Part of broader $2.4M citizens helping citizens manage money program to support growing need for education and investments. East Boston’s Neighborhood of Affordable Housing is one of the recipients. The community development corporation received $40,000 to continue its financial literacy programs.
(April 9, 2024) – In recognition of Financial Literacy Month, Citizens today announced $420,000 in financial empowerment grants to support 13 Massachusetts nonprofit organizations as part of the bank’s Citizens Helping Citizens Manage Money program. Through funding and volunteerism, Citizens will support local financial literacy partners that provide training to empower communities to achieve financial wellness and build brighter futures.
“One of the most important things we do at Citizens is provide financial education and guidance to empower our customers, colleagues and communities to reach their potential,” said Lisa Murray, Massachusetts Market President at Citizens. “We hope to unlock opportunities for our communities and reduce the wealth gap by investing time and resources to support local financial empowerment programs that are giving people the confidence and tools to achieve their goals.”
This years’ funding recipients in Massachusetts, include:
- Way Finders, Inc.
- Camp Harbor View Foundation, Inc.
- The Children’s Museum
- Urban Edge Housing Corp.
- Economic Empowerment Trust Fund
- Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance, Inc.
- Neighborhood of Affordable Housing, Inc.
- Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción, Inc.
- Interise Inc.
- Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship
- Dress for Success Boston, Inc.
- Junior Achievement of Boston
- Mothers for Justice and Equality
Citizens’ Massachusetts funding is part of the bank’s broader commitment to provide $2.4 million to 137 nonprofits to expand financial empowerment programming in the communities it serves. The bank also announced the results of a teen financial wellness survey, published in partnership with Junior Achievement, that demonstrates the need for expanded financial literacy programs.
According to the survey of 1,000 teens ages 13-18 conducted by Wakefield Research, money worries weigh heavily on American adolescents – 78% reporting they are currently stressed out about money and 74% sharing that their family’s money situation is a barrier to achieving their future goals. The survey also demonstrated that there is a gap between services provided and the interest from teens to gain control of their finances – 77% of teens said they would be interested in taking a course to better understand how to manage money but only 42% said they had received lessons or courses in school.
Citizens Helping Citizens Manage Money is the bank’s financial empowerment program dedicated to providing funding and volunteerism to support programs that give people the confidence and tools they need to budget, save, invest, and pursue their goals. As part of the year-round initiative, Citizens colleagues share their time and talents to deliver financial education training to support grant recipients programming.
For more information on Citizens’ enterprise-wide Sustainability and Impact strategy, please click here.
About Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $222.0 billion in assets as of December 31, 2023. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. Citizens helps its customers reach their potential by listening to them and by understanding their needs in order to offer tailored advice, ideas and solutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens provides an integrated experience that includes mobile and online banking, a full-service customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 3,300 ATMs and approximately 1,100 branches in 14 states and the District of Columbia. Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of banking, lending, savings, wealth management and small business offerings. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers a broad complement of financial products and solutions, including lending and leasing, deposit and treasury management services, foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity risk management solutions, as well as loan syndication, corporate finance, merger and acquisition, and debt and equity capital markets capabilities. More information is available at www.citizensbank.com or visit us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.
