New programs with Prosper Canada and the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education will help build financial confidence within Indigenous communities and among Indigenous youth
WINNIPEG, MB, Nov. 9, 2023 /CNW/ - IG Wealth Management (IG) today announced the extension of its IG Empower Your Tomorrow financial literacy platform through expanded partnerships with Prosper Canada and the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education (CFEE).
"I'm so proud of our ongoing work with organizations like Prosper Canada and CFEE to build financial confidence among IG's four target segments, including Indigenous peoples, youth, seniors and newcomers," said Damon Murchison, President and CEO of IG Wealth Management. "Together, we're helping make a meaningful impact by inspiring financial literacy and resilience among groups that are too often underserved and overlooked."
IG and Prosper Canada – alongside partners SEED Winnipeg, Community Financial Counselling Services, Sudbury Community Service Centre and AFOA Canada – will expand on the success of two projects launched in 2022 with 10 First Nation communities in Manitoba and Ontario through IG's Building Financial Wellness in First Nations Project. These initiatives provided culturally appropriate money management support, tax filing and benefit assistance, access to ID services and capacity building for participating communities. Roughly 3,000 Indigenous community members participated, including 979 individuals who accessed more than $6 million in additional income through tax filing and benefits.
The Building Financial Wellness in First Nations Project will be extended to 35 additional First Nation communities and 3,000 more community members across both provinces in 2024 and 2025, including urban Winnipeg, where IG is headquartered. Further, to help enhance access to financial help services in remote Indigenous communities in Manitoba, IG and Prosper Canada will also be piloting a telephone financial helpline to assist 2,000 additional individuals annually with tax filing, benefits and budgeting.
"We are delighted to be expanding this incredibly successful partnership with IG, our national Indigenous partner – AFOA Canada, and our community financial partners SEED Winnipeg, Community Financial Counselling Services, and Sudbury Community Service Centre," commented Liz Mulholland, CEO of Prosper Canada. "This renewal will enable us to work with far more Indigenous communities to deliver culturally appropriate financial help, boost incomes and enable more people to build their financial stability and health."
IG and CFEE have had a longstanding partnership focused on working together to build financial confidence among Canadian youth and seniors. This includes the highly successful and award winning Money and Youth: A Guide to Financial Literacy, of which more than 750,000 copies have been distributed to homes and schools across Canada over the last 25 years. Over the last three years alone, IG and CFEE have held more than 250 Money and Youth seminars for 13,000 young Canadians, parents and teachers and the resource has been integrated into the high school curriculum of multiple provinces.
In 2024, a new Money and Youth resource will be developed to align better with the needs of Indigenous youth, as well as teachers and other youth workers who work with Indigenous youth. A team of Indigenous advisers, led by Damon Johnston, Co-Chair of the National Urban Indigenous Coalitions Council (NUICC), will guide the adaptation process and final production. The resource will be piloted in five Indigenous schools and made available both online and in hard copy formats.
Earlier this year, IG and CFEE expanded their focus from youth to seniors and co-launched Money & You: Seniors Edition, a free resource to build financial confidence and resilience among older Canadians. To inform the content of this guide, the organizations held 85 workshops with seniors over the last three years, with 2,323 participants.
"IG is our best, most committed and longest-standing partner in our work to improve economic and financial capability and confidence among Canadians," said Gary Rabbior, President of CFEE. "With IG's support we have helped hundreds of thousands of Canadians, young and old, and from coast to coast, be better prepared to manage their financial affairs and undertake their financial decisions and actions with greater confidence and competence. We're looking forward to working together to expand this to Indigenous youth in the year ahead."
In addition to partnerships with Prosper Canada and CFEE, IG also works with a variety of organizations, including the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba (IRCOM) to build financial literacy among newcomers. All these programs are part of the IG Empower Your Tomorrow community platform, which gives Canadians the resources, tools and confidence they need to own their own financial future. Through focused community support and engagement, we can make a real impact and inspire financial confidence, literacy and resilience among Canadians from coast-to-coast.
Founded in 1926, IG Wealth Management is a national leader in delivering personalized financial solutions to Canadians through a network of advisors located across Canada. IG Wealth Management has $113.5 billion in assets under advisement as of October 31, 2023, and is a member of the IGM Financial Inc. (TSX: IGM) group of companies. IGM Financial, together with its subsidiaries, is one of Canada's leading diversified wealth and asset management companies with approximately $250 billion in total assets under management and advisement as of October 31, 2023.
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. Learn more at www.prospercanada.org
CFEE is a federally chartered, non-profit, non-partisan organization, founded in 1974, that works to improve economic and financial literacy and enterprising capability. CFEE works collaboratively with ministries and departments of education along with school boards, schools, educators, and teacher associations. CFEE also engages in activities to support and assist newcomers and past immigrants to Canada, and the general public including print resources, videos, workshops, and online resources. Overall, CFEE aspires to help Canadians of all ages be better prepared to undertake their economic roles, responsibilities, and decisions with confidence and competence.
SOURCE IG Wealth Management
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