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In 2005 GBIO launched Moving from Debt to Assets, a groundbreaking financial education and empowerment program that has helped more than four hundred families to build strong financial futures. The idea for this program began in 2004, when GBIO decided to hold house meetings and hear what issues people were concerned about. Over and over again, GBIO leaders heard, from city and suburb, from low-income and middle-income people: “I'm drowning in debt!” “I just can't seem to save anything!” “My credit cards are just out of control!” In response, GBIO designed the Moving from Debt to Assets program. Our key partner in this program has been Citizens Bank (which holds the largest share of our member institutions deposits), which provided half a million dollars in seed money to start the program.
The Moving from Debt to Assets program has four components to help participants learn to manage their money, create and stick to a budget, and set and achieve goals:
- A class in financial education, which includes topics such as goal-setting, creating a budget, how to save money, understanding and using credit, and wise use of banking services. One session is devoted to a workshop on new opportunities and obligations regarding health insurance under the new law that GBIO to helped pass. Classes generally meet once a week, for 2½ hours, for 6 weeks.
- An optional peer support group following the class, in which participants help each other stay on track toward achieving their financial goals. In these monthly meetings, led by trained peer leaders, participants celebrate each others' successes, share problems, come up with solutions, and learn more about topics that they identify.
- Three sessions with a professional financial counselor. The counselor helps low-income participants create a budget, deal with credit issues, solve problems, and set and achieve goals.
- A grant of $500 to help low-income participants to reduce debts or save for the future.
What makes the Moving from Debt to Assets program a groundbreaking national model is:
- Its combination of multiple components – It is not just classes, but counseling, peer support groups, and grants, all designed to have the maximum impact, and
- Its delivery through institutions that are part of the fabric of people’s lives – It works through the 54 institutions that are members of GBIO, institutions that can support the participants in the changes they have chosen to make through the program, and
- Its scale – Launching 26 classes in four years, it has touched the lives of more than 400 families
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