Local Community Groups Receive Stipends to Continue Financial Literacy Efforts
MCLEAN, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 31, 2009--
Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF) and national consumer
advocacy group Consumer Action announced today that their joint
MoneyWi$e financial literacy program will award 18 stipends totaling
$53,000 to community groups to help support and supplement local
financial literacy programs in several states.
Recipient groups have attended MoneyWi$e trainings, the first program of
its kind to combine free, multilingual financial education materials,
curricula and teaching aids with regional meetings and roundtables to
train community-based organization staff so that consumers at all income
levels and walks of life can be reached. The groups will utilize the
MoneyWi$e curriculum to educate local consumers on personal finance
basics like avoiding trouble with credit and becoming successful
homeowners, among other topics.
“In today’s economy it is more important than ever for consumers to have
access to and an understanding of financial fundamentals,” said Diana
Don, Director of Financial Education for Capital One. “The MoneyWi$e
stipends support the efforts of community educators to help a diverse
group of individuals, including teenagers, immigrants and seniors,
become financially literate. We are pleased to offer our help to these
organizations and are proud of the important community service they
provide.”
Community based organizations teaching financial education in
California, Louisiana, Massachusetts and Texas will receive stipends for
programs designed to make an impact on the financial health of their
communities. (Full list is below.)
“Community groups are on the front line with consumers and we applaud
the work these groups are doing to help educate their clients,” said Ken
McEldowney, Executive Director of Consumer Action. “The ability to
manage personal finances can mean the difference between fiscal
stability and barely getting by. We are pleased to partner with Capital
One on the MoneyWi$e program and to work with these local community
groups helping to prepare individuals for a more financially sound
future.”
Capital One and Consumer Action have also partnered on the MoneyWi$e
eLearning tool, an interactive financial education tool designed to help
promote financial literacy by providing consumers with free access to
the information and tools they need to make smart financial choices
available. The audio-enabled course modules are available in both
English and Spanish and offer consumers printable tip sheets, financial
calculators, and case studies on a variety of money management topics.
For more visit http://www.capitalone.com/financialeducation/cbt/launcher.htm.
For more information on MoneyWi$e, Consumer Action and Capital One’s
unique national financial literacy program, visit www.money-wise.org.
MoneyWi$e: Materials, Training and Seminars
Consumer Action and Capital One first launched the MoneyWi$e partnership
in November 2001. Since then, the program has produced and distributed a
series of financial education modules designed to enable community
leaders to help consumers understand the basics of credit and credit
repair, saving and budgeting, balancing a checkbook, and how to read a
credit report among others. By providing free brochures in multiple
languages (English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese), the
MoneyWi$e program is able to address financial education across both
income and ethnic barriers.
Consumer Action provides financial education to its community-based
organization (CBOs) partners using two primary channels: through the
distribution of free materials online (www.money-wise.org)
and through its network of more than 11,000 community-based
organizations nationwide. Working with this network, the MoneyWi$e
program also holds "train the trainer" seminars around the country where
Consumer Action educates community organization staff on how MoneyWi$e
materials and curriculum can be used most effectively. Participants are
invited to apply for stipends to use the MoneyWi$e materials more
extensively in the community.
About Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com)
is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital
One, N.A. and Capital One Bank (USA), N.A., collectively had $109
billion in deposits and $210 billion in total managed assets as of
December 31, 2008. In addition, Capital One's newly acquired subsidiary,
Chevy Chase Bank, F.S.B., had more than $16 billion in total managed
assets and $13 billion in deposits as of December 31, 2008.
Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum
of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and
commercial clients. Capital One, N.A. and Chevy Chase Bank, F.S.B. have
approximately 1,000 branch locations primarily in New York, New Jersey,
Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. A
Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange
under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.
About Consumer Action
Consumer Action is a national non-profit education and advocacy
organization founded in San Francisco in 1971. Consumer Action serves
consumers nationwide by advancing consumer rights, referring consumers
to complaint-handling agencies and publishing multilingual educational
materials. Consumer Action also advocates for consumers in the media and
before lawmakers and conducts comparison surveys for consumers on credit
cards, banking and telecommunications issues.
List of 2009 MoneyWi$e Stipend Recipients
California
New Economics for Women
Pasadena Neighborhood Housing Services
Louisiana
Community Development Corporation, Inc.
Consumer Credit Counseling Services of New Orleans
Desire Community Housing Corporation
LSU Agricultural Center
Opportunities Industrialization Center
Massachusetts
Mujeres Unidas en Accion (MUA)
Texas
Advocacy Resource Center for Housing
Azteca Economic Development & Preservation Corp.
Community Service Agency of South Texas, Inc.
Consumer Credit Counseling Service-Rio Grande Valley
Empowerment Seminars
Loaves & Fishes of the Rio Grande Valley
Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council Corporation
Palmer Drug Abuse Program in Brownsville
Proyecto Azteca, Inc.
South Texas Civil Rights Project (Oficina Legal del Pueblo Unido)
Source: Capital One Financial Corporation
Capital One Financial Corporation
Diana Don, 703-720-2371
diana.don@capitalone.com