Driving financial impact for people in Canada: the value of cross-sectoral partnerships

In the ever-evolving landscape of social change and financial empowerment, cross-sectorial partnerships have emerged as a promising force for driving impact for low-income individuals. Non-profits bring their significant understanding of the realities faced by low-income individuals and communities. They have on-the-ground experience, a network of community relationships, and specialized knowledge about social and economic supports available to struggling Canadians. When they partner with organizations from other sectors, such as financial institutions that excel at creating scalable solutions, they create a win-win scenario for both sectors and, most importantly, for those in need. 

However, finding the “right fit” is essential to making these partnerships deep and meaningful. Effective collaboration between a financial empowerment nonprofit and the financial sector requires clear goals, open communication, shared values, and a commitment to improving the financial well-being of underserved populations. 

Since 2015, Prosper Canada has been working with 14+ leading non-profit Financial Empowerment Champion (FEC) organizations across the country to help Canadians living on low and moderate incomes to access urgently needed income and put in place budgets, savings and debt management plans, and longer-term action plans to rebuild their financial health.  

As a member-owned financial cooperative, Coast Capital is focused on helping their 600,000 members, employees, and communities with their real financial goals and challenges so they can build a better future.  In 2022, Prosper Canada partnered with Coast Capital to ensure that the network of financial empowerment leaders continued to have a dedicated space to share best practices, learn from each other, discuss issues they are seeing on the ground, and broadly support each other to improve and expand community financial help services to more struggling households. This year, Coast Capital increased its previous support of the Financial Empowerment Champion program by committing $600,000 over the next two years to help this network provide high-quality financial help to vulnerable Canadians and drive service improvements and innovations through our national Community of Practice.  

In the first part of 2023, the Financial Empowerment Champions program has already helped 36,000+ individuals build their financial capability and financial well-being at a time when these services are most needed.  

Coast Capital’s support has been critical in helping Prosper Canada and partners to advance the goals of the Financial Empowerment Champions program. Elizabeth Mulholland, CEO of Prosper Canada, remarks that “thanks to this generous funding, we have been able to strengthen our role as a backbone organization: curating spaces and resources for our partners to share best practices, strengthening advocacy efforts for systemic change, and help our partners to enhance their positive impact in the lives of Canadians with low incomes. Coast Capital’s support is critical in our efforts to ensure that all Canadians with low incomes have access to free, high-quality, financial help to tax file and access and retain income benefits they’re eligible for, as well as personalized financial coaching and counselling.”  

"As a financial cooperative and social purpose organization we are committed to helping our members, employees, and communities to build better futures and unlock financial opportunities.  We are proud to partner with Prosper Canada to ensure that our communities have access to the myriad of supports, tools, resources, and education they need to thrive.” Maureen Young, VP, Social Purpose  

As these partnerships continue to evolve, they hold the promise of creating a more equitable and inclusive society where financial stability is within reach for all. 

About Coast Capital 

Coast Capital isn’t just dreaming about a better future, they’re building one. As a member-owned financial cooperative with an 80-year legacy of unlocking financial opportunities that positively impact people and communities, they believe that every person and business in Canada deserves a financial partner who actually cares how things turn out. Driven by their social purpose, they look at everything they do through the lens of how they can help their 600,000 members, their employees, and their communities. Ranked in the platinum category of the 2022 Corporate Knight’s Social Purpose Ranking and a proud Certified B Corporation^®, they’re part of a global movement building a more inclusive, equitable and regenerative economic system.