Financial empowerment for newcomers funding opportunity

26 March 2019

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has launched

a call for proposals for the Settlement and Resettlement Assistance Programs due April 12, 2019.

IRCC has identified ‘Money and Finances’ as a vital topic that can support newcomers to effectively settle in Canada. Prosper Canada and leading agencies across the country are beginning to integrate financial education and support specifically within settlement services. As such, agencies have been supporting newcomers to build their financial well-being in a variety of ways including:

Embedding money and finance topics within language instruction.
Providing group financial education information and orientation sessions.
Providing one-on-one intake, support and referrals on critical financial topics and challenges such as accessing appropriate financial services, building credit and making a financial plan to support successful settlement.
Providing tax clinics and supports to help newcomers increase their income through government benefit access.
Building awareness and facilitating access to savings programs such as the Registered Education Savings Plan (RESPs) and the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP).

Prosper Canada and partners continue to develope tools, training and

supports to assist newcomer organizations integrate and deliver

high quality financial empowerment services. We would encourage all organizations applying for this funding opportunity to incorporate these supports into a proposal as appropriate.

If the services above are unfamiliar or new to your agency process, it may be worth considering how to build in resources to design your program and train staff. Below are some links that can support your application:

- Financial Literacy and Newcomers to Canada report

- Financial literacy training for settlement organization staff

- Government of Canada: Money and finances

- Filing your first tax return in Canada: Free resources for newcomers

Prosper Canada would love to hear from you if you are considering including any of these services within your application and/or if you want to discuss the best way to approach integrating this into your organization.

Email info@prospercanada.org for more information.