Reposted from NAACP Blog

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Nicole Kenney, Economic Education Specialist

On Monday, July 25, 2011, at the 102nd National Convention the NAACP Economic Department announced the 21 NAACP branches nationwide that would receive a $4,000 micro-grant to participate in the Financial Freedom Center’s inaugural yearlong financial education series. The purpose of the micro-grant is to provide units with financial/ economic education training in order to strengthen financial/economic awareness in their local communities. Participating units will receive training, technical assistance and other forms of support in order to maximize the success of the program. Units will participate in one of two tracks. Track A is the Financial Education Series, which will cover topics such as foreclosure prevention and recovery, loan scam prevention, and wealth and asset building. Track B is the Community Financial Education Group, which will train unit leaders how to host advocacy, education and support group sessions. Units will be required to complete brief reports 2 weeks after each education session and more extensive quarterly reports.

The NAACP Economic Department received over 75 requests for proposals to participate in this inaugural cohort. The 75 units were narrowed down to 21 units and we are excited to announce the selected units are Alaska, Oregon and Washington State Area Conference; Huntsville, Alabama; Gilbert, Arizona; Riverside, California; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Wilmington, Delaware; Rockledge, FL; Illinois State Conference; Fort Wayne, IN; Louisville Youth Council; Jackson Parish Branch (Jonesboro, LA); Maryland State Conference; Biloxi, MS; Scotland County NAACP Youth Council (Laurinburg, NC); Montclair, NJ; Rio Rancho, NM; Roosevelt, NY; Columbus, Ohio; Brownsville, TN; Texas State Conference and Washington, DC. A representative from each unit will attend the training sessions at the Financial Freedom Center in Washington D.C. and will then be responsible for facilitating financial education workshops in their communities.

The NAACP Economic Department’s Financial Freedom Campaign is based on the theory that when organizing and community mobilization are combined with improved access to quality products and services and monitoring to ensure the absence of discrimination, the result is improved financial security and economic solvency. This grant program, which is part of the Financial Freedom Campaign, intends to enhance the capacity of African Americans and other underserved groups with the knowledge and information necessary to effectively manage their personal finances and credit in today’s economic environment.