Terre Haute, IN – United Way of the Wabash Valley (UWWV) announced a new grant opportunity made available by their Financial Management Impact Council to educate our communities about financial management and to break the cycle of generational poverty. The UWWV supports financial coaching and income management throughout the six-county service area: Clay, Parke, Sullivan, Vermillion, & Vigo Counties in Indiana & Clark County in Illinois. In the UWWV’s service area, approximately 33,000 households live below a bare-bones financial income referred to as ALICE (asset limited, income constrained, employed).
The UWWV’s Financial Freedom for All investment will impact the community by investing in efforts to improve family budgeting skills, encourage ongoing savings to assist with emergency situations and retirement savings, as well as reduce the need to seek high-cost borrowing alternatives for unforeseen needs. The UWWV believes that growth in evidence-based personal financial literacy programs and services will positively impact these measurements.
The need for increased financial literacy among adults in the U.S. is well-documented. The Board of Governors for the Federal Reserve released the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households which found that more than one-fourth of adults were either unable to pay their monthly bills or were one $400 financial setback away from being unable to pay them in full. Moreover, the 2023 Hoosiers by the Numbers report indicates that our local region is ranked as the lowest per capita income in the state, with a high percentage of households enrolled in welfare (TANF) and free and reduced lunch programs.
Whether it’s due to insufficient knowledge, lack of planning, or unexpected expenses, financial literacy training programs will help improve an individual’s ability to make informed judgments and effective decisions regarding the use and management of money. By creating new or expanding existing programs and services offered throughout the UWWVs six-county service area, families will move one step closer to financial stability and prosperity.
The UWWV is soliciting proposals to improve financial literacy by providing funds for programs and services that offer individuals practical skills and knowledge about financial management. The initiative must expand all participants’ ability to understand and properly apply financial management skills. UWWV is seeking proposals from qualified applicants to coordinate, manage, and monitor programs and services that will identify and attract members of the ALICE population to participate in the financial literacy program or service and facilitate their attendance and participation.
The UWWV invites applications from the following categories of entities based in or operating programs or services in Clay, Parke, Sullivan, Vermillion, or Vigo Counties in Indiana or in Clark County in Illinois: nonprofit (may form partnerships with for-profit organizations but lead must be nonprofit), faith-based and community-based organizations, educational institutions, financial institutions, or a unit of local government.
Ashley Wadsworth, Financial Management Council Co-Chair, stated “The Financial Management Council is seeking proposals as unique and impactful as the previously funded Home Down Payment Assistance Program. We can’t wait to see the proposals that will help achieve Financial Freedom for All in the Wabash Valley.”
The UWWV is making available $90,000 in funding to be provided over two years from the grant start date. The maximum award will be $30,000; however, additional funding that exceeds $30,000 for truly innovative proposals will be considered. There will be a LOI and Stewardship Package orientation meeting on June 27th, 2024, at 12 noon. If interested, please RSVP to Michele Bennett at (812)235-6287 or [email protected]. The LOI and Stewardship is due electronically to the UWWV by 4:00 pm on August 15th, 2024. For the full list of requirements and application details visit uwwv.org/funding.
