Financial Coaching
Are you ready to help someone achieve financial stability?
Become a volunteer financial coach for the YWCA Evanston North Shore’s Advancement Project and work one-on-one with someone to help them gain control of their finances and reach their financial goals.
The Advancement Project combines financial education, financial coaching, and peer-learning to empower adults to accomplish a specific financial goal of their choosing. Our goal is assist participants in creating a positive financial habit that will lead to improved confidence about managing their money and the ability to plan for their financial future.
After completion of Coaching Essentials, a 5-hour financial coaching training, coaches will be paired with a participant who has completed the YWCA Evanston North Shore’s 6 hour Basic Money Management (BMM) Course. BMM covers budgeting, credit, and financial institutions. Coaches and their partner will meet for seven sessions over the course of four months. Every session will include one hour of coaching and sessions will alternate with one hour of either financial content or peer support. Staff support will be provided at all coaching sessions.
Your goal as a Financial Coach is to help your partner:
- identify a financial goal
- identify obstacles to financial goal achievement and strategies to overcome them
- provide tools and resources to help them achieve their goals efficiently and effectively
We are looking for volunteers who have a positive attitude and are empathetic to the financial challenges facing low-to-moderate income adults and motivators. To perform this role successfully a coach must also be dependable, prompt, and flexible. Coaches must be able to maintain privacy and professionalism. You are not expected to be an expert in finance, but rather support and encourage your partner to take the steps needed to achieve their goal.
We ask Financial Coaches to make a commitment of one coaching cycle; the cycle includes a required 5-hour training, and in-person coaching sessions over six months. Coaches are encouraged to communicate with their partner during off weeks.
Attendance at the Coaching Training and the coaching sessions are required to participate in the Advancement Project Program. To become a volunteer financial coach register for our next Volunteer Financial Coach Training below or contact Shannon Callahan at scallahan@ywca-ens.org with questions.