Financial Coaching Training Program

Strengthening the Financial Health of Women

Evidence from practice and research has shown that one of the causes of the gender wealth gap is poor financial health among women. Financial health refers to the ability to make use of financial resources for current and long term stability. For women, some contributing factors to poor financial health  include lack of access to financial education, rigid gender norms, cultural barriers, and domestic violence. To address this issue, research has  shown that financial coaching is the most effective model of addressing these factors and building long-term behavioral change.

The Gender Wealth Institute will build on the partnerships formed and learning achieved from a two-year pilot program conducted by WESI from 2018-2020. This pilot program focused on incorporating financial coaching services into early care and education programs. The financial coaching pilot empowered clients with long-term, goal-oriented, structured support.

Pilot Results: Overview

Link to full report here.

Click here and here to read articles about the pilot that were published in the Philadelphia Citizen.

Looking to the Future

Over the next five years, GWI’s goal is to improve the financial health of 60,000 low-wealth women in the region through building the capacity of 240 organizations to integrate financial coaching into programs that work to improve the financial health of women and girls such as housing assistance, workforce training, and reentry programs.

In January 2021, we launched the Financial Coach Training Program (FCTP) which is a 6-month program designed to assist case managers and other client-serving individuals in learning how to utilize and integrate financial coaching to improve clients’ financial health. Through this training program, GWI offers an opportunity for nonprofit partners to improve the capacity of their employees through professional development and the ability to offer a new service to their clients.

FCTP Goals:

1. Improve the financial health of women experiencing economic insecurity.
2. Provide access to effective and personalized financial coaching to women experiencing economic insecurity
3. Train 13-15 organizations (2 people per organization) per cohort on financial coaching techniques and provide support on integrating coaching into programs and services.
4. Invest in providers as agents of power through Executive-level coaching
5. Reach 1,300-1,500 women (average of 100 per organization) within a year
6. Provide an opportunity for participating organizations to integrate and test the coaching methodology with the support of a cohort of peers

Key FCTP Components:

• 4-Day Training for Financial Coaches
• 1-Day Training for Supervisors/Manager
• Monthly Peer-to-Peer Learning sessions
• Monthly Workshops on Specific Financial and Coaching Topics
• One-on-One Executive Level Coaching Sessions for Financial Coaches

First Cohort- Completed in June 2021

13 organizations serving domestic violence survivors, women seeking employment, immigrants, and female returning citizens  participated in the training program. 26 service providers were trained to be financial coaches and 13 supervisors were trained to support the coaches.

List of Organizations that participated in the first Cohort

• African Cultural Alliance of North America
• African Family Health Organization (AFAHO)
• Compass Working Capital
• EDSI
• Esperanza
• Financial Wellness Institute
• Gaudenzia House of Passage
• Lutheran Settlement House
• Lutheran Settlement House-BDVP
• Orion Communities
• West Philadelphia Skills Initiative
• Why Not Prosper
• Women’s Resource Center of the Delaware Valley
• YWCA Tri-County Area
• Compass Working Capital
• Gaudenzia House of Passage
• West Philadelphia Skills Initiative

Our Second Cohort will be October 2021 -April 2022.

Key Dates:

• October 20, 2021: One-Day Training for Supervisors/Managers
• October 28, 29, November 4, 5, 2021: Four-Day Training for Financial Coaches
• Nov 2021-April 2022: Monthly Peer-to-Peer Learning Sessions
• Nov 2021-April 2022: Three One-on-One Executive-level Coaching Sessions for Financial Coaches

Information Sessions:

Application Process:

Up to 15 organizations and 45 individuals (3 individuals per organization: 2 coaches and 1 supervisor) will be able to participate in the second cohort.  To learn more, register for an upcoming info session here.  To be considered, please click here and complete the application by October 15, 2021.

Learn More:

For more information about the training program, please contact Kelly Sheard at ksheard@womensway.org.