MoneyWi$e trains DC-area community based organizations

The fundamentals of solid money management were on stage when Consumer Action and Capital One hosted free, financial empowerment training for community-based organizations in Washington, DC on Sept. 8. Close to 50 representatives of community agencies from the DC metro area, including Maryland and Virginia, attended.

The groups that attended were from academic institutions, government agencies and faith-based groups, as well as agencies focusing on the formally incarcerated, youth enrichment, veterans, supportive housing, community development, workforce development and financial education.

Michael Pugh, a senior vice president of branch distribution for Capital One provided welcoming remarks to the attendees. Pugh is a regional executive supporting 75 Capital One banking centers.

The meeting featured sessions on money management and credit. Bert Davis, senior associate for financial education at Capital One, kicked off the morning with an interactive session on teaching adults. Davis has trained community groups and Capital One staff around the country on presentation facilitation and financial education.

Consumer Action’s Linda Williams led the session on money management. She discussed basic money management concepts including setting goals, developing a savings plan, having a spending plan and conducting a financial check-up. Williams laid the groundwork for participants to evaluate the financial situation of a fictional character, Sally Walker, and make their own recommendations for Sally’s financial situation. (The Sally Walker exercise is available for free download and can be used to teach the basic fundamentals of money management, budgeting and the financial tools required to train clients on how to accomplish their financial goals. [Click here to download the exercise.]

Nelson Santiago of Consumer Action led the session on good credit, prompting attendees to think about what steps they can take to build credit, shopping around to compare credit offers, using credit wisely and obtaining and reviewing credit reports regularly.

The day ended with a “Teachback” session. The Consumer Action team asked participants to break in to groups, review condensed versions of the MoneyWi$e modules and prepare skits to teach some of the financial education concepts presented in the modules. The activity allowed participants to practice training skills, enhance their own training styles and observe other participants’ training styles.

The training evaluations were positive overall, with some participants expressing interest in having a longer trainings and others suggesting additional MoneyWi$e topics for future trainings. Even the few participants who had attended MoneyWi$e trainings in the past commented that they had learned new concepts.