If you didn’t grow up with a parent or mentor who could explain investing, retirement accounts or wealth building, where would you learn?
For many young professionals, the answer is nowhere.
While budgeting and emergency savings are essential financial skills, they’re only part of the picture. Through programs like Financial Achievement Club, we help families build a foundation for navigating a financial crisis. But long-term stability requires a different set of tools like brokerage accounts, tax strategies, and long-term wealth building planning — tools that can feel inaccessible to those who were never exposed before.
“We wanted to offer different services for people who are in different stages of their financial journey,” said Arisa Hara, Director of Economic Stability at United Way of Greater Atlanta.
This year, United Way of Greater Atlanta launched Wealth Builders United, a financial literacy program in partnership with Frontline Housing, to help young professionals build stronger futures for themselves and future generations.
The need is significant, as Greater Atlanta faces some of the largest economic disparities in the nation. In fact, a child born into the lowest socioeconomic band in our region has only a 4% chance of rising out of poverty by early adulthood.
Expanding access to financial knowledge, mentorship, and asset-building opportunities can help more Atlantans build the tools for economic stability.
The power of the ally model in financial literacy programs
Financial literacy programs are easier to find than ever. Books, podcasts, and websites offer endless advice — but that alone isn’t enough to motivate young people to take the next step into investing.
Wealth Builders United pairs young professionals with more experienced volunteer mentors, called “allies.”
Jamila Hoyett, a Wealth Builders ally and financial advisor of 22 years, began volunteering out of a deep desire to help close the wealth gap present both in Greater Atlanta and across the nation.
“Speaking to people who didn’t come from backgrounds where everything came to them and everything was already laid out, that’s why programs like this pull at my heartstrings. We’ve got a lot of work to do when it comes to having a more equitable society,” she said.
The first cohort focused on nonprofit employees. Over six months, the young professionals met with allies, learned investment fundamentals and contributed $100 per month toward long-term investment accounts. United Way matched graduates’ contributions up to $500.
Many entered the program having never opened an investment account outside of an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Some viewed investing more as gambling than a pathway to long-term financial stability, expecting any money they put in to vanish.
Rather than telling participants what to do with their money, the allies helped them understand their options and build confidence in their own decision-making.
“Education takes away a lot of the anxiety around investing,” said Jamila, explaining how she had to reframe the process for young professionals. “You’re not throwing the dice, hoping something works. You’re literally planting seeds. And if you leave them there long enough, they will grow.”
According to Christophe Cadiou, a financial advisor and longtime volunteer who has helped shape several of United Way’s financial empowerment initiatives, that personalized approach is what creates lasting change.
Much of what he learned about finances growing up came from watching his own single mother navigate financial challenges. He grew up in France, where, similarly to the United States, financial education in school was largely absent from the classroom. He hopes that participants can learn from his own experiences, both positive and negative.
Something I’ve learned here in this program, but throughout my experience of helping the Financial Achievement Club and other programs in the past five or six years is that to me, it’s about embracing where people are. Understanding where the participants are starting from, and being genuine about wanting to help the participants where they’re at and where they want to go.”
Creating opportunities for future generations
After the success of our inaugural cohort, this summer, United Way of Greater Atlanta recruited more allies to launch a new cohort serving the Latin American community in partnership with Los Vecinos de Buford Highway. Danny Trejo, a serial entrepreneur with a finance background, immediately knew he wanted to get involved.
“I have always been interested in volunteering to support Latino communities in some way, being Mexican myself, which is why this particular cohort of Wealth Builders United interested me initially,” he said.
Danny remembers wanting to learn more about investing at a young age but, like many first-generation families, he and his family struggled to find someone who could explain wealth building in a way that made sense.
He sees himself reflected in many participants: young people with goals of buying a home, retiring comfortably and building generational wealth, but little guidance on where to begin.
“A lot of the questions they ask are the same questions I was asking about. I was also trying to figure out how to invest and what these big terminologies mean. It is a little scary sometimes,” he said. “If I could provide a shortcut for people that were like me growing up, I mean, I look at my personal portfolio sometimes and say, man, if I would have just done this 10 years ago.”
Wealth building for a strong financial future
Economic mobility, the ability to build a stronger financial future regardless of where you start, depends on more than more than financial knowledge alone. It is built through knowledge, opportunity, and, most importantly, access to people outside your immediate circles who are willing to build connections across differences.
Through Wealth Builders United, volunteers are acting as those connection points, helping young professionals take a step toward trajectory-changing stability.
We will continue to provide critical support for families facing financial hardship, but this newest program takes it one step further — helping families move from getting by to getting ahead.
“There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to financial programs. Obviously we want to help families budget and build savings for emergencies,” said Arisa. “But we believe we’ve built a program that will help build a strong financial future for participants…Helping young people see investing as accessible and approachable will hopefully encourage lifelong financial behaviors.”
As we seek to open more cohorts, we would love to welcome more allies to the program. If you have a background in financial literacy, please reach out here for more information.
Volunteering is not the only way to make programs like Wealth Builders United possible. Help young people build foundations that can strengthen their families and communities for generations to come when you donate today.