A case for
INCOME: Achieving Financial Stability I’m Victoria, from Gahanna. I work in community affairs at a local bank, and I’m especially interested in making sure people have access to financial education and services. I’m a native Spanish speaker, so I volunteer to teach members of the Hispanic community about financial stability and financial literacy. I serve on several United Way committees that focus on financial stability, and I volunteer with the Franklin County EITC Coalition, which provides free tax preparation for low- and moderate-income people. This year, the coalition helped Franklin County residents get more than $2.4 million in returns and save almost $800,000 in preparation and loan fees. That money is helping so many people become more financially stable and save for the future, and I feel good knowing I was a part of that. I’m an advocate for financial education. That’s how I LIVE UNITED. COMMUNITY ISSUES: • Franklin County’s population has increased 2.5% since 2000; the number of families living in poverty has grown at nearly 20 times that rate – by 40.8%. • In 2006, over 175,000 central Ohioans (16.3%) lived in poverty, defined by the federal government as less than $20,000 annual income for a family of four. Another 16.5% (nearly 177,000 people) lived above the poverty line but below the self-sufficiency measure of 200% of the poverty level. • In Franklin County, a minimum wage worker earns $7 per hour. To afford the county’s Fair Market Rent of $718 per month for a two-bedroom apartment, a minimum wage earner must work 79 hours a week, 52 weeks a year. • An average of 28,870 people in Franklin County were unemployed during any single month of 2007. OUR RESPONSE: • In 2007, workforce development programs supported by United Way placed over 2,000 people in fulltime employment at an average starting wage of $9.13 per hour. An additional 317 people entered into training programs to gain the skills that will make them more competitive in the workplace. • In 2007, United Way obtained a grant to provide financial education workshops in workplaces. In the last year, more than 1,100 people attended at least one of four sessions offered. • United Way is a key partner in the Franklin County EITC Coalition, which processed over 3,100 returns in 2008–almost double the previous year’s total—helping people receive over $2.4 million in refunds and save almost $800,000 in tax preparation and high-interest loan fees. OUR INVESTMENT: In 2008-09, we will invest $3 million in programs that help people develop financial independence.