This post was contributed by Kira Zylstra, Solid Ground’s Stabilization Services Director.

Throughout the month of April, Solid Ground participated in the Corporation for Enterprise Development’s Financial Capability Month.

When Solid Ground’s April 7 blog post, “Community Conversations,” challenged me to #thinkpoverty and #talkpoverty in order to #endpoverty, I took this as a challenge to #thinkopportunity and #talkequity as well. Today, April 30, marks the last day of National Financial Capability Month.

In order to work towards achieving equity and opportunity for all, Solid Ground has set the goal of adopting the principles of financial empowerment across all of our programs and services. We recognize that Financial Literacy and Asset Building are critical components to our mission of ending poverty.

To celebrate Financial Capability Month, here are a few highlights of Financial Empowerment activities at Solid Ground from the month of April:

• The Financial Fitness Boot Camp team hosted creative discussions with staff to recognize and celebrate the many ways we all incorporate financial literacy into our work.
• Connected many community members to United Way Tax Preparation sites
• Held several community workshops focused on nutrition and tenant’s rights which all included education on the importance of budgets and money management.

Solid Ground has had the opportunity to work closely with the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED), which has been sharing weekly updates, resources, and tools on Financial Empowerment to celebrate Financial Capability Month. Check out their latest here: Integrating Financial Capability.

We want to hear from you! Where do you see #FinancialEmpowerment in action in our community? Comment below or via Solid Ground’s Facebook and Twitter feeds!