We are always looking for volunteers to help with our financial education whether it’s teaching clients or creating informative materials. Find out more about what you can do to get involved by reading our volunteer position descriptions below and visit our calendar or contact talia@innovativechanges.org to find out about upcoming volunteer trainings.
Volunteer Opportunities
Innovative Changes (ICS) is committed to providing comprehensive and in-depth financial education as a means of empowering individuals and families in responsible economic decision-making for healthy households. We do this through a combination of workshops, coaching sessions, seminars and in-touch training opportunities. As a volunteer, you will join a team of dedicated trainers and coaches who help people develop and achieve their short and long term financial goals. ICS is dedicated to helping you be a successful volunteer by providing you with training, resources and ongoing support.
Financial Household Resiliency (FHR) Workshop Facilitator:
This four-part workshop series guides participants through tactics and tools for personal cash flow management, budgeting and saving, successful banking, and building, repairing and protecting credit. Participants leave the class with concrete steps towards accomplishing their goals (financial and beyond). Each session is two hours long which includes worksheets, lively discussions, group problem solving and individual planning. Financial Resiliency Facilitators are provided with ICS curriculum and are encouraged to draw from their own personal experiences to enrich the class as well.
Requirements for workshop facilitators:
- Attend a Training of the Trainers session in ICS’s curriculum;
- Co-facilitate one FHR workshop;
- Commit to facilitate or co-facilitate a full series or at least 4 individual workshops over the course of a year; and
- Provide feedback on curriculum and update ICS staff on each workshop facilitated.
The next series of Financial Household Resiliency Workshops will be held February 1, 8, 15 and 22, 2012 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm at our Lloyd Center office. Contact us if you would like to observe these classes and/or become a facilitator.
One-on-One Financial Coach:
Drawing on your own experience and sensitivity to clients’ varied backgrounds and circumstances, you will help guide individuals and households by equipping them with the tools, skills, and confidence necessary to meet their immediate financial needs, and achieve their short- and long-term financial goals. Based on clients’ self-identified needs and goals, coaches spend time working in 4 major areas: personal cash flow management; budgeting; saving and goal setting; building, repairing and protecting credit; and access to banking and community services. Coaches are always needed.
Requirements for financial coaches:
- Attend a Training of the Trainers session in ICS’s coaching materials;
- Shadow an ICS Coach at least once;
- Coordinate directly with, and commit to meeting with, a client at least once a month for three to six months either at one of ICS’s offices or in a public setting such as a library or coffee shop;
- Research referrals appropriate to your client’s needs as necessary;
- Take notes during coaching sessions and document client progress or setbacks; and
- Maintain ongoing communication with ICS staff contact to provide feedback and updates on client progress.
Contact Talia if you would like to attend a coaching TOT or just learn more about being an ICS coach.
Tax Time Educator:
During tax time, hundreds of people spend anywhere from ten minutes to over an hour in the CASH waiting room. We envision this as a perfect opportunity to engage people in financial education. From the dangers of refund anticipation loans, how to access available tax credits to budgeting and saving your tax return, we are looking for educators willing to reach out to people for relevant and timely teaching moments. Training for this pilot program will begin in December 2011. We are looking for two types of tax time educators:
Asset Specialists: Asset Specialists will engage clients in the waiting room pre and post tax preparation in order to enhance their visit and link clients to services and products that can improve their finances year round. Asset Specialists will meet with clients individually or in groups and conduct short financial resiliency evaluation sessions. From there, Asset Specialists will offer clients tools to stay on top of their finances including budgeting and savings worksheets, how to pull their free credit report, and inform them of available financial products and services. They will work with clients to encourage them to save their tax refund, connect clients to other resources and sign them up to see an Innovative Changes Financial Coach for a more in depth session if they wish.
Requirements for Asset Specialists:
- Attend the Asset Specialist Training in January
- Shadow one intake session
- Commit to a 2 hour block a week during the tax season
- Maintain ongoing communication with ICS staff
Tax Specialist: Tax Specialists will work with clients who have additional questions about their taxes, want to debrief about their filing experience, help clients strategically plan for a better tax year in the future, discuss tax credits that the client may be eligible for and refer clients to additional assistance- internally through the Asset Specialist or outside referrals.
Requirements for Tax Specialists:
- Attend the Tax Specialist Training in January
- At least one year of experience with tax preparation
- Commit to a 4 hours a month during the tax season
- Maintain ongoing communication with ICS staff
Special Topics Presenter:
Every month Innovative Changes offers a seminar that cover special topics of interest to our clients and the community. If you have expertise in a certain area and would be interested in teaching an hour long seminar, we would love to have you! Or, if you have the ability to recruit seminar presenters and help organize monthly seminars that would be great too.
- Past workshops have included: risk management, investing, new banking regulations, consumer protection, dealing with debt, holiday resources and budgeting, and student loan repayment and consolidation.
- Future topics that we hope to cover include: foreclosure avoidance and the impact of foreclosure on an individual’s financial well being, bankruptcy, marriage and joint assets, child support, custody and family law, financial planning during life transitions, retirement planning, and wills.
Curriculum Development:
Our four part Financial Household Resiliency series is designed to meet people where they are. As part of our commitment to quality training, we are always looking to improve the curriculum to make it more dynamic and meaningful to the populations that we serve. If you have had past teaching or curriculum writing experience and are interested in giving us feedback and helping to identify new activities and ideas, as well as present innovations, we would love to have you. This work can be done in our office or from home.
Financial Writer:
Every month we publish Innovative Connections, a toolkit chock full of tips, resources, advice, product highlights and community events for our clients. We also have a blog that we would like to keep more updated on upcoming financial legislation, organizational happenings and client stories. If you like to research, write and/or are interested in the policy side of financial access and are able to commit a few hours a month from our office or home, this is a great position for you!
General Volunteer Qualifications
- Committed to the mission of Innovative Changes.
- Pass a criminal background check.
- Competent in subject matter and/or willing to learn.
- Flexibility and comfort working with diverse clientele. Strong intercultural communication skills.
- Understanding of the potential challenges and barriers experienced by communities living in generational poverty and/or who are under-served by traditional banking institutions
- Committed to working in a collaborative team environment.
- Able to maintain client confidentiality.
- Follows through on commitment.
- Willing to work collaboratively, communicate with and provide feedback to ICS staff.
- Spanish language skills a plus.
