Financial Beginnings

One year of fresh starts, powered by financial education.

Today marks the one-year anniversary of Financial Beginnings' partnership with the Idaho Department of Correction, bringing financial education to incarcerated residents preparing for reentry. Supported by Columbia Bank, this work helps people build the money management skills they need to return to their communities with confidence.

In just its first year, the program has reached a remarkable milestone. Fourteen cohorts have completed the programming, serving nearly 1,000 residents preparing for reentry, with a graduation rate of nearly 90 percent.

Through the Strategies to Achieve Financial Empowerment (SAFE) curriculum, Financial Beginnings and Columbia Bank volunteers help residents learn to protect their finances, understand credit and debt, and set goals and tools for life ahead. As one facilitator put it, this curriculum is perfectly aligned with the most important elements for our residents' success.

We are grateful to the entire IDOC team for welcoming us into this work, and to Columbia Bank for the time, talent, and support their associates bring to every cohort. Here is to year two.

"This work is about more than budgets and bank accounts. It's about building trust, removing the barriers to talking about money, and empowering people who may not have had control of their finances in the past."

That's how our Program Partnerships Manager Ryan Weber describes our partnership with Catholic Charities of Oregon at Kenton Women's Village. Through our Forward program — designed for adults facing financial instability — volunteer instructor Jamie Steiskal has been guiding participants through a course that starts not with numbers, but with each person's story.

The results speak for themselves. As participant Helen Anderson shared: "The sessions were very informative, and I found Jamie to be extremely knowledgeable. I now have a much greater understanding of how to budget, track my spending, and prioritize my financial goals."

Financial literacy isn't a quick fix — it's a foundation. Read the full story from Catholic Charities on how this partnership is helping women build confidence and take meaningful steps toward stability, on their own terms.

Story link:

Rewriting the Story Around Finances - Catholic Charities of Oregon Financial literacy is about more than numbers. Through a partnership with Financial Beginnings, Catholic Charities of Oregon is helping women at Kenton Women’s Village build confidence, set goals, and take meaningful steps toward financial stability.