Economic Education for Immigrant Families
Columbus
Guadalupe Arcos is a personal banking officer at Pinnacle Bank in Columbus. She is a New Americans committee member working to increase financial literacy among new immigrants.
New Americans living in the Columbus and Schuyler area will be able to increase their financial literacy skills thanks to funding secured through the Nebraska Community Foundation. NCF worked with local leaders of the Hispanic community and others to raise $17,000 to match a $33,000 grant from the Ford Foundation.
“This grant is for new Americans to become involved in the community,” said Pat Heims, executive director of the Columbus Area United Way, which is partnering with the Columbus Multi-Cultural Alliance to deliver the new training program.
A key component of the program will provide counseling to help minority citizens become familiar with financial systems. Many new Americans do not use banks and therefore have difficulty establishing credit and applying for scholarships and loans.
A New Americans account has been established within the Columbus Area Community Foundation Fund. Committee members recently learned that an additional $7,200 Building Entrepreneurial Communities Act grant has been awarded to the program. Long-term goals for the New Americans program include economic empowerment, financial literacy, economic self-sufficiency and civic engagement.
