The City of Jackson and United Way of West Tennessee are excited to announce the official launch of the Jackson Financial Empowerment Center in Jackson, Tennessee. The center, located at United Way, provides professional, one-on-one counseling and is open to all Jackson and West Tennessee residents who are 18 years and older as a no-cost, public service. At the Jackson Financial Empowerment Center, professionally trained FEC counselors help individuals and families with low and moderate incomes manage their finances, pay down debt, increase savings, establish and build credit, and access safe and affordable mainstream banking products.
In Oct. 2020, the City of Jackson was one of five local governments selected by the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund to receive a grant and technical assistance for planning for local municipal empowerment strategic priorities through the CityStart Initiative. After six months of data collection, analysis, and policy research, the City of Jackson completed the CityStart Blueprint, which informs the city’s priorities, goals, and financial empowerment strategies.
The City then received a second grant from the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund to realize these goals through establishing a Financial Empowerment Center initiative. The Jackson FEC welcomed client referrals from local nonprofit partners in January 2022, and is excited to finally extend the free, professional one-on-one financial counseling service to the West Tennessee community.
“We believe that financial empowerment is not only crucial to the stability of individuals and families, but that it is also vital to the economic growth and recovery of our community as whole. We are excited to partner with United Way to offer this critical service to help our residents build savings, reduce debt, improve credit, and ultimately increase access to opportunities and support for greater thriving,” said Mayor Scot Conger.
“A more financially stable community is a healthier community,” added Matt Marshall, President of United Way of West Tennessee. “For the past two years we have talked about the challenges that ALICE families in our region face. But now, through this partnership with the City of Jackson, we are able to turn that talk into action by helping families reimagine their financial future.”
The Jackson FEC staff consists of Lauren Kirk from the City of Jackson and three individuals who work under United Way’s direct leadership: Sarah Beth Bone as FEC Coordinator and Jordan Howerton and Tyler Carr as FEC counselors.
"We are excited to publicly launch the Jackson Financial Empowerment Center in partnership with the City of Jackson. The FEC will support West Tennessee residents in achieving financial health by meeting one-on-one with a certified counselor to develop a specialized service plan designed to meet their individual financial needs and goals," said Sarah Beth Bone, FEC Coordinator. "While working with our financial counselors, we hope that residents feel encouraged and supported in their financial journey while simultaneously destigmatizing adversities associated with financial topics."
The FEC will be available to serve the West Tennessee Community on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8am-4:30pm and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8am-7pm. Interested clients must request an appointment at fecjackson.org. For more information about the FEC, contact Sarah Beth at sbone@unitedway.tn.org or 731- 410-7486.
