Released: February 04, 2021

Consumer Action offers mini-grants to help AZ agencies to improve financial health

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Consumer Action will award three mini-grants of $5,000 to help Arizona agencies combat the pervasive impact of financial setbacks on the lives of low- and moderate-income (LMI), limited-English-speaking and other underrepresented consumers.

Applicants must be from a registered Arizona 501 (c)(3) agency. The application deadline in Feb. 16. Groups may submit their applications online.  If you have questions, contact Consumer Action’s director of strategic partnerships, Audrey Perrott (aperrott AT consumer-action.org).

The initiative will launch in Arizona in March. Community group grantees will integrate the FinTech tools, along with our educational resources, into existing financial capability programs. The grantees will also distribute FinTech tools directly to LMI consumers and guide them in using the tools to improve their financial health. In order to reach an even greater number of vulnerable consumers, Consumer Action has translated its FinTech guide into Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean and recently, with a non-profit partner, developed a FinTech video in English, Spanish and Chinese.

Throughout the project, Consumer Action’s network partners will provide financial coaching or counseling, measure changes in participants’ financial health, and collect other critical savings and credit reporting data.

Consumer Action has introduced financial health measurement and FinTech tools to consumers and the nonprofit staff members who work with them at various sites throughout the country, based on the financial needs identified by each agency and its clients.

The  project is made possible by the generosity of the Federal Home Loan Bank San Francisco and Desert Federal Credit Union. “We are pleased to collaborate with Desert Federal Credit Union on this initiative,” said Perrott. “We have worked with the credit union for more than a decade, delivering in-person financial education training to direct-service providers and other stakeholders.”

Consumer Action is a nonprofit organization that has championed the rights of underrepresented consumers nationwide since 1971. Throughout its history, the organization has dedicated its resources to promoting financial and consumer literacy and advocating for consumer rights both in the media and before lawmakers to promote economic justice for all. With a special focus on serving low- and moderate-income and limited-English-speaking consumers, Consumer Action maintains strong ties to a national network of more than 6,000 community-based organizations. Outreach services include in-person and web-based training and bulk mailings of financial and consumer education materials in many languages, including English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese.