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$25,000 Grant from Wells Fargo to Bolster Economic Opportunity For All

Oct 21, 2021

Thank you to Wells Fargo for awarding Neighborhood Allies a $25,000 grant towards building equitable resilience through economic opportunity! This grant will specifically help to fund the Pittsburgh Financial Empowerment Center and Fund My Future PGH.

 

 

Over the past six years, Neighborhood Allies has developed expertise and focus on economic opportunity — creating ways for people in the Pittsburgh area to build knowledge, assets, and hope.  Two such programs include the Pittsburgh Financial Empowerment Center, which offers professional one-on-one financial counseling at no cost, and Fund My Future PGH, a savings program that encourages saving for your child’s future.

Fund My Future family at a recent outreach event.

Since 2019, when the Pittsburgh FEC launched, we have served over 1,000 clients over 3,664 sessions, for an average of three sessions per client. As a whole, those clients achieved nearly 2,000 positive outcomes related to their financial goals, including an impressive total of $1,412,435 of savings built and $1,996,028 of debt reduced! Similarly exciting, since 2017, over 4,000 families have enrolled in Fund My Future in Allegheny County. Although half of the families that enroll don’t already have a long-term savings account for their children, half of those open one after receiving our assistance in opening accounts and reminders to save along with the chance to win cash prizes. 60% who were not saving when they enrolled have started to save, and 40% of all participants with bank accounts are making a deposit in any given month!

Now, in the face of economic fallout due to COVID-19, our initiatives have become more essential than ever. We continue to expand, providing more services to greater segments of the population, and building long-term financial stability. We have learned that it’s not enough to simply provide financial information; those who have traditionally been excluded from the financial mainstream need more assistance, resources, and encouragement. And we’re here to provide all of that and more!

Our work would not be possible without the tremendous support of funders like the Wells Fargo. Thank you for your continued commitment and investment as we support the people, organizations and partnerships committed to creating and maintaining healthy neighborhoods!

Top Header Image Photo Credit: Prototyping Larimer Stories by artist John Peña, photo by OPA