Our Goal

10% more households in Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties will be financially stable and self-sufficient.

Right Now

At least 30% (195,000) are not financially stable.

Why

Many reasons, but not knowing how to manage finances is a key reason.

• More than 160,000 households are unbanked or under-banked.
• Three out of every four Americans say they are not saving enough.
• The problem is particularly acute for foster youth.

What We Can Do

Teach people how to manage their finances.

Right Now

• 25 percent of our region’s households are below the self-sufficiency standard.
• 55 percent of people below this standard have a high school diploma or never graduated.
• 30 percent of the region’s households are unbanked or underbanked.
• Children in financially challenged households are twice as likely to repeat a grade.
• Half of former foster youth experience at least one of these hardships: inability to pay rent or utilities, gas or electricity shut off, phone disconnected or eviction.

United Way’s Project: $en$e-Ability

We use your gifts to fund nonprofits in five counties to work with low-income households and foster youth to help them understand how to manage finances and increase savings. As part of $en$e-Ability, United Way’s Women in Philanthropy is supporting work with foster youth to increase self-sufficiency through Individual Development Accounts, bank accounts that provide a 2:1 match for every dollar a foster youth saves.

The Results

Of 1,288 first-year adult participants who completed training, 62% demonstrate better financial skills and now have savings accounts.

Of the 200 foster youth in the program, 90% completed the training and earned credits toward matched savings accounts called Individual Development Accounts.

United Way’s Partners for Success

• Amador-Tuolumne Community Resources
• Child Abuse Prevention Council of Sacramento
• Koinonia Family Services
• New Morning Youth and Family Services
• Opening Doors/Community Link
• Women’s Empowerment
• YMCA Superior California

You can help

Donate

All donations help people learn how to manage money.  For less that $30 a month, you can help someone become self-sufficient. For $92 a month, you can help a foster youth become self-sufficient.

Volunteer

• Volunteer with a $en$e-ability nonprofit partner.
• Join the United Way Income Impact Council.
• Become a financial literacy volunteer.
• Become and mentor or volunteer for a foster youth.
• Volunteer with the Earned Income Tax Credit program.
• Join Women in Philanthropy.
• Start a savings account for a foster youth.

If you are interested in joining the group of volunteers on the Income Impact Council that oversee this project, contact impact@uwccr.org.