Blog

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
December 18, 2020

Contact: Ann Schnuer, National Director of Partners & Programs, Community Financial Resources ann@communityfinancialresources.org

Community Financial Resources’ staff members have been awarded a scholarship from the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education which will cover costs to attend financial coaching classes.

By having the opportunity to participate in AFCPE trainings, Community Financial Resources will be able to further develop their financial coaching offerings.

OAKLAND, CALIF. – The Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education (AFCPE) Strategic Impact Fund has allocated up to $100,000 in 2020 to provide capacity building scholarships to nonprofit community-based organizations focused on building a thriving community and bridging gaps of inequality with the highest standards of professionalism.

Community Financial Resources (CFR) was awarded $1300 from the AFCPE Strategic Impact Fund for two staff members to participate in a total of four training sessions. By participating in the AFCPE courses, CFR will be better positioned to advise partners on financial coaching strategies and topics that will best serve partners’ participants, as well as incorporate the learnings into CFR’s MoneyGoals platform and financial education curriculum.

Thanks to the opportunity to participate in AFCPE trainings, CFR staff will be able to further develop their financial coaching offerings in a number of ways, including:

• Revising financial education lesson plans and activities to reflect current research and best practices
• Creating new curriculum content to be implemented at CFR community partner sites
• Reviewing financial education recommendations given to partners to ensure it meets industry standards
• Developing CFR “Train-the-Trainer” sessions, where community partners are trained in implementing the CFR financial education curriculum
• Enhancing the MoneyGoals platform to address the overarching pain points in traditional financial coaching

CFR’s financial education curriculum is rooted in looking at systemic inequality as it relates to access to financial services and asset-building. The curriculum is also trauma-informed, and takes into account peoples’ lived experiences. By addressing issues of inequality within the curriculum, CFR seeks to shed light on the harmful policies, practices, and financial products that have preyed upon low-income, low-wealth BIPOC communities, for far too long. It is through this lens, that CFR trains financial coaches on utilizing their MoneyGoals platform, allowing coaches to help individuals set realistic goals so that people can take control of their financial lives.

“The opportunity to participate in AFCPE courses, allows CFR staff to learn about and implement new financial topics and education materials within the wider curriculum offerings, and will support CFR’s organizational goal of providing individuals with the knowledge and resources they need to ensure they can have control over their financial journeys, and meet their financial goals” said Community Financial Resources’ National Director of Partners & Programs, Ann Schnuer.