Financial Wellness Group launches Foundation

Financial Wellness Group has announced that it has created the Financial Wellness Group Foundation.

The Foundation has the mission of improving financial wellbeing in the UK through donations, advocacy, research and campaigning.  In particular the Foundation will support the financial education of young people and adults to help equip them with the skills they need to budget better; save effectively, borrow sustainably and responsibly and, ultimately, be able to worry less about money, so they can enjoy life more.

The Foundation is supporting Young Money’s ‘Route To Success’ programme.  The programme explores ways to budget and students will also start to think about what to do when a budget doesn’t balance – either finding ways to make cost savings if the budget is overspent, or considering what to do with any leftover funds if the budget is underspent.

Initially the Foundation will be funding the programme in three schools close to the Group’s offices in Manchester: Sale High School, Wellacre with one more to be confirmed.  The programme, which has five modules, is delivered digitally, usually in year 9 or 10.  Colleagues from Financial Wellness Group will support the programme by joining the sessions to discuss their own ‘Route to Success’ and their approach to budgeting and money management.

The Financial Wellness Group Foundation will also:

• Make grants to pay the £90 Insolvency Service fee for customers in severe hardship who would benefit from a Debt Relief Order but who can’t afford to access it (subject to final agreement from the Insolvency Service).
• Support colleague fundraising for charity with a matched giving programme.

Russell Winnard, Director of Programmes from Young Money said “We are thrilled to be working in partnership with Financial Wellness Group, providing young people in the Manchester area with the opportunity to develop crucial financial knowledge, skills and confidence.  The Route to Success course has been designed so that young people are more able to make informed future choices, learning to create a personal balance between financial reward and the value of job satisfaction.”

Deborah Ware, Chief Operating Officer of Financial Wellness Group said “Our Foundation is a crucial part of our development. We are passionate about the role of financial education to help people live ‘healthy financial lifestyles’ and avoid problem debt – and the Foundation will promote and fund this. However, we also see a larger role for the Foundation in research and advocacy. We believe that there are many ways that debt advice and debt solutions should change to better serve people in financial difficulties and the Foundation will seek to build understanding and champion better ways to help people made vulnerable by their financial difficulties.”