NCALL's "Finanzas Financial Education Program"

Category: Best Strategy for Reaching Minority Homebuyers

Information About Innovation:
Title:	NCALL's "Finanzas Financial Education Program"
Summary:	"Finanzas" is a program designed to provide basic banking and finacial education training primarily to the Latino employees in the Perdue poultry processing plant in Georgetown. Program partners include NCALL, Citizens Bank, Fannie Mae’s Delaware Partnership Office and the Delaware State Housing Authority. NCALL’s Spanish speaking Housing Counselor provides basic banking and money management curriculum training twice a week, for six weeks to participants.
Detailed Description:	NCALL has been aware of housing conditions in the Georgetown and central Sussex County area faced by workers in the poultry processing plants and their families. Central Sussex experiences substandard housing, a major influx of Spanish speaking workers, too few affordable apartments, escalating land and housing prices, and rent gouging by local landlords who overcrowd tenants often having them sleep in shifts just like work at the plant. At the same time, NCALL’s Hispanic Housing Counselor based in Georgetown saw that workers were not using the local banking system, were often victims of theft and crime, kept earnings under mattresses, and were substantially at-risk. NCALL became aware of work in Rogers, Arkansas between community groups, banks, and Tyson to help provide homeownership opportunities for the Hispanic community, which was so impacted by poultry processing. A trip was arranged for potential partners to visit Arkansas in August 2002 to hear about their efforts first-hand to see if there were some “best practices” to bring to Delaware. The parties came together over the past year and a half and began plans to pilot a new program called “Finanzas” “Finanzas” is a program designed to provide basic banking and financial literacy training primarily to the Latino employees in the Perdue poultry processing plant in Georgetown. Program partners include NCALL, Citizens Bank, Fannie Mae’s Delaware Partnership Office and the Delaware State Housing Authority. NCALL’s Spanish speaking Housing Counselor provides an hour of basic banking and money management curriculum training, twice a week, for six weeks to a class of about ten employees. Perdue has arranged to let workers attend group training in the plant, while being paid during the work day. Citizens Bank allows the participants to tour their local branch and also has begun to hire Spanish speaking personnel. Fannie Mae and Delaware State Housing Authority provide program and resource development support and act as liaisons with Perdue and the Town of Georgetown. These partners have facilitated a pilot program for nearly a year, and are now ready to continue the program and expand the goals of the program to include replication to serve Latino employees of six other poultry plants in Sussex County Delaware. NCALL would employ a full-time Financial Literacy Specialist who will develop a schedule and provide the training to employees of the plants on an on-going basis. Specifically, the next steps include; sharing results of the pilot program with other plants to undertake this model; raising sufficient resources to expand the program throughout central and southern Delaware; employing a full-time Spanish-speaking Financial Literacy Specialist to provide training to employees of the plants on an on-going basis; implementing the program, providing training for two years; hosting Planning Committee meetings, including a Finanzas graduate to evaluate progress and adjust the program; inviting graduating participants who are interested in homeownership to join NCALL’s homeownership counseling program.
Projected Cost:	Annual Operating Cost for the Finanzas Program is $72,800. Salaries: $30,000 Benefits: $11,435 Transportation: $2,520 Per Diem (10 days for Training): $510 Lodging (five days for Training): 250 Occupancy cost: $4,000 Consumables: $500 Equipment (laptop, LCD, Office equipment): $7,500 Printing/copying: $500 Subs/pubs/regs: $600 Memberships: $25 Telephone: $1,800 Workshop expense: $525 TOTAL DIRECT: $60,165 Plus Indirect: $12,635 TOTAL: $72,800
2003 Outcomes:	Four six-week sessions held provided the program to 36 participants. Pre-tests and post-tests showed dramatic interest and knowledge gain. Confidence was fostered so that employees are now using local banking institutions. Participants learned about their options and are far more aware of finances, with some already enrolled in homeownership counseling. Also, learned to beware of predatory lending practices and theft. They are aware of their credit history and how maintain it. Client survey results, given in percents: •Percentage with checking/savings accounts: 28(before) 54 (after) •Financial objective to buy a home: 62 (before) 77 (after) •Previous financial literacy training: 9 (before)100 (after) •Confidence in banking system: 83 •Employer’s interest in employee’s financial situation: 30 (before) 85 (after)
Keywords:	Collaboration, Counseling, Financial Education, Hispanic, Homeownership
Information About Organization:
Name:	National Council on Agricultural Life and Labor Fund, Inc. (NCALL Research, Inc.)
Address 1:	363 Saulsbury Road
City, State, Zip:	Dover, Delaware  19904
Org. Status:	501c3 Non-Profit
Contact Name:	Joe L. Myer
Contact E-mail:	jmyer@ncall.org
Contact Phone:	302-678-9400

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