Made of Money Training

Twelve participants will be trained to deliver workshops in the Quaker Social Action (QSA) Made of Money programme and then to assist in delivering the workshops. Quaker Social Action is an anti-poverty charity working in east London that has developed the ’Made of Money’ family learning course, which helps to reduce the stress and increase the confidence of families around money. In July 2011, Made of Money won an award from the Centre of Social Justice for ‘effective poverty-fighting’ based on the four clearly defined criteria of effectiveness, innovation, compassion and excellence.

The Made of Money programme fills the gap left by the financial agencies, who provide financial advice to individuals in financial difficulty but who cannot teach the economic skills, confidence and knowledge that helps people organise their own affairs. Although the Made of Money programme does not provide financial or debt advice or benefits, the course can for some people be a ‘way on’ to get more specific help and give them the confidence to do so. However, the course is clear that it can’t offer that particular help and its purpose is to provide the skills for participants and their families to manage their financial affairs.

The training is a 2-day intensive capacity-building course, equipping the twelve participants to run Made of Money workshops in their community at no or little cost to their users. The workshops are interactive, non-threatening and a fun way for families to look at money and the impact it has on their lives. An important aspect is the group nature of the work so that those attending share information and gain confidence. Importantly, it does not offer financial advice nor do those running the programmes require financial skills: the programme is quite different.

To find out more, book or arrange an in-house training, contact:
Call: 020 8983 5047
Email: madeofmoney@qsa.org.uk



http://www.quakersocialaction.com/national-training

The workshops materials are general enough be tailored to the needs of individual groups, both in terms content and of length, and cover the seven following topics:

• Week 1 Workshop: Introductory session—An introduction to the course, starting to help people to explore their own financial situations and the emotional impact of these

• Week 2 Workshop: Budgeting—What influences our spending and use of money, steps to budgeting, and money saving tips, bringing children into budgeting

• Week 3 Workshop: Credit—Pros and cons of credit, types of credit, jargon, APR, things to do before taking out credit

• Week 4 Workshop: Debt—Causes and implications of debt, how it can affect families, priority and non priority debt, debt do’s & don’ts, getting help, communicating about debt

• Week 5 Workshop: Communication—Saying no, communicating effectively, encouraging positive communication with children, partners and family members, negotiating with creditors/other agencies

• Week 6 Workshop: Children and Money—Where children learn about money; what we want our children to learn about money; why we buy things for our children; alternatives to spending money

• Week 7 Family Learning Workshop—Bringing together parents/carers and their children to engage in fun activities around money. This may include: exploring logos and branding through T-shirt painting, playing ‘advertising detectives’, budgeting skills, and introducing children to the concept of essential and non-essential spending through games and activities.

The initial training sessions will be on Wednesday 22 and Thursday 23 October 2014. A box of reusable materials are used in each of the seven workshops and that provides all of the resources needed to run workshops again and to adapt them to the specific needs of participants. The course can be adapted and run indefinitely once the training is given.

Also covered are tips and ideas on how to modify the course for each particular group/community setting, and ongoing support from the QSA partnership worker as each participant develops and runs the course on his or her own.

The Made of Money programme directly addresses identified economic disadvantage and inequality and provides learning and skills for the future by providing participants with financial skills to meet the needs of Suffolk’s economy, and it provides proven and quality learning opportunities.

The programme has been running for over six years with low-income families and individuals and has worked with over 800 families in this time. This is done by forming partnerships with organisations: through these partnerships, the programme offers all the training, resources and support to learn to run ‘Made of Money’ with groups in their community.

Made of Money aims to help reduce the stress of living on low income; it aims to improve three ‘C’s: confidence, control and communication around money in the household. It does not offer debt advice, benefits, or any other specific money advice, which is what other agencies are able to do.

The course is a ‘way in’ for people to start thinking about their money and how to make changes. From there, the course can offer to refer them on for a ‘way on’ to get more specific help, but the course is clear that it can’t offer that help. Made of Money’s key values are that it takes a holistic view at money, gives people room to come and talk about the impact of money on their lives: emotions, attitudes, values and feelings. It covers peer pressure, advertising, branding and consumerism. It also talks about dealing with money in the whole household rather than just with individuals.

QSA has provided this programme just once in East Anglia so far and is keen to run it again. The effect of continuing changes in benefits is having a negative impact on the ability of the disadvantaged in Suffolk to meet their economic challenges. It is by addressing these needs directly that inequality can be reduced and the ability of Suffolk to be a vibrant economic community can be promoted.

Made of Money aims to work towards the following outcomes:

1. Learning and skills for the future—Providing learning for children, young people and adults that will give them life skills and improved pathways to a better quality of life

2. Creating a prosperous and vibrant economy—Reducing economic inequalities

Made of Money has the following verified outcomes, which we hope to replicate as a result of the workshops to be held in Suffolk. The figures quoted are based on participants’ responses to previous workshop questionnaires as well as independent evaluations and longitudinal surveys since 2005.

Improving financial skills, knowledge and confidence

• 72% of respondents felt greater control over their finances.

• There was a 20% increase in tackling debt problems.

• 44% moved from a negative to a positive state when asked how they felt about their financial situation.

Changing financial behaviour

• 95% had tried to resolve their financial issues since coming to Made of Money.

• 64% had made changes to the way they spend, buying cheaper products and using shopping lists or spending diaries to limit their expenditure.

• 72% reported fewer arguments; 46% even reported feeling that money is no longer a source of stress.

Helping families save

• On average, 4 in 5 participants said they achieved a financial saving as a result of changes to their approach and attitude to money and changes in their behaviour following completion of the workshops.

• An average minimum saving of £50 a month or £600 per annum was reported.

• 471 families were supported in 2010-11 across the UK. Based on 4 out of 5 families making an average saving of £600 a year, this estimates a total financial saving equivalent to £226,000 per annum.

Improving family communication around money, and parents educating their children

• Immediately after the course, there is an 11% increase in parents talking to children about money.

• Longer-term results show that 88% said Made of Money had helped them teach their children about money and 69% found it easier to discuss finances with the whole family.

Please note that this is not a religious programme. There will be no reference to faith or religious belief, and we will contact agencies only on the basis that they have information to identify those individuals who need and will benefit from the workshops.QSA and the Ipswich and Diss Area Meeting have long-standing relationships with many of these agencies.

Quaker Social Action has advised us to charge the attendees of the ‘Made of Money’ training, rather than provide free training. This ensures that value is attached to the event and that people actually attend on the day. Therefore, a subsidised fee of £50 will be charged for the 2-day course. The bulk of the cost is being supported by a grant from the Suffolk Community Foundation.

www.quakersocialaction.com/madeofmoney