Year in Impact: Financial Coaching Expands to Help More Families
In 2017, United Way provided professional development workshops for over 80 area agencies through the Financial Empowerment Learning Institute (FELI),which has been made possible through a generous partnership with Citizens Bank.
The Financial Empowerment Learning Institute’s (FELI) mission is to strengthen financial capability services available at nonprofit agencies in Massachusetts by ensuring that effective programming is implemented by capable staff who can help clients make progress toward their financial goals. FELI is the only training institute in the region providing financial capability training for non-profit professionals and is widely recognized as the leading provider of this service.
During the past year, we’ve taken the show on the road, offering more trainings in more locations. We expanded our FELI training to Newburyport, providing agencies in the North Shore, the Merrimack Valley and the Seacoast the opportunity to train financial coaches. Many of our trainings have also been offered in Newton, providing more convenient access to coaches coming from as far away as Worcester and Springfield. In these geographies, access to financial coaching tends to be limited, though the need is great.
When agencies are able to deliver front-line financial coaching services, they can help clients improve their credit scores, create budgets, and put savings plans in place. For someone living paycheck to paycheck, these skills can keep them afloat.