2012 Assets Learning Conference
 

Financial Opportunity Centers: Building Wealth through Integrated Service Delivery

September 20, 2012 3:30 pm - 4:45 pm

Room: Washington 2

Financial Opportunity Centers, based on the Center for Working Families model developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, are community-based institutions that provide a comprehensive set of three core services (employment services, financial services, and access to public benefits) to neighborhood residents. By incorporating an innovative “coaching” approach, the Financial Opportunity Center model helps clients build on incremental financial goals to ultimately achieve longer-term asset accumulation and economic stability. This session will highlight the credit and asset-building programs of three Financial Opportunity Centers, and the Centers' strategies for integrating financial coaching with financial product offerings, with a particular focus on populations (such as low-income individuals, refugees, and the formerly incarcerated) that have traditionally faced barriers to accessing mainstream financial services.
 

Speakers:

  • Jason Jarvinen, International Rescue Committee (Presentation - PDF)
  • Sarah Priest, Director of Financial Services at Community Action Duluth
  • Frederick Stupen, Safer Foundation (Presentation - PDF)
  • Katrin Sirje Kärk, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (Moderator) (Presentation - PDF)