Financial Literacy Peer Groups

U.S. based populations of struggling youth (foster/adopted, juvenile justice, poverty/homeless and other) need a hand up to deal with debt, work, and all things financial to lead a productive life. 

Approximately 46 million people in the United States live in poverty; of those, twenty-five percent are in the labor force. There are an additional 54 million people that live just above the poverty line. Seventy percent
of those folks will remain in poverty through their lifetime, according to a study by the Pew Research Center on Social Mobility.
Employment alone is insufficient to achieve economic stability or prosperity.
The ability to earn and accumulate assets determines whether people can leave poverty behind and achieve economic security. Assets include both tangible and intangible resources such as cash savings, a college education, stocks and bonds, or a home. Without assets, folks may be able to subsist
day-to-day, but will not be able to cope with a financial emergency, save for their children or invest in a better future. We believe financial literacy
can interrupt the cycle of generational poverty.

FinLit brings at-risk youth ages 18 to 24 together for up to tw years to learn
essential monetary skills. KARA gives grants to participants so that they
can learn to save and invest. The FinLit program is based on a (small)
peer-group comprised of 6-8 members, a trusted staff member of the
partner organization, KARA staff member(s).
PARTNERSHIPS
FinLit is unique as the only financial literacy program in Minnesota
designed to serve at-risk youth outside of the classroom. In the spirit of
meeting people where they are; KARA goes into neighborhoods where
we are needed the most. We partner with community organizations that
provide a safe environment and resources to support at-risk youth.
We have been fortunate to partner with Sunrise Banks. Working with a
relationship banker, each participant is enrolled in a 12-month
(supervised) credit building program.
PARTICIPATION
The group meets monthly sharing information/problem solving with occasional “homework” assigned to participants. We encourage participants to each other outside of the group between meetings.

We believe in applied, hands-on learning. Throughout the year, KARA will
invest at least $1250.00 in each participant through a savings account, checking account and self-owned brokerage account. Accounts will be owned by participants and voluntarily reviewed monthly.
CURRICULUM
We seek not only to help with fundamental financial skills and wealth
building blocks, but also to address the roadblocks of poverty and the
shame associated with childhood/juvenile trauma. FinLit curriculum includes:
 Overcoming Roadblocks and Shame: child support, bankruptcy,
and criminal records.
 Issues relating to trust, friends, and money.
 Identifying big money mistakes, poor investments and scams.
 Using the services and products of financial institutions
confidently.
 Creating and implementing a spending plan/budget.
 Distinguishing between financial wants and needs.
 Understanding employment: payroll taxes, self-employment,
insurance.
 Building credit and borrowing money responsibly.
 Investing money and asset management. 

2 groups currently;1) Foster youth leaving the system & 2) single mothers. 

Most have never had a bank relationship. Most had bad credit and some with judgements/bankruptcy.

Peer groups work over time to build trust and relationships that allow participant to share personal issues, problems and solutions. Each group meeting is facilitated by the organizations (Foster org/Single mother's org) leader and a KARA staff member.

We meet people where they are and work to build better habits, understanding and competency that make life easier for them.

Our banking relationship is the only bank  in our State (that I'm aware of) that makes loans to people without money (KARA pays the loan).

Over the 18-24 month period, we work together to explore entrepreneurship/ employment, savings and their personal financial issues as well as their habits, dreams and wealth building to break out of the poverty mindset.

Mike Tikkanen as the Executive Director. He is unapologetically and passionately committed to improving the lives of at-risk children. Mike stepped back from his business roles at the Packard group working with distressed business owners in 1996 to become a Hennepin County Volunteer Guardian ad Litem advocating for abused and neglected children.

He was an active volunteer Guardian ad Litem from 1996 to 2010, founded KARA IN 2000 and remains a founding board member of both CASAMN and Friends of Children, now CASA Cares (providing funding to youth in foster care for things the State does not provide).

Emily Saed came on board as the Administrative Director and has been working with Mike to develop KARAs Fin Lit planning and programming. She a poverty trained educator and has more than 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector providing program management, capacity building and general organizational development.

Damon Kocina brings his entrepreneurial talents and group management skills to enrich the peer group experience. His energy and perspective are a valued part of our Fin Lit experience.

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Grow this program nationally.

Today, most financial literacy learning takes place in classrooms across America. Our program is longer, covers more topics and solves the personal problems of the people in our groups. If we are able, these groups will go on in some form for years to come and the families they have will go on to benefit for decades breaking the chain of generational poverty in underserved populations.

Grow the program in MINNESOTA over the next year.

Grow the program nationally over the next five years.

Our participants will be self-sustaining - breaking the bonds of generational poverty. They will become less stressed and healthier with families that make it in the community.

We live in a world where money has become digital, abstract and harder to stay above the surface without guidance. Too many of our youth suffer from families that could not provide good guidance. Like breaking the cycle of generational child abuse, these young people will go on to have productive lives and happier, healthier families once they understand how the system works and replace bad habits with skills and better habits. Each participant might very well go on to influence their children/grand children and beyond.

A community banker willing to work with KARA on a credit building program. There is a federal mandate to do so. 

Banking and new self directed programs for wise saving and investing build wealth and better habits at modest sums to begin and with our investment in participants grow to substantial amounts beginning in years 5-7 along with increased credit scores and earning - allowing for home ownership.

We have the model and it works.

At the heart of this program is the racial disparity facing our participants.

Many of our participants have been the victims of unfair business practices visited upon their families by credit card companies and banks that have marginalized them to a point where they give up trying to compete in a cold hard system that has rejected them.

We help build understanding, skills and participation in a system that they want to participate in but could not without help.

Multiple peer groups. There are dozens if not hundreds of organizations serving struggling youth that we can partner with. We provide skills, dollars and problem solving for this population to give them what they need to lead a productive live.

We will need to fundraise to continue the grant part of our program. Stakeholders in each community will see the value of saving our participants from continued poverty and dysfunctional lives so many of them will lead without this kind of help.

Our organization has been largely funded by several individuals and a few corporations and nonprofits.