The Aurora City Council will vote Tuesday on an agreement with the Aurora-based Community Fund to establish a private fund for the Financial Empowerment Center.
The new Financial Empowerment Center Fund would allow the organization to gain support through charitable contributions, both outright and deferred, from city residents, individuals, corporations and entities seeking to benefit the city.
Right now, the city partners with The Neighbor Project, based in downtown Aurora, to administer and run the Financial Empowerment Center, which provides one-on-one financial counseling and coaching, free of charge for participating residents of the greater Aurora region.
The center has had success counseling and guiding low-income families into financial independence, helping them get out of debt, buy houses and create savings accounts, city officials said.
The Neighbor Project also provides free program support to city residents and families as part of a new child savings and family financial literacy initiative through the empowerment center.
The city began the arrangement with The Neighbor Project in January 2020, and the arrangement runs through Dec. 31, with renewals of one year, for the next two years.
The city wanted to partner with an established organization such as the Community Fund of the Fox River Valley to create the designated fund for the empowerment center. Under the arrangement, the center could take charitable donations instead of relying on strictly money from the city.
