Money A+E

We're proud of our service users, partners, team and supporters – you had an incredible impact in 2023!   Before we fully launch into 2024 and the many big things it has in store, we want to take a moment to reflect on our community's achievements. In 2023, our Money Coach advisers supported clients...  ⭐ To manage £4,624,015 in debt  ⭐ To be £1,444,324 better off (financial gains). 💚 In total 3,129 adults and young people accessed high quality money advice + education through Money A+E. These numbers are higher than any previous year. And we know that it's support is proven to have a long-term positive impact on #financialwellbeing, #mentalhealth, and community economic resilience. 🙋🏾♀️ Now with the support of the Propel fund, we’re training up new advisers from within underserved and Diverse Ethnic communities. Widening access to #debtadvice – and to quality employment. 💹 2023 also saw Money A+E reach new heights as an organisation. Our team grew from 16 to 24, and turnover was up 26% on 2022. 🤝 We were fortunate to work with amazing partners, longstanding and new! They deeply understand what we do and work hard to support us. Too many names to mention here but to all our partners and funders, thank you! 📈 We grew our #EAP Financial Wellbeing programme, helping 100s of employees to feel better about money and more supported by their employer. 📺 We featured on BBC News & Radio and other media to raise awareness of the Cost of Living Crisis on the lives of our service users. And we shared where people could get support. 💵 UK Savings Week was a blast! We led a lively Financial Intelligence workshop with students at Newham College of Further Education, attended a launch event in Parliament and our Comms Team collaborated with the Savings Week blog. 📣 2023 saw a significant move for us, taking on Policy and Campaigns work for the first time. With Rooted Finance, we co-created the Racial Justice network. 💳 The RJn aims to end the ‘Ethnicity Premium’, increasing the accessibility of financial products for minority ethnic groups. This exciting new network brings together practitioners, regulators and lived experience experts.   As we look ahead to 2024, we know that it will be a year filled with challenges and change. The #CostofLiving and Housing Crises are still putting intolerable pressure on many households and their ability to maintain financial and mental wellbeing. The Diverse Ethnic Communities, disadvantaged groups and young people that we support are disproportionately affected, and we are all the more determined to increase our impact fighting debt and poverty in 2024. 🙏 To all our supporters, community, partners, colleagues and friends, thank you for all that you do to make Money A+E’s work possible. We wish you the happiest and most prosperous year ahead!

We are excited to get the ball rolling! Raising awareness about structural discrimination in the financial sector is just the beginning. We will share our calls to action with you soon.

Highlighting the importance of access to financial education within diverse ethnic communities and why we must continue to talk about The Ethnicity Premium! Thank you for sharing!

Some of the banks are being told they're not paying enough interest on #savings. Of not passing on the base rate increase to their customers. What if there was another issue at play here? An issue of who is accessing those savings rates. Right now savings rates are higher than they have been for many years. The best fixed term savers are offering up to 6.1%. So it’s a really important opportunity to build wealth and become financially resilient. But people from Diverse Ethnic Communities generally have much lower levels of savings than their white British peers. For every £1 of wealth held by white British households, Pakistani households hold around 50p - and black African and Bangladeshi households, approximately 10p.* The reasons behind that #inequality are complex, but at Money A+E we don’t think it is acceptable or inevitable. And we’re taking action. We're delivering accessible, culturally competent financial education, because it is a powerful tool in closing the savings gap. Our Education Team have been spreading the word about the higher savings rates and why it’s important to take advantage. They've been sharing savings strategies in our workshops, and the power of getting started. Even 1p per day is a powerful habit, that can grow into 10p per day, £1 per day – and that’s even before interest is added on top. Frederick, our Head of Education, puts it like this: ‘Financial literacy develops certain habits, it makes you aware. Many of the people that we see don’t know about certain products that could help them. Being able to make those things visible for them is very important. With the right support, we see people save £100s, £1,000s.’ ------------------------ At Money A+E we target our support to Diverse Ethnic Communities, disadvantaged groups and young people. Our workshops have reached 1,000s of people with life-changing financial education. We deliver to adults in the community and young people in schools. Contact us to learn more about our service or partnerships. #ethnicitypremium #financialresilience #financialinclusion #equality #inclusion #diversityandinclusion #finance *Source: Runnymede Trust, ‘The Colour of Money’

A report by the Pathway to Work Commission suggests integrating health services into job centres to help about 3 million economically inactive people in the UK, primarily those with long-term health issues, return to work. It criticizes the current benefits system for relying too much on sanctions and calls for personalized, health-focused support, with a central role for local NHS integrated care boards.  We want to highlight that the effectiveness of personalized support could vary, and there might be inconsistencies in the quality and availability of services across different regions. What could this look like for people from marginalised communities? The diverse needs of economically inactive individuals, especially those from marginalized communities, may not be adequately addressed if a one-size-fits-all approach is adopted. Let’s start the conversation off by discussing how these risks can be mitigated. It would be ideal if this process were co-designed with people who have lived experience of long-term health issues and economic inactivity. What do you suggest?  Read full article here: https://bit.ly/3Yd6kch  

Great work!

Great work!

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🌍 Join the African Union Youth Online Consultation on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls! Your input is crucial in shaping a safer, more equitable future for women and girls. Share your thoughts in this 10-minute survey and help create the Africa We Want! 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dGzzn3ti #EndViolence #YouthVoices #AUConvention #AfricaWeWant

Thank you for hosting such a wonderful and informative evening!