Nashville gets $2M grant for financial counseling

Friday, January 11, 2013, Vol. 37, No. 2

NASHVILLE (AP) — Nashville has received a $2 million grant to provide one-on-one financial counseling to low-income residents.

The three-year grant will serve an estimated 5,000 Nashvillians at Financial Empowerment Centers. Counselors will teach clients how to open a checking account, establish a credit score, maintain savings and decrease debt.

The initiative began in New York City in 2008. Since then, the program has helped more than 19,000 New Yorkers reduce their debt by more than $9 million and save more than $1 million.

According to a news release from the city, Nashville is one of five cities to receive the grant. The Financial Empowerment Centers will open in March and will be run by United Way of Metropolitan Nashville.