In Celebration of Financial Literacy Month, Common Wealth Charlotte Shared a New Perspective on Financial Literacy

In April Common Wealth Charlotte (CWC) hosted almost 100 guests - current and prospective volunteers, donors, grant-makers, nonprofit partners and community and civic leaders - at Community Matters Cafe for a rare opportunity to hear first-person perspectives on the realities of being economically vulnerable in Mecklenburg County, and the unique challenges and barriers that are associated with living paycheck to paycheck.   

Hannah Hasan believes in the power of storytelling. 

Hannah Hasan, an award-winning master storyteller and spoken word poet, kicked off the event with a custom performance. Her words captured the challenges low-income wage earners face, but also the hope they still have in building a strong financial future. Watch Hannah's powerful performance here.  

Guests enjoyed snacks and mock-tails as Chuck Jones led a discussion featuring five storytellers who have experienced financial adversity but leveraged CWC services as they worked to overcome it. The storytellers - Deborah, Freddie, Ashley, Ira, and Kai - represented diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and ages, reflecting the 20,000 clients CWC has interacted with since beginning operations in 2016. Watch the 30-minute conversation here.

“This is not about Common Wealth Charlotte. This is about people."  ~ CWC Executive Director, Chuck Jones  

Deborah didn't want to work with CWC at first. "I remember telling Chuck the word 'budget' wasn't going to work for me. It made me feel like someone was taking the control [of my money] out of my hands."  She added, "I had an unhealthy relationship with money... [and I] didn't know how to say that and be honest about it. I didn't know how to say to another adult that I didn't know how to manage my finances."  

 Freddie, whose story was also featured on the Today Show, said he didn't know that his credit could be impacted by co-signing for others. "When I first came to [CWC] my credit score was 424... I thought I was helping people by co-signing. What I learned is that if I put my name on it, I'm responsible for it.”  When Freddie began working with Chuck six years ago he wanted to improve his credit score. Chuck told him "It's not going to be quick and it's not going to be easy." But he kept working at it, and today Freddie's credit score is 742.   

 Freddie also learned how powerful one person believing in you can be. Not only did Pastor Steve Eason give him a job when he needed it most, but he also helped Freddie get his first bank account. "Sometimes that's what it takes," said Chuck, “one person to say I have this skill, I know how to do this thing, [that] others might not know how to…” 

Most CWC clients dream of homeownership, but don't believe it is attainable for them. That is true of Ashley, who came to CWC on a referral from Freedom Fighting Missionaries. "I needed some re-entry services and Kenny introduced me to CWC. My credit score was less than 400. I owed the state $50,000 and I thought I could never own a home. So I thought, ‘why should I try?’"  By working with a CWC financial counselor, Ashley was able to make a plan and stick to it, and her credit score is now almost 700. "Because of my upbringing I was never given a responsible view of finances, but now I'm pre-approved to be first-time homebuyer!"  

Ira, a Charlotte native, learned “if you have a vision, you can get there. If you aim at nothing, that’s what you’re going to get every time.” He cautioned on trying to “keep up with the Joneses” and stressed that budgeting, saving and being OK with delayed gratification is how he has been successful in learning to manage his finances. After spending time in prison, Ira is now working with at-risk youth and returning citizens through his nonprofit Bunk 57 Ministries.   

The youngest member of the discussion, Kai, weighed in on the importance of saving, and how she was lucky to have grandparents who taught her. "People in my age group carry a stigma that we don't know how to manage money. But my grandparents taught me how important it is to save.” At 20 years old Kai is already saving $20 from every paycheck, which CWC is matched as part of the Generation2080 program. Kai plans to keep it up, and learned that by age 80 she can have over $1M to pass to her family as a legacy.  

Each storyteller concluded by sharing a piece of advice from their journey. "[I knew] being on a budget was going to bring some accountability into my life." Deborah shared. Ashley found that "when you break a large goal into smaller goals and start to check those small goals off, the big goal is met." Ira believes the key to success is to "begin with the end in mind.” Kai said, “You should keep working hard and keep your goals in mind…the reward ahead of you will motivate you.” And Freddie concluded by sharing “the key thing in life is to ask for help. And for so many years I was ashamed to ask for help. But the [real shame] is not asking for help.” 

At the end of the conversation, Chuck surprised Freddie by offering him a job working for CWC as a Debt Settlement Specialist - which he later accepted!  

Wells Fargo made an incredibly generous announcement - watch it live here!  

After the discussion, Rod Banks (Senior Community Relations Consultant for Wells Fargo) announced that Wells Fargo is investing $100,000 in CWC to be used as matched savings to support a new partnership between CWC and Charlotte Rescue Mission (CRM).  In this partnership, participants in CRM’s Recovery Living program will also be invited to participate in Generation2080™, CWC's cohort-based wealth building initiative (more at G2080.org).   This tremendous gift will provide matched savings for 192 people over the next two years!  

Guests then had an opportunity to meet the storytellers and CWC staff, and to learn more about CWC's services and engagement opportunities.  

A tremendous thanks to our presenting partner Wells Fargo, and official partners First National Bank, LendingTree Foundation and U.S. Bank for their interest in this event and extremely generous support of our work.

That evening, the uptown Charlotte skyline was lit green in honor of Financial Literacy Month, and this event. 

Photo credit: The Rock Hill Drone Guy