Finanzas

An Effective Practice

Description

Finanzas is a bilingual financial literacy program serving Perdue Farms employees in Georgetown, DE. It operates in conjunction with the state's Live Near Your Work initiative, and strives to enable workers to purchase homes near their place of employment. Participants in the six week financial literacy course are encouraged to open bank accounts and establish direct deposit for their paychecks. They also receive housing counseling from National Council on Agricultural Life and Research (NCALL) staff. Participants can attend training during work hours with no loss of pay.

Goal / Mission

The goal of this program is to promote financial literacy and encourage home purchasing by Spanish-speaking employees.

Results / Accomplishments

Thirty-six workers attended Finanzas during the first year. NCALL held pre- and post-class tests to measure participants' knowledge and track their financial development. NCALL found that the class directly impacted participants' behavior: 26 percent opened checking and savings accounts; 15 percent decided to work toward purchasing a home; and 85 percent gained confidence in the banking system. Some participants have enrolled in homeownership counseling through NCALL and many have repaired or improved their credit histories.

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
National Council on Agricultural Life and Labor Research Fund and Perdue Farms
Primary Contact
Joe L. Myer, Executive Director
National Council on Agricultural Life and Labor Research Fund
363 Saulsbury Road
Dover, DE 19904-2722
(302) 678-9400
jmyer@ncall.org
http://www.ncall.org
Topics
Economy / Investment & Personal Finance
Economy / Poverty
Organization(s)
National Council on Agricultural Life and Labor Research Fund and Perdue Farms
Source
Finance Project
Date of publication
Sep 2005
Location
Georgetown, DE
For more details
Target Audience
Racial/Ethnic Minorities