Reaching out to new Americans, new customers
Photo/Rebecca Goldfine
Claude Rwaganje helps immigrants learn about the American financial system with his nonprofit, Community Financial Literacy
A group of refugees and immigrants gathered recently at cPort Credit Union for a lesson in financial literacy, an introduction into the mysteries of overdraft fees, first-car loans and the locations of no-charge ATMs.
The workshop also served as an introduction between the credit union and the city's immigrant community, which financial institutions view as a growing market of potential customers. According to 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data, Portland's foreign-born community increased from 4,895 to 7,252 in a decade. (The Census does not specifically track refugees and immigrants.)
"We definitely want to be prepared and available to offer them banking services," says cPort President Gene Ardito, "as I'm sure the other financial institutions want to do. It's a growth area in the local population, and it's important to support them with their financial needs."
Ardito recently joined the board of Community Financial Literacy, the Portland nonprofit that teaches refugees and new immigrants how to navigate the American financial system. CFL sent the group of students to classes at cPort in October. Ardito intends to assist CFL founder Claude Rwaganje and learn how to better serve the immigrant community, many of whom, he hopes, might eventually join the credit union.
Rwaganje launched CFL in 2009, soon after the economy nosedived. He had just graduated with a degree in business administration and finance from the University of Southern Maine, but accounting jobs were hard to come by. He knew there was a need in his community for financial assistance.
"Now that we're Mainers, we need to learn how to be Mainers," Rwaganje says, speaking flawless English. He came to the United States from the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1996 when he was 27, and is fluent in French, Swahili, Kinyarwanda and Kirundi. "Learning the American financial system will help us in one way or another grow a little bit. We need to broaden our future."
CFL Board Chairman Gregory Hansel, an attorney with law firm Preti Flaherty, says CFL is helping immigrants and refugees survive economically in the United States. "They've been through a traumatic experience in their home country, or leaving their home country. And coming to a completely new environment, they have serious language challenges, probably no money, they are in a strange culture, in a cold climate and then they're thrust into our financial system which is, on a good day, baffling for ordinary Americans," he says. "They come from a culture in some cases where they may not trust banks. And now you have to have banking relationships to participate in everyday-life America."
In April 2009, Rwaganje held his first CFL board meeting with a multicultural group that included both immigrants and natives. "I said no way can we be successful in this business unless we involve Americans, because none of us knew the foundations that can fund us, or the donors," Rwaganje recalls.
The original board members included an employee from accounting firm BerryDunn and the nonprofit Women, Work and Community. Today the board of directors includes lawyers, social workers, financial advisers, educators and others. In its first year, CFL's budget was $7,000. The next year that grew to about $64,000, and this year, the organization's operating budget is around $100,000, according to Rwaganje. CFL's donors include Maine banks -- including Bangor Savings, Biddeford Savings and TD Bank -- as well as foundations.
The organization has recently moved to a new, more centrally located office on 309 Cumberland Ave., in Avesta Housing's headquarters, to be more accessible to people using public transportation (previously it was in the Riverton housing community). Next year, CFL projects it will reach more students, partly due to its convenient location. In January it will hold a new training program to recruit three or four more teachers, ideally from local immigrant groups, to teach basic money management, the organization's most popular class. "Now we can expand," Rwaganje says. "We want to empower people in the communities to teach."
CFL offers free, 12-hour, five-week classes in Portland and Lewiston in three general areas: basic money management, microfinance and saving to build wealth. Rwaganje also offers one-on-one financial counseling. Classes cover balancing checking accounts, understanding credit scores and using ATMs, as well as how to save for children's college educations, buy a home and invest in retirement funds. Rwaganje says, "When I saw the complexity of the American financial system and people not even understanding how they can take advantage of their 401(k)s at the workplace -- they throw [the forms] in the trash -- I said, ‘That's not really good.'" Hansel says that CFL teaches students about credit card offers in the mail, email scams, phone bill charges and insurance products. "They don't know where to turn," he says. "We believe CFL empowers them to be educated consumers, critical consumers who can protect themselves and make sound financial decisions."
Since 2009, more than 400 students have enrolled in CFL classes, according to Rwaganje, not including those who have had one-on-one-counseling. His next endeavor will be to do more follow-up with students. "Some funders say we need to provide metrics," he says. "We have to see how many people saved money, started businesses, opened retirement accounts and started saving for their children's education." He says, however, that he did survey one class and found that six months after the class ended, the dozen students had saved a total of $9,000.
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments