No images? Click here FOC Newsletter SnapshotUpcoming Webinars - May 2021 FOC Spotlight: Financial Capability Month! FOC Featured Resources Jane Addams Resource Corporation, Chicago, IL FOC NewsLISC Family Income and Wealth Building periodically offers webinars and in-person/virtual training on a variety of topics connected to Financial Opportunity Centers such as Salesforce data entry, program management, financial coaching, workforce development, and much more. This newsletter will keep you posted on all upcoming events. If you find this newsletter useful, make sure to share this subscription link! Upcoming FOC Events** Note: All webinars are listed in Central Standard Time** April 26 | 2 PM CST | 60 minutes | Credit Scores and Reports This webinar will focus on building the knowledge around credit, tools for applying for it and monitoring credit reports as well as how to rebuild credit and maintain a good score. Led by a professional expert and practitioners, this webinar will discuss strategies to build credit, reading credit reports, identify how to protect credit from incorrect claims and fraud. This webinar's information will benefit frontline staff and program managers interested in learning tools and tips to share with clients to increase their financial security. May 5 | 2 PM CST | 60 minutes | Credit Builders Alliance - Membership Services During this session, Credit Builders Alliance (CBA) will review updated Member benefits and pricing, including the discount FOCs are eligible for. It will also provide a refresher on the CBA onboarding processes, so you know what to expect. Join us to ensure that you are apprised of the updates and can maximize your CBA Membership. There will be time for questions, so please bring yours! May 6 | 1 PM CST | 60 minutes | Introduction to the Accenture Skills to Succeed Learning Exchange This webinar will introduce the Accenture Skills to Succeed Learning Exchange. This platform offers over 100 career and financial education courses, all of which are available to FOC partners and clients for free. Join us to see how your organization can continue to provide instruction and FOC services virtually and track client’s individual progress through their training plan. May 7 | 2 PM CST | 60 minutes | Leveraging Fintech for Financial Health - Building Credit and Savings with Twin Accounts™ Please join us for a discussion on extending Fintech products to the community and develop a deeper understanding of how to build positive credit using affordable financial products like Twin Accounts™. We will hear from Esusu about how clients adapt to use FinTech across all markets. Practitioners will discuss their coaching strategies to bring FinTech to support client's financial health and generate positive outcomes to build credit and savings. Reoccurring Webinars May 03 & 17 | 1 PM CST | 60 Minutes | Salesforce Support Hour Salesforce Support Hours are held on the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month (excluding holidays). Drop into the Salesforce support hour to have ALL of your Salesforce questions answered, from data entry to reporting. This session is an informal setting that allows attendees to join in at any point during the time period. Come with questions or just join to listen to others' questions. * No registration required. May 13 & 27 | 1 PM CST | 60 minutes | Twin Accounts™ Biweekly Support Hosted on a biweekly basis, this is an informal meeting to allow space for coaches to ask questions specific to Twin Account™ via Esusu. Stop by with all your questions or join in to hear from other coaches and the work that they are doing. FOC Spotlight: Financial Capability Month April is recognized as National Financial Capability Month to celebrate the value of high-quality financial education that leads to action and financial stability. LISC thanks every financial coach in our FOC Network for refining their financial coaching skills while passionately helping many Americans living in underinvested communities to improve their economic situation. Here we have a reflection of two coaches representing our network. Apryl Muyanshongore HUD Certified Financial Coach at Urban Alliance, Kalamazoo, Michigan What does Financial Capability Month mean to you? Financial Capability Month is a time to recognize the importance of taking steps to understand where one stands in his/her financial journey. It is also an opportunity to continue the discussion of the basic tools of financial literacy. What is the impact that you see financial coaching has on the clients your organization serves? The clients of Urban Alliance have taken ownership in knowing what it takes to become financially whole. Yes, the journey might become bumpy and challenging at times, but they have been willing to put forth the effort to set themselves up for financial success. What best practices can you share with other financial coaches doing this work? This is a general best practice, but coaches should always walk alongside their clients and find ways to celebrate their wins. Coaching is about establishing a trusting relationship between the coach and the client. Also, make sure that the coaching supports the clients’ values and SMART goals for what they are desiring to accomplish. Britt Bartholomew Financial Coach at Jane Addams Resource Corporation, Chicago IL What does Financial Capability Month mean to you? Financial Capability Month is a time for me to reflect on what my students have been learning, and work toward helping them achieve their goals by meeting them where they are. Instead of teaching base-level topics, I usually take a deeper dive into a particular topic of interest for our trainees and allow them to share their own personal experiences, knowledge, and opinions so that they can learn just as much from each other as they do from me. Financial Capability means many different things to many different people. I love hearing about what participants value, allowing them to have the space to talk with their peers about what they believe and share knowledge with each other. What is the impact that you see financial coaching has on the clients your organization serves? Because JARC works to help people train for and find careers in manufacturing, most of our trainees come to us with low or no income, and so it can be challenging and sometimes traumatic to talk about these issues. Once they realize what we as coaches can do for them, most of the time, they open up and share their goals and motivations. It's wonderful to see them work toward what they set their minds to. Whether their goal is to pay down debt, buy a home, retire, or just get their monthly budget in order, it's amazing to watch them come up with unique (and sometimes surprising) plans to get where they're going, along with solutions to setbacks or roadblocks as they arise. The financial education that we provide in the classroom (or on zoom for now), combined with the financial coaching that they receive both while they're enrolled in the program and when they graduate helps them lay out the groundwork they need to successfully reach their own definition of financial success. What best practices can you share with other financial coaches in the network? Be patient, kind, and respectful of their boundaries. Any good coaching relationship is based on mutual trust and informed consent. Let them know what your guidelines for harmonious conversations (ground rules) are and allow them to set any boundaries they'd like. My go-to guideline for trainees when they meet with me is to let me know if I ever overstep a boundary unknowingly, or if I'm totally off base. By letting them know that it's totally okay to push back, you create a sense of equity between you and your clients - it lets them know that you're both on the same team, but they're team captain! Can't get enough? Here are two stories highlighting the amazing work of FOC partners. "Steadfast, Remain Humble, Patience": One Woman’s Mantra on the Road to Financial Stability Bad Credit can Halt Progress: Twin Accounts™ Can Change That - Amos House, Genesis Center and the Providence Housing Authority –all offer Twin Accounts™ - Rhode Island Additional FOC Resources|We have a variety of tools, products and resource to support your FOC to maximize your impact. Check them out!
Accenture LX | This platform connects FOC with over 100 online digital skill-building, career, and financial education courses for free. If you are interested in learning more, click here to review our virtual learning webinar series. NEW SPANISH COURSESArc Tool | The Arc Tool is a client-facing digital intake with the primary goal of connecting clients and coaches. To learn more about this tool join the upcoming webinar by registering above or click here for more to learn more.Prepaid Cards | In partnership with Citi Inclusive Finance, LISC groups have access to No Fee Prepaid Cards to support client cash assistance. To learn more, click here to contact Laura D'alessandro and indicate your interest.Twin Accounts™ | This is an innovative financial product that uses behavioral economics principles to help low- to moderate-income people save money while building credit at the same time. Click here to learn more on how to connect your clients to this product.Texting via Mogli | LISC has re-launched a network-wide text-messaging application in Salesforce. With this feature, staff are able to send individual messages directly from a client's case record or bulk messages to a group of clients. All active Salesforce users automatically have access to this feature at no additional cost. Click here to learn more. Worthi | This is a free tool that helps connect job-seekers to the online training they need to be successful in their careers by identifying which skills are in demand and connecting users to the courses that will grow their skills. Click here to learn more. |