United Way of San Diego County is currently accepting an RFP in its Promoting Financial Stability & Independence impact area. Learn more.

Across San Diego County, thousands of people risk financial ruin because they never learned basic money-handling skills. Nearly one-quarter of low-income families in our region don’t have a checking or savings account and don’t know how to open one.

In October 2006, United Way created a vision council of county representatives, direct service providers, military representatives, judges, and local banking and corporate representatives to lead a financial education effort. Kristy Gregg, San Diego National Bank’s Vice President of Marketing and Community Relations, currently leads the vision council.

To address the serious lack of standardized financial skills training across the region, United Way is investing in a 16-week financial skills improvement program that teaches four core standards – budgeting, credit and debt, taxes and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and checking and savings. With the downturn in the economy, United Way’s efforts to help families and individuals learn to manage is even more critical to the financial health of our communities.

Who is conducting these programs?

Six local organizations were funded to conduct the program: Center for Community Solutions, Community Housing Works, Home Start, Legal Aid Society, North County Lifeline, Second Chance.

United Way is funding other programs that support financial literacy:

• As part of their required economics course, 8500 San Diego Unified senior high school students were introduced to the financial literacy curriculum, which covers the four core skills: budgeting, credit and debt, checking and savings, and taxes. Funding this initiative increases United Way’s reach into the youth population, where we can impact young people before they reach adulthood, when the stakes are much higher. To learn more about this program’s success, read the October 2008 Union-Tribune cover story.
   
• Handling money is challenging at any age, let alone as a teenager who’s homeless or a newcomer to this country. To respond to this marginalized population, in July United Way announced nearly $650,000 in funding to support financial education for formerly homeless, refugee, and economically disadvantaged youth, ages 13-24, and those leaving foster care. $162,000 of the funding is designated for IDA/Matched Funding accounts, which will help them save towards important assets, such as a car, college tuition, or a deposit on their first apartment.
  
  The funding will be invested in nine organizations, including Alliance for African Assistance, Consumer Credit Counseling, Home Start, Just in Time for Foster Youth, MAAC, North County Lifeline, San Diego Advocates for Youth (SAY), San Diego Housing Commission, and San Diego Youth & Community Services. All the funded agencies will implement programs that cover the four core standards: budgeting, credit and debt, check and savings, and taxes and the Earned Income Tax Credit.
   
• We have assumed a leadership role in the local Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) coalition. Last tax season more than 19,000 tax returns were prepared, generating $7.2 million in EITC refunds. Nearly 400 volunteers helped with the free tax preparation services at 75 sites around the county, resulting in additional savings for San Diegans.
   
• By funding additional financial education services, seven local organizations – Home Start, Interfaith Community Services, MAAC Project, North County Lifeline, Social Advocates for Youth (SAY), South Bay Community Services, and International Rescue Committee (IRC) – were able to offer individuals a shorter, two-hour program as an add-on to their tax preparation services.
   
• By providing a community match to the San Diego Housing Commission, United Way helped the Housing Commission leverage our investment and obtain additional federal IDA funds. A federally funded IDA must be used by individuals saving toward an asset goal such as secondary education, homeownership, or micro-enterprise. For every dollar an individual saves, it will be matched by $2.
   
• We’re also investing in IDAs with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), through a non-federal IDA program. These IDAs will be used by individuals who are saving toward asset goals such as personal computers, education, debt repayment, and down payments on automobiles.

Who is getting help?

High-quality training helps people of all ages and incomes manage their money and maintain stability and independence. From young adults in charge of their finances for the first time to single mothers struggling with bad credit to working families building toward their first assets, the programs United Way funds speak to our community’s essential need for a strong financial foundation.

Second Chance success stories
View testimonials from San Diegans who have been able to change their financial lives because of your generosity.

How will we measure success?

At the end of the 16-week training period, each funded organization will assess changes in knowledge and behavior, ensuring that the individual has:

• paid the same bill on time over a three-month period
• established or maintained a checking or savings account in good standing over a three-month period
• developed a 30% increase in knowledge over the 16-week period
• received at least 16 hours of financial education in both a group and one-on-one setting

United Way understands that we all need basic things for a good life: a quality education that leads to a stable job – income that can support a family through retirement – and good health.

For more information about Financial Stability & Independence, contact:

Shaina Gross
Community Impact Manager
Promoting Financial Stability and Independence
(858) 636-4181
Email Shaina