Prosper Canada receives major gift to further financial empowerment in Canada

$500,000 donation will help build the financial health of 1 million vulnerable Canadians

TORONTO, Jan. 5, 2016 /CNW/ - National charity Prosper Canada is pleased to announce a $500,000 personal donation from an anonymous supporter. This generous gift will help Prosper Canada to achieve its goal of expanding financial empowerment supports across Canada to help 1 million Canadians living in poverty to improve their financial health by 2020.

"There is strong evidence that financial empowerment interventions are needed across Canada and can tangibly improve financial outcomes for people living on low incomes," said Elizabeth Mulholland, Chief Executive Officer of Prosper Canada. "This unrestricted donation will help Prosper Canada and its partners to roll out local, regional and national financial empowerment initiatives that will enable thousands of Canadians living in poverty to measurably improve their financial capability and health."

Financial Empowerment is an integrated set of approaches proven to measurably improve financial outcomes for people living in poverty. These approaches include:

• Providing access to accurate, relevant financial information, education and advice
• Helping people to tax file and access government benefits that boost income
• Assisting people to access safe and affordable basic banking products and services
• Connecting people to opportunities to build savings and assets for short-term emergencies and longer term goals
• Ensuring effective consumer protection and education.

These approaches have been shown to enable people with low incomes to tangibly improve their incomes, credit scores, saving and debt levels and to build wealth through greater access to education, employment, entrepreneurship, and savings and asset building opportunities.

Prosper Canada is currently focusing on sustainable scaling of the following financial empowerment interventions:

1. Financial information and education –Tools and training for frontline service providers and onward delivery of tailored, high quality financial information and education;
2. Financial coaching –  Free financial coaching to help clients build and follow a personal financial plan that will enable them to increase savings, reduce debt, build their credit score and invest in their future;
3. Boosting income through tax filing and help accessing benefits – Expanding access to free community tax clinics and offering screening and assistance to help people with low-incomes access income benefits they are eligible for but not receiving;
4. Facilitating access to basic banking – Helping Canadians with low incomes to open bank accounts and access financial services that support effective money management (e.g. direct deposit) and reduce reliance on costly fringe financial services.
5. Assisting families to open RDSPs and RESPs – Informing families about the benefits of registered savings plans and associated grants for children with disabilities (RDSPs) and their children's education (RESPs) and helping them to open registered savings accounts.

To achieve sustainable scaling, Prosper Canada works with partners in all sectors to help organizations and service systems with established infrastructure, resources and reach into low-income populations to build proven financial empowerment approaches into their existing services in ways that:

• Are sustainable
• Help them achieve their goals
• Tangibly increase the financial wellbeing of people with low incomes they serve.

Prosper Canada

Prosper Canada, is a national charity dedicated to expanding economic opportunity for Canadians living in poverty through program and policy innovation. Prosper Canada works with government, business and community partners to develop and promote financial policies, programs and resources that remove barriers and help more Canadians to prosper. The Prosper Canada Centre for Financial Literacy is co-founded and supported by TD Bank Group. To learn more about Prosper Canada and the Prosper Canada Centre for Financial Literacy, please visit www.prospercanada.org.

SOURCE Prosper Canada

Media Contact, Prosper Canada, Julie McFayden, Manager, Marketing & Communications, 416-665-2828 ext. 231, [email protected]