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TO: Mayor Richard C. Irvin
FROM: John Russell, grant writer
DATE: 6/18/2021
SUBJECT:
Request approval to accept a 2021 Kane County Grand Victoria Riverboat Grant, in the amount of $15,000, for the Aurora Financial Empowerment Center.
PURPOSE:
The Kane County Grand Victoria Riverboat Grant will be used to cover part of the salary of a new Financial Counselor position. In just its first year of operation, the Aurora Financial Empowerment Center has served so many low- and moderate-income Aurora families that more counselors are needed.
BACKGROUND:
The FEC is a cooperative service provided by the City of Aurora and The Neighbor Project.
The FEC opened in Spring 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, works to improve the financial stability and awareness of low- and moderate-income Aurora households. The FEC provides families with free, professional, one-on-one financial guidance in areas such as debt reduction, budgeting, savings plans and credit repair, all necessary to lead to economic success for Aurora families.
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DISCUSSION:
The Aurora Financial Empowerment Center is the first and only financial counseling program of its kind in Illinois. First piloted by New York City in 2008, the FEC is now a national model that has been replicated in 23 cities across the country. Providing free, one-on-one professional financial coaching to greater Aurora residents age 18, the Aurora FEC has served almost 400 clients in its first year of operation. Clients have increased their savings by more than $110,000, and reduced their debt by more than $300,000; and these numbers keep rising by the day. Services provided by the Aurora FEC include:
*BANKING: We help clients with opening or transitioning to safe and affordable checking and savings accounts.
*CREDIT: We educate clients on how credit works, and the importance of establishing and raising credit scores.
*SAVINGS: We help individuals and families develop budgets and set aside savings for various goals,...
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