Empowering communities of color to achieve their financial goals and claim their worth.

Promoting equity and building wealth for communities of color.

The BIPOC Financial Empowerment program is designed to provide Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) with the knowledge, tools, resources and coaching to support your financial wellbeing. The program offers free trauma-informed and culturally relevant financial education through monthly workshops on various financial topics, a supportive affinity group setting and 1:1 coaching to help you achieve your goals.

This initiative is a project of the Building Equity Collaborative.

Who is this for?

If you identify as a Black, Indigenous and Person of Color (BIPOC) and live in rural Vermont (outside of Chittenden County) - this program is for you! 

This program will be offered in English and Spanish. For information about this program in Spanish, visit this page. 

Este programa también se ofrecerá en Español. Para más información en Español visite está página.

What you’ll get:

  • Individualized Financial Needs & Goals Assessment

  • 6 Monthly workshops offering Trauma-Informed and Culturally Relevant Financial Education 

  • Facilitated BIPOC Affinity discussions to share struggles, success stories and peer support

  • Two 1:1 Financial Coaching sessions

  • Vetted Referrals to help you further your financial wellbeing

And did we mention you get all of this for FREE?! Yup, we mean it when we say we want to build BIPOC wealth! 


How to Apply

Ready to sign up? Fill out this interest form. 

Once you fill out the interest form, you’ll receive a link to complete a Financial Needs & Goals Assessment. You must complete the Financial Needs & Goals Assessment before signing up for 1:1 financial coaching.

All participants will be required to complete a Financial Needs & Goals Assessment and attend an Orientation. The program is capped at 40 participants, so don’t wait, sign up now!

How it Works

After participants complete the Financial & Needs Assessment, we will review everyone’s responses to build a curriculum based on (you guessed it!) your financial needs and goals! 

Below is a comprehensive list of financial topics - the top 6 requested will be selected for our monthly workshops offered from April to September. We’ll invite experts to come share their wisdom and you can ask them your burning questions!

Household Budgeting

Building Savings

Credit Building

Student Loan Repayment

Debt Management

Buying a Home/ Buying Land & Building a Home

Fair Housing Laws & Reporting Racial Discrimination in Housing

Self-Advocacy in the Workplace

Salary Negotiation

Career Advancement

Retirement Planning

Investing

Developing a Business Plan

Accessing Capital

Marketing your Business

Tax Credits & Deductions

Retirement/Health Insurance Plans for Self-Employed

Employee Benefits Selection

Monthly workshops will take place the 1st Saturday of the month, 11am-1pm via zoom. A $50/workshop childcare stipend is available.

In addition, each participant will receive two 1:1 financial coaching sessions for more individualized support tailored to your financial goals.