Thank you to our allies at PNC Foundation for your support!
A $50,000 grant from PNC Foundation will support our local network of Financial Opportunity Centers (FOC) throughout Pittsburgh. The FOC model focuses on improving the financial bottom line for low-to moderate-income families and helping people change their financial behavior in a way that encourages a long-term commitment to increasing income, decreasing expenses, building credit, and acquiring assets.
The FOC model is unique in that it bundles three services together – employment services, financial coaching and access to income supports (benefits) – that are combined to reinforce healthy habits and make major financial goals possible. FOC coaches help clients to increase wages, access benefits, build credit, and reduce expenses, leading to positive cash flow and the ability to cover basic household expenses. When families see their wages go further and have their basic needs met, they are more stable in their jobs and have an incentive to keep earning and saving for emergencies. Receiving continued coaching on credit-building and cash flow as income grows allows FOC clients to tap into mainstream financial products and services and access credit. Continued employment coaching allows them to access training and develop new skills, pushing income even further and allowing for saving and investing in the future.
FOC Client, Rhonda Gethers, at her new job at Goodwill SWPA!
“The best thing was the support I received. I had no direction. I didn’t know how I was going to live. I was kind of embarrassed at first; I worried about how they would look at me. Many people discriminate based on age and background, and don’t give a second chance to see you as a good worker. But the staff of the FOC look at people as people, not losers. They welcomed me with open arms. If they couldn’t help me then they’d tell me where to go for help.”
-Rhonda Gethers, FOC Client
Through a formal affiliation with our allies at LISC, we received technical support and funding that allowed us to create a local network of FOCs, formally launched in 2015 at three local employment/social service agencies. In just one year of operations, these three centers have provided bundled services to 480 individuals. Of those, 290 have obtained employment and 256 have increased their net income.
In 2016 we will build upon this work by 1) providing financial empowerment training to case managers in social service agencies; 2) creating a local Asset Building Network to support learning and collaboration; and 3) working with the Mayor’s Office to develop a financial inclusion strategy for Pittsburgh.
Thank you PNC Foundation for your generous support! #LetsBeAllies