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TO: Mayor Richard C. Irvin
FROM: John Russell, grant writer
DATE: March 4, 2021
SUBJECT:
The Aurora Financial Empowerment Center is requesting City Council approval to apply for a Kane County Grand Victoria Riverboat Grant in the amount of $30,000.
PURPOSE:
The Financial Empowerment Center is seeking a grant from Kane County to assist in the staffing for the continued operation of the FEC
BACKGROUND:
With grant assistance from the Cities For Financial Empowerment, as well as funding from the City of Aurora and several area banks and local agencies, the Financial Empowerment Center opened in a City-owned building on South River Street in April 2020. The FEC provides free, one-on-one financial guidance to low- and moderate-income residents. Since its opening, the FEC's financial counselors have assisted more than 300 residents in finding ways to increase their savings and reduce their financial debt. The Aurora FEC has contracted with The Neighbor Project, which serves as the FEC's primary collaborator. The Neighbor Project has a specialized expertise in helping low- to moderate-income residents buy their first home. Other partnering agencies include: African American Men of Unity, Aurora Housing Authority, Family Focus Aurora, Good Samaritan Network, Hesed House, Mutual Ground, Taking Back Our Community, Waterford Cancer Resource Center, Aurora Public Library District, Association for Individual Development, Kane County Sheriff's Department, RITAS Ministry, VNA Healthcare, Waubonsee Community College, St. Vincent DePaul Society, World Relief DuPage, Fox Valley United Way, The Community Builders, Inc, and Two Rivers Head Start Agency
DISCUSSION:
We are requesting $30,000 in assistance from the Grand Victoria Riverboat Fund for the staffing of financial counselors at the Aurora Financial Empowerment Center, 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...
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