity between blacks and whites denotes that the same inequalities exist in who is actually completing college.

In the same article, research cited family income as a factor in college attendance not just at the time of intended college entry but also throughout the child’s adolescent life.  Cameron and Heckman (2001) argue that “family income has its greatest influence on forming the ability and college readiness of youth, starting in childhood, not in financing a college education” (43). 

This reiterates the need for asset building programs such as Individual Development Accounts (IDAs).  The Shriver Center’s Chicago SEED (Savings for Entrepreneurship, Education and Downpayment) Program is a primary example.  This nationwide initiative establishes matching funds in a child’s savings account that will gain interest throughout adolescence and at age 18 may serve as a “nest egg” upon entering adulthood and hopefully graduating from high school.  As the name suggests, the funds may be used for various asset goals (small business startup or the down payment on an asset like a home, for example).

Here at Mayo Elementary School in Chicago,, all the IDA accounts are specifically earmarked for postsecondary education.  Both parents and children expressed their enthusiasm for making college savings their asset goal, thus fueling a positive mindset about college attendance at an early age. All SEED participants nationwide come from low-income families, and most if not all of the Chicago participants are African American.  With the continuation of SEED and other similar programs, perhaps the next U.S. Census will report a trend toward closing the gap on college completion.

On February 9 and 10, from 9:00am to 4:00pm, the University of Illinois Extension and the Shriver Center will offer instructor training on Your Money and Your Life, part of the FLLIP financial education curriculum.  The training sessions will be held at the Shriver Center, located at 50 East Washington, suite 500 in Chicago.  Topics covered will include managing debt, avoiding money traps, using financial institutions, choosing insurance, realizing job benefits, making money with money, taking advantage of public benefits, understanding taxes, identity theft, immigrant banking issues, etc. The training cost is $110 per person and includes instruction, instructor manual, materials, handouts, and food (breakfast, lunch, and refreshments).

Contact Hannah Avellone at 312.368.8575 to RSVP or for more information.