CONTACT: Kelsey Clayton, 317-454-8540 kclayton@prosperityindiana.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Prosperity Indiana is pleased to announce an award of $45,000 from The Indianapolis Foundation, a Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) affiliate, to support the Indiana Assets & Opportunity Network (Indiana A&O Network) in creating a Financial Capability Learning Cluster.
As a statewide coalition working to build assets for low-wealth Hoosiers, Indiana A&O Network has found that lack of access to financial planning resources is a major obstacle to achieving financial stability. Integrating financial capability – understood as knowledge + skills + access – into existing programs may be the best way to provide the recommended intervention.
The Indiana A&O Network will work with a single cohort of five Marion County nonprofit organizations for 15 months, beginning September 2016. The purpose of the program is to integrate financial capability services within various programs to better support the well-being of low-and moderate-income clients. The selected organizations are Connected by 25, Families First, Dress for Success, EmployIndy, and Coburn Place. Organizations that successfully integrate financial capability services into their programs will each receive a $5,000 grant to their organization to help offset the cost of their time and catalyze new thinking and ways of doing business.
Over the duration of the project-based Learning Cluster, the organizations will participate in facilitated workshops and peer learning activities. Each organization will convene a group of financial capability integration change-makers within their organization to design, implement, and coordinate services. Their organizations will receive one-on-one technical assistance and support from the Indiana A&O Network to complete a series of implementation planning activities, ensuring their time in the Cluster leads to actionable changes in their programs. Ideally, the Cluster participant will each launch financial capability integration projects within their organizations’ programs that further the goal of helping families achieve financial security.
“Lack of financial education is the result of complex social problems that require commitment and input from many community partners to correct. As our community responds to the increasing need to have a more comprehensive approach to financial inclusion and economic opportunity, it is essential for community organizations to turn their program design toward a more integrated approach to service delivery,” said Kelsey Clayton, Indiana A&O Network manager. “The Network seeks to bring these partners together and carry out the positive change needed.”
To join the Indiana A&O Network, sign-up for Earn, Save, Invest, a monthly e-newsletter here; and for more information on initiatives, visit indianaopportunity.net.
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ABOUT THE INDIANA ASSETS & OPPORTUNITY NETWORK:
The Indiana Assets & Opportunity Network aims to increase asset acquisition for low-wealth Hoosiers and to strengthen local economies through policy advocacy and capacity building, in partnership with local organizations and coalitions. It is co-led by Prosperity Indiana, which is a member organization skilled at coalition building and connected to local Indiana communities, and the Indiana Institute for Working Families (IIWF), skilled in research, policy analysis, and advocacy. The Indiana A&O Network is the state lead for Washington D.C.-based Prosperity Now Assets and Opportunity Network.
ABOUT THE INDIANAPOLIS FOUNDATION:
Established in 1916, The Indianapolis Foundation was one of the first community trusts in America. The Foundation is a public charity and an affiliate of Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF), a collaborative effort between the community foundations serving Marion and Hamilton Counties.
ABOUT CENTRAL INDIANA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION:
Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) is a $700+ million public foundation transforming the lives of central Indiana residents in three ways: consulting donors, family foundations and their professional advisors on charitable giving; awarding grants to effective not-for-profit organizations; and providing leadership to seize opportunities and address community needs. CICF was established in 1997 as a partnership between The Indianapolis Foundation, serving Marion County since 1916, and Legacy Fund, serving Hamilton County since 1991.
