Raimondo launches Empower RI initiative

RHODE ISLAND TREASURER Gina Raimondo, announced a new financial empowerment plan: Empower RI. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/SCOTT EELLS
RHODE ISLAND TREASURER Gina Raimondo, announced a new financial empowerment plan: Empower RI. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/SCOTT EELLS

WARWICK – A new financial empowerment plan has been announced by R.I. General Treasurer Gina M. Raimondo.

The initiative, Empower RI, was launched today along with The Rhode Island Financial Coaching Corps and the Capital Good Fund.

Financial empowerment enables people to make more informed decisions to reach their fiscal goals. This is accomplished by better personal planning, understanding the risks of debt and learning about the safest and most affordable financial services.

The Rhode Island Financial Coaching Corps is a community-based partnership between the treasury department and CGF, a Providence-based nonprofit microfinance organization. CGF provides creative microloans and personal financial coaching.

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The Financial Coaching Corps will help match volunteers with financial skills to Rhode Islanders looking to take charge of their finances through one-on-one financial coaching, regardless of finances.

Research indicates 67 percent of Rhode Islanders say they have difficulty covering expenses and paying bills, only 36 percent have emergency funds and over 30 percent have no retirement plans. In addition, 62 percent do not know their retirement needs.

“Far too many Rhode Islanders face challenges that might have been avoided through a greater understanding of personal finance,” Raimondo said in a statement announcing the program. “If families are more financially stable at home, our entire state will benefit. Financial empowerment can play a role in our economic recovery.”

“By partnering with Treasury, we are able to expand our financial coaching reach,” Andy Posner, co-founder and executive director of CGF, said in a release. “The FCC is an innovative and forward-thinking model that will allow us to assist more Rhode Islanders to become financially capable and, in turn, will strengthen our state’s economy.”

To learn more, or volunteer for the Financial Coaching Corps, visit: treasury.ri.gov/empower-ri/.

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