ProsperityME launches financial services support network for immigrants

Courtesy / ProsperityME ProsperityME has launched a new partnership bringing together Maine’s financial services industry in support of the immigrant community. A 2019 ProsperityME workforce development class is seen here.

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By Staff

ProsperityME, a Portland-based nonprofit, has launched a partnership program that is bringing together Maine’s financial services professionals to help immigrant residents establish a solid financial footing.

The Maine Immigrants Prosperity Network is designed to help financial employees better connect with the immigrant community and play a more active role in helping low-income people across the state improve their overall economic well-being, according to a news release.

Members of the network will contribute to ProsperityME’s financial education and counseling program, and will meet regularly to address the barriers to full economic integration that many immigrants face.

Network members represent all aspects of the financial services industry. Founding members include TD Bank, Gorham Savings Bank, Maine Community Bank, Bath Savings Institution, Maine Credit Union League, Acadia Insurance, Win Financial Strategy and investment firm Great Diamond Partners.

“We recognize that New Mainers are a critical part of the future workforce and fabric of our communities” Jeanne Hulit, president of Maine Community Bank, said in the release.

Many immigrants have at least one bank account, but as a group they remain “underbanked,” meaning they are not fully vested in savings, credit accounts, investment accounts and insurance when compared to the average American. Poor or absent credit and chronic underbanking are barriers to economic advancement for immigrant and low-income families, according to ProsperityME.

“We recognize financial education and financial security go hand-in-hand and look forward to working with ProsperityME and others on this new initiative,” Todd Mason, president and CEO of the Maine Credit Union League, said in the release.

Roughly 7,000 immigrants arrived in Maine between 2010 and 2015. That same five-year period saw a total population growth in Maine of only 967 people, suggesting that without foreign-born residents, the state's overall population would be in decline.

“Helping immigrants and refugees achieve financial success is one way to support a thriving and vibrant community.” Kay Whitmore, vice president of human resources at Acadia Insurance, said in the release.

ProsperityME was founded in 2009 by Claude Rwaganje, who serves as executive director.

The nonprofit was founded in response to a lack of basic financial literacy in the immigrant community. ProsperityME has since helped over 4,000 immigrants and their families understand their finances and open necessary financial accounts to invest in their futures.

“We work very, very hard to provide immigrants with the essential tools and understanding of the American financial system,” Rwaganje said in the release. “We don’t say, ‘no.’ We say, ‘how?’ The Maine Immigrants Prosperity Network is a ‘how.’”

Women’s economic empowerment

Last month, ProsperityME and Portland-based In Her Presence announced they received the 2019 women’s economic empowerment grant from the Bill and Joan Alfond Foundation.

The three-year $250,000 award will fund “Charting Your Course,” a joint program helping low-income immigrant women build pathways to financial security through personal empowerment and financial education, according to a news release.

Both organizations are immigrant-led and -founded, and dedicated to empowering members of the immigrant community and driving economic growth in Maine.

A Portland area pilot program “Charting Your Course” will launch this spring, with participant recruitment beginning this month. A planned two-year program expansion into Cumberland, Androscoggin and Kennebec counties will bring “Charting Your Course” to communities in central Maine bringing connection and economic opportunity to over 150 immigrant women.

“Women and children make up three-quarters of all immigrants to the United States,” Claudette Ndayininahaze and Abusana Micky Bondo, co-founders of In Her Presence, said in the release. “However, women’s issues in particular and the unique personal, economic and health challenges facing them are rarely talked about as part of public discourse.”

In Her Presence, founded five years ago, has over 80 immigrant women from 16 different countries involved in self-empowerment programs supporting English language acquisition, mental and physical health, and career development.

ProsperityME, along with the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, is also helping out with a New Mainer Teller Training Program began last month. The program is a partnership between six Maine banks and credit unions with Portland Adult Education to help immigrant residents prepare for teller jobs in the financial services industry.