Beyond Housing/Neighborhood Housing Services (BH/NHS) of St. Louis is the lead organization in the “Gateway to Financial Fitness” program, a collaborative effort to help families achieve better financial health and improve their overall housing situations in the city of St. Louis.

BH/NHS was incorporated in 1975 with a mission to strengthen neighborhoods and improve housing through partnerships with residents, businesses and government. The organization provides several city-wide programs, including home repair loans, insurance services, credit repair, and homebuyer education.
 
The Gateway to Financial Fitness program is a convergence of two groups. One was a collaboration of area nonprofits that focused on homebuyer education in a “Gateway to Homeownership” program. Over time, the partners realized that many customers needed basic financial fitness education before home-purchase education. The other was a collaboration of local lenders, the Federal Reserve Bank, and the FDIC, which had developed a three-part financial literacy curriculum for a specific neighborhood in St. Louis. But the collaborative was having trouble connecting with the community and, thus, was not achieving much success. The two decided to combine their energies and resources, and create the “Gateway to Financial Fitness” curriculum and program.
 
Planning for the combined program began in early 2001. The first class was held in October 2001.

Program Outline.  The Gateway to Financial Fitness program strives to help participants adopt good financial habits and make sound financial decisions. It consists of five workshops, each two-and-a-half hours long. In session one, participants create a financial plan, establish priorities, and set savings goals. Session two covers taxes, record-keeping, and contracts. Session three focuses on the importance of credit, consumer rights and responsibilities, and responsible use of credit. Session four explains the use of financial services, maintaining accounts, and money management. Session five looks at the basics of investing, managing risk, and the importance of retirement and insurance planning. Upon successful completion, graduates receive a training certificate.

Individual Counseling.  Between the second and third sessions, participants meet with a counselor to develop a personalized budget and address their credit issues. Further counseling beyond this session is also available for any participant.

Individual Development Accounts (IDA).  Gateway to Financial Fitness provides training to several nonprofit partners that offer IDA programs. Qualified participants are encouraged to join one, where their savings are matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis. The savings then can be used toward purchasing a home, continuing education, or starting a small business.

Partners and Responsibilities.  Gateway to Financial Fitness is a true collaboration involving several partners. Partners share education, training and funding responsibilities. BH/NHS provides program oversight and is responsible for generating funding in conjunction with the Catholic Commission on Housing (CCH). BH/NHS staff members also conduct portions of the trainings and assist with counseling. University Outreach and Extension developed (and periodically updates) the curriculum, which was built upon the experience of the original group of lenders, and also provides training for trainers. Most trainers are professionals from local lending and insurance institutions.
 
The Catholic Commission on Housing provides program funding, in addition to operating the program on a day-to-day basis. A part-time staff person manages the program, which involves arranging for trainings at each site, identifying site managers, scheduling the trainers, and preparing program manuals and supplies. Both the Catholic Commission on Housing and BH/NHS provide homebuyer education for graduates who are ready to purchase homes.

Training the Trainers.  The collaboration provides a “training for trainers” series for teachers and volunteers. Part one is a four-hour session that goes over adult teaching methods and how to work with diverse groups. Part two is an individual session that covers the class outline, program materials, and training expectations.

Monthly Advisory Committee.  An advisory committee meets monthly to discuss planning objectives, review schedules, and address issues. Meetings are organized by BH/NHS staff, held at the NeighborWorks HomeOwnership Center, and led by an agency board member.

Marketing.  To date, the collaboration does not market this program using traditional methods. Instead, it offers the training as a component to programs already in existence (e.g., youth groups, church groups, and other organizations). The collaboration either approaches local programs and offers its services, or local groups contact one of the partners and request the program.

Program Costs.  The partners share all program costs, which include staffing, materials, refreshments, supervision and organizing. BH/NHS and CCH provide funding for operating costs. The total program budget for three years is set at $400,000.

Funding.  The collaboration received start-up funding to implement the three-year pilot program from Catholic Charities, NeighborWorks America, the Fannie Mae Foundation, and Firstar Bank. To keep the program functioning beyond the initial three years, the collaboration held a day-long planning session in June 2002 to create a unified vision and a business plan.

• From October 2001 to May 2002, 219 people participated. Forty-eight have graduated so far. The average income of participants is $23,252. More than 75 percent are renters.
   
• Preliminary surveys indicate that the program is doing an excellent job of educating households and helping participants to change their behavior. It still is too early to distinguish lasting effects, but the University Outreach and Extension is developing an evaluation component that will assess participants’ progress after six months, one year and two years. This will be a very useful tool and will help evaluate the program’s long-term effectiveness.

• Collaborations make sense for any organization that does not have the resources to conduct a financial fitness program on its own. Clearly spell out the roles of each partner. Remember that even though management can be a challenge with this type of setup, collaborations are still worthwhile and allow for expanded funding, resources, and training expertise.
   
• Be sure to utilize the strengths and experience of each partner. This will result in a higher quality product than any one organization doing it alone. Remember also that funders like to see that organizations are working together and not reinventing the wheel or duplicating services.
   
• With a collaboration, no one organization has direct control over every person working on the project. This means that certain developmental steps may take longer. Be patient, persevere and realize that an immediate response to a problem is not always possible.
   
• The initial grant from NeighborWorks America helped BH/NHS to recruit funding from other partners. An organization that has sufficient and stable funding for program implementation has a better chance of creating a long-lasting and successful program.
   
• BH/NHS has found that banks are happy to get involved with this program because financial fitness education counts as a CRA activity. The “Gateway to Financial Fitness” program has provided a valuable opportunity for banks that are looking for community activities where they can obtain CRA credit. The program also has raised the status of NHS and the other members of the collaboration.

Agency interview with: Kate Reese