EIN: 52-1596259
Mission Statement
Britepaths provides short-term safety-net services to our neighbors in need while empowering them to work toward long-term self-sufficiency. We deliver our services with respect, compassion, and equity, always preserving the dignity and self-esteem of our clients.
Program Summary
Britepaths brings personal finance classes and career building skills to partners in Arlington: Bridges to Independence, ACH Inc., Arlington Agency on Aging, Catholic Charities, ECDC African Community Center, Enterprise Development Group, and Melwood. Clients participate in a series of classes that vary with the needs of each partner and have options for further one-one-one financial empowerment and/or career building services. Arlington residents who have low or middle incomes are welcome to sign up for any of the free services offered through the Financial Empowerment Center (FEC). The FEC assists over 2,000 individuals annually, providing most services virtually which are offered in English, Spanish, and other languages as needed. Services include personal finance workshops, classes, financial coaching and mentoring, small business and tax consulting, tax assistance, and some legal services. Workforce development programs include workshops, coaching, leadership skills and soft skills training, mentoring, IT training, and culinary skills training. The best place for the most recent options is to go directly to the website at https://soco.financialempowermentcenters.org
Impact Statement
Britepaths offers services that actually help improve the lives of families in financial crisis. The services we provide to clients through our Arlington partners, help them to develop tools to organize, understand, and manage their finances. Using these tools, they can start to pay down debt, become banked, and/or start saving. We also help them with job skills to help them find a job or move a better paying one. Any of these skills can help improve their current situation. We encourage clients to explore our other, more long-term services that have proven effectiveness. For clients who attended classes or workshops, 71% of respondents have improved their financial situation, and for clients who participate in financial mentoring for 6-9 months, 81% improve their situation based on survey score. We serve more than 2,000 clients annually through the Financial Empowerment Center (FEC) receiving personal finance and/or workforce development services. We continue to add workforce training and certification classes. Learners who successfully complete these classes are considered graduates. Our graduation rates rose from 65% to 77% in FY 23-24. We taught upskilling classes for construction lead persons, launched a culinary skills class, and add IT certifications in 2023.
What ways can the public get involved?
The Financial Empowerment Center uses many volunteers. Anyone with a financial background can be trained to be a financial coach, mentor, or instructor. Workforce development needs volunteers to mentor clients in their own field to help them learn more about the field and develop a professional network. We also need volunteers to do practice interviewing and review resumes. We are particularly seeking bilingual volunteers in any language but have a need for Dari and Pashto speakers. We also need office volunteers to help with data entry and calling clients to remind them of scheduled coaching sessions. The best way to find out about volunteering is https://soco.financialempowermentcenters.org/get-involved/ or https://britepaths.org/get-involved/volunteer/
How are charitable dollars spent? Where does my donation go?
Donated dollars go to support the staff time, materials needed for classes and workshops, translation services, and other community needs. The services provided at the Financial Empowerment Center (FEC) are mostly provided by volunteer financial professionals. Staff coordinate classes, coaching sessions, mentor matches, develop curricula for workshops and classes, data entry, and reporting. Workforce Development staff provide coaching, some classes, curricula develop and use professional volunteers for classes and mentoring. Training classes are taught by professional instructors. We provide training materials and in the case of culinary skills training, provide a kitchen and food to prepare. We have collaborated with Grow with Google and AWS Re/Start to gain access to classes and certifications. We engage in as many partnerships as possible to stretch donated dollars for maximum impact.
Information provided April 2024