United Way of Miami-Dade recently announced that it has received a $100,000 grant from the Citi Foundation to support local financial education programs through the new Citi Fund for Financial Capability.
The fund uses an innovative and inclusive process to select programs for funding: United Way provided the necessary training in the grants process to a committee of Citi employee volunteers, who then brought their expertise and experience to bear as they reviewed applications, evaluated programs and made funding decisions.
The following nonprofit organizations and programs were selected for funding after the rigorous, competitive selection process:
Junior Achievement — JA Company program: A business, entrepreneurship and economics curriculum will be taught to high school students through creative and interactive activities.
South Florida Urban Ministries — Ways to Work program: Families will be provided with much-needed financial education and asset development training as well as help with accessing car loans (since daily transportation is a common and fundamental challenge for low-income workers).
YWCA — Economic Empowerment Program: Low- and moderate-income women will be empowered to improve financial conditions for themselves and their families through a basic understanding of banking, saving and the importance of good credit, and will be offered incentives for saving.
“At Citi, we support financial inclusion strategies that increase the number of low- to moderate-income adults, youth and families who adopt positive financial behaviors and accumulate and preserve financial assets,” said Kathryn Dinkin, regional president, East, for Citi U.S. Consumer and Commercial Banking.
“This means providing households with access to the financial services, education and support they need to help make informed decisions and achieve financial stability. It’s a model that we’ve used with United Way to great success elsewhere in the country and I’m very glad that our Citi Community Development team in South Florida, led by Barbara Romani, has introduced it there,” Dinkin said.
“Through our support we hope to catalyze change in consumer behaviors and drive adoption of new approaches that will improve the financial capability of low- to moderate-income consumers.”
During the process, each organization had to demonstrate that its impact would be broad and measurable. The programs were selected based on their ability to provide financial education for a significant number of clients; to measure in a meaningful way the impact of that education on clients’ lives, and to serve a diverse population reflecting the demographics of Miami-Dade County’s population, including low-to-moderate-income individuals.
“We strive to help families in Miami-Dade become financially stable, and with this wonderful gift from Citi, we will continue to support programs that teach families how to best manage their finances, acquire assets, and create new, healthy financial habits,” said Harve Mogul, president and CEO of United Way of Miami-Dade.
For more information, visit the new website at www.unitedwaymiami.org. Additional information can be found at www.citifoundation.com.
