Urban Upbound Financial Counseling Team Selected as AFCPE Scholarship Grant Recipient
by Urban Upbound’s Development Team
Since Urban Upbound’s founding in 2004, we have aimed to provide the tools and resources low-income New Yorkers need to achieve economic independence. One of the most important paths to attain this goal is through financial counseling. Seeking to ensure the highest quality of service, we are happy to announce that Urban Upbound has received a partial scholarship grant from the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education (AFCPE) to provide our team with further training.
Urban Upbound’s Special Projects Program Manager, Junaid Abdin, is among those who will benefit from this scholarship. Junaid has been counseling clients for 4 years and he recently took responsibility for our Digital Banking initiative. Junaid knows that our clients will be the ones to benefit the most from the new tools and skills that he and his fellow financial counselors will learn from the AFCPE courses. “It’s a transfer of knowledge, the courses will give me and the team updated information and new coaching skills. This will equip us to better serve our clients,” said Junaid.
Financial counseling is one of the most important paths to break cycles of poverty. Yet, low-income families don’t usually have access to it. “In this unprecedented time that has disproportionately impacted people of color, one-on-one financial counseling is a must for poor people. Bill Clinton said, ‘Rich people have financial planners, but poor people actually need them’” added Bishop Mitchell Taylor, co-founder and CEO of Urban Upbound.
The AFCPE’s courses will enable our counselors to better assist our clients in overcoming their financial challenges by helping them identify and modify adverse money management behaviors and guiding them in developing successful strategies for achieving their financial goals.
Our financial counselors meet with clients virtually and in-person by appointment, always following strict COVID-19 protocols to ensure everyone’s safety. Donations help us reach more clients and offer our services to those most in need. Thank you for supporting Urban Upbound’s mission and being a champion of our recovery efforts!
