Hispanic Access successfully reached over 670 participants and partnered with 13 congregations and communities spanning across Southern California with Thrivent’s "Prepárate Para Un Futuro Mejor” (Prepare for a Better Future) training. In addition to the training, participants were able to take advantage of scheduling one-on-one financial counseling with Thrivent Financial advisors. Nonetheless, providing our communities with financial literacy training goes beyond the numbers–it reaches at the core of who we are as a community and what we represent.

“The Latino community is at the forefront in terms of generosity and unity. It is in our DNA and nature to help each other…However, we are not on the front lines when it comes to financial planning, investing, and cultivating wealth," shared Christine Tamara, Director, Hispanic Leadership Network

According to FINRA’s financial capacity study of Hispanic Adults in the U.S., “About 24 percent of Hispanic adults correctly answered four or more out of five financial literacy questions correctly on the National Financial Capability Survey in 2021.”

To truly capture the effectiveness of the training, before each training, participants were asked to complete a pre-survey that questioned them on their financial goals and exposure to financial literacy and practices. They were then given a follow-up post-survey to capture their feedback and sentiments after completing the training.

51.06% of post-training survey takers responded "Yes, it was their first time receiving financial training.”

“As we entered this project we knew that many people most likely would receive financial literacy for the first time,” said Tamara. “Moreover, having bilingual trainers and experts who understand the culture and the context in the cities where we hosted the community workshops was instrumental in this project.”

Interestingly, despite a lack of exposure to financial literacy, the participants responded exceptionally well to the training and left feeling motivated and more confident in approaching financial literacy-related topics. Almost 70% of participants responded “Yes, they are more interested in learning about investments and the stock market” after completing the training, and compared to only 21% of pre-training survey takers who responded they knew about mutual funds, after the training, 71% of post-training survey takers responded “Yes, they now know about mutual funds.” Even more noteworthy is the motivation to share the knowledge they acquired with those around them:

Around 95% of survey takers responded they would recommend the training to friends and family.

These sentiments tie into the sense of comunidad (community) within Latino culture that strives to advance not only individually but as a whole. The positive impact of the trainings were not only felt amongst the congregations and community but also with the Thrivent Financial Advisors themselves–all of which were Latino and bilingual:

“It’s been wonderful collaborating with Hispanic Access Foundation on this project! In every presentation, there was always a big interest in finance from the audience. The project has confirmed that there is a vast need for financial literacy in the Latino community such as retirement accounts, budgeting, and the importance of other financial tools," added Sergio Mendoza, a Financial Advisor for Thrivent Financial.

Hispanic Access will continue our commitment to advancing and uplifting the community by developing more partnerships, connections, and bridges that provide access to resources that will impact the overall well-being of the comunidad. Thus, we can confidently look back at 2023 and our NASDAQ financial literacy program and say we truly are preparing our communities for a better future by building bridges and changing lives.

Written by Jasmine Ezell, Hispanic Leadership Network Program Associate.