URBANA — City officials in Urbana hope a new financial literacy program will help residents better manage their finances and build strong credit profiles.
The virtual, self-paced course is free for Urbana residents ages 21 to 64. The city has requested people sign up by Friday, Oct. 10.
The program offers six modules and includes basic content, such as budgeting, building wealth, savings accounts, bill payments and understanding debit and credit.
Urbana Mayor DeShawn Williams said he wanted to help people build lasting stability in their lives.
“As I was talking to people throughout the community, I heard from the hardworking folks that were struggling to make ends meet,” Williams said.
In his previous role as deputy treasurer for Champaign County, Williams said he saw the financial realm from people’s perspective. This course is part of his effort to continue his work teaching people financial literacy and other life skills.
“They will learn everything from the basics, like your final financial decisions, credit repair, saving, emergency saving plans and other things,” he said.
Williams emphasized that the purpose is not to teach complicated concepts.
“We are not teaching stock exchange or anything like that,” he said. “We are teaching the A, B, C steps of your financial day-to-day decision making.”
The program’s platform is provided by the Sootchy Charitable Foundation, which focuses on addressing generational poverty and wealth disparity.
Bevon Joseph, director of corporate partnerships in the Midwest, leads the team and works with mayors, staff and communities across the region.
“We understand that the folks we are working with, for many of them, financial literacy has been sometimes intimidating,” he said.
He said a benefit of the program being online is that it’s accessible for people with laptops or phones.
Joseph said the program fulfills different needs for individuals. At the beginning of each course, it surveys their financial situation and data. Throughout the course, participants receive assignments to practice the skills they learn.
The website also has tools including interactive budget trackers and other calculators.
Williams said that after people finish the course, they will receive a certificate of completion.
The program is funded by a grant from the African American Mayors Association.