Bank of America Charitable Foundation Donates $25k to CHIP’s Financial Wellness Programs
CHICO, CA – Bank of America Charitable Foundation has granted Community Housing Improvement Program support for financial wellness programs offered to 6 affordable housing communities in four North State counties. The $25,000 will pay for program delivery, supplies and staffing, providing 100 percent program support from June 2017-June 2018.
“This is the third year that CHIP has received this generous financial support from Bank of America Charitable Foundation Grant,” said Kris Zappettini, Director of Rental Housing. “Having sustainable support each year is extremely valuable, and we also appreciate the opportunity to welcome Bank of America volunteers to deliver programs at the apartment communities.”
The goal of the financial wellness program is to educate residents about economic self-sufficiency through financial literacy classes, computer tutorials, budget training, SNAP Program, making better purchase decisions, cooking wisely, and more. Individual served will be at 60% or below the area median income. Most of the participants will be at 30%-50% of AMI.
Said Zappettini, “Financial stability is a daily issue our residents face. They are part of the more than four million families living in federally assisted rental housing units earning less than 30 percent of area median income with the average income of $18,000 a year for a family of four. Single-family women, those who are unemployed and/or lack a high school diploma, head many of these households.”
According to Shelterforce National Housing Institute, "there is evidence that financial education can improve financial literacy and, even more importantly, change financial behavior for the better. Financial literacy programs can help families save and build assets and, if done properly and in partnership with financial institutions, can be a direct path to helping families become banked."
“We want to treat the entire family so that the information they received can benefit anyone in the household, regardless of age.” Said Zappettini. “We want to help promote good financial behaviors that can be modeled and adopted by the younger members of the family.
CHIP plans to work with Bank of America volunteers to deliver question-and-answer based workshops or use the Better Money Habits software.
Community Housing Improvement Program
CHIP is a private, non-profit corporation providing quality affordable self-help housing, rental apartment communities and housing-related services to seven Northern California counties. The organization has built more than 2,000 housing units in the North Valley since 1973.
###
For more information contact:
Kris Zappettini kzap@chiphousing.org
530.891.6931 x243
