Meet a Grantee

Girls Inc. of Central Alabama’s Economic Literacy Program

—Erin Melaney, Development Director

Girls Inc. of Central Alabama’s Economic Literacy program provides the unique opportunity to teach financial literacy to and encourage economic independence among girls and young women. Through support from the Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham, Girls Inc. purchased materials, established links with local schools and professionals, and significantly impacted the lives of 377 girls who participated in our outreach, summer programs, and after-school programs supported by grant dollars.

Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama’s CentsAbility Financial Literacy Program

—Margaret L. Ritchie, Vice President for Resource Development

The primary goals and objectives of the CentsAbility Financial Literacy Program are to develop participants’ budgeting skills and financial management knowledge and to empower participants to set challenging goals for themselves and seek out new opportunities (attitude). The program served 690 girls in 2009–2010. They earned Girl Scouts badges by demonstrating proficiency in the following areas:

• Girls made change and used comparison shopping to stay within given budget
• Girls created an individual budget and followed it over a period of two months
• Girls planned and carried out a money-earning project or donation drive to support a community service project or a troop trip and also created a budget for a local or regional trip and followed it
• Girls wrote checks to buy supplies needed for a troop activity
• Girls attending the end-of-year program event where they learned how to write checks and how to manage funds in a checking account
• Girls created a troop budget for the year
• Girls set individual and group financial goals and made plans to achieve them

Pathways’ Fiscally Fit Program

—Karen Griner, Development Director

Pathways’ Fiscally Fit is a program that helps homeless women and children learn how to use money beneficially. The curriculum teaches participants how to manage savings, benefits, and living expenses out of whatever income bracket they are in. The children’s component of the class uses literature as well as games to teach the value of money and its uses.

Thanks in part to The Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham’s support of this program in 2009, 65% of adult participants who completed the Fiscally Fit program that year increased their knowledge of basic money management and developed a spending plan; 60% of children who completed the program in 2009 now know when to lend money to a friend as measured by instructor-led assessments.

One particular Fiscally Fit participant has made tremendous financial progress. Anna opened a checking account and even established a rapport with the tellers at a local bank. Using the skills she gained through Fiscally Fit, she paid off old debts and fines. Anna is now working on saving funds for a housing deposit and costs. She is very consistent with her savings and is excited about taking responsibility for her own financial stability. This is a remarkable accomplishment for any woman in shelter. But given the obstacles Anna has worked to overcome—including having served time in prison and having virtually no understanding of money management—her newfound responsibility and success are even more outstanding.