The Center for Economic Progress and Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting Group release Show Me the Money! The report is an assessment of the Center’s Financial Empowerment Project. Working closely with the North Side Community Federal Credit Union, the Project recruits local employers to participate in programs that help their lower wage workers achieve financial health and stability.

We found that:

• 82% of employees surveyed as part of our evaluation said that they sometimes spend time at work worrying about bills or dealing with personal financial problems.

• Employers want to help, but they desire hard data (proof) that such programs provide financial returns to both the employee and the employer. They have a Show Me the Money mentality.

Employer interest in win-win programs presents an opportunity to expand the Project and to study its impact more robustly through quantitative measures and a larger employee participant pool. The Briefing gives the full set of findings.

The Center recently received a grant from the Ford Foundation to expand this work in partnership with the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, the City of Chicago, and RealBenefits. Our firm will conduct the evaluation. For more information on this new project, contact Erika Schafer, SPHR, Manager of Chicago Support Workers for the Center at ESchafer@centerforprogress.org.

To learn more about the Center and two new staff openings visit www.centerforprogress.org.