National charity Prosper Canada has released a new report demonstrating the impact of the TD Financial Literacy Grant Fund, Canada’s first national granting program dedicated to building the financial literacy of Canadians with low incomes, and providing a snapshot of Canada’s growing community financial education field. 

Released at the national 2015 ABLE Financial Empowerment Conference,Building Financial Education: Impact and Insights from the TD Financial Literacy Grant Fund highlights the reach and impact of a $10.4 million investment by TD Bank Group towards strengthening financial education in Canada -- an investment that enabled over 75,000 Canadians with low incomes to build their financial literacy.  

Download the Building Financial Education report

The TD Financial Literacy Grant Fund was established by TD and Prosper Canada to break down financial literacy barriers that pose a particular hardship for people with low incomes. One hundred and thirty-nine grants were awarded to projects in every province and the Northwest Territories. Grants targeted initiatives serving people with low incomes, including those focused on low-income youth, newcomers, Aboriginal people, people living with a disability, people in conflict with the law, seniors, people facing homelessness and people living with mental health issues.

The Grant Fund report captures key practitioner insights on the financial literacy needs of Canadians living in poverty and offers suggestions on how to design and deliver effective programs that address these needs. The report also provides a snapshot of the nature and diversity of the community financial literacy field in Canada today and some key challenges it faces, including:

• Ensuring community educators are well trained and equipped
• Capacity to meet high program demand
• Limited evaluation resources and expertise
• Sustainable funding.

Prosper Canada is inviting organizations from all sectors to help address these challenges by:

• Increasing financial education training opportunities
• Integrating financial literacy supports into other social and financial services
• Supporting the creation and sharing of relevant, high quality financial literacy resources; and
• Enhancing evaluation support.

Prosper Canada will be engaging stakeholders in an ongoing dialogue on how all sectors can work together to advance quality financial literacy education that effectively meets the needs of Canada’s low-income and vulnerable populations.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. About the TD Financial Literacy Grant Fund
3. Research conducted for this report
4. Reflections on the impact and reach of the Fund
5. Meeting the financial literacy needs of Canadians with low incomes
6. Common frontline challenges
7. Building a sustainable field for the future