Qualitas offers community-based financial education workshops for Hispanic immigrants. Through these workshops, we enable our participants to use the available resources to improve their personal finances and provide more opportunities for their families. We have facilitated workshops in diverse areas of New York City such as East Harlem; Sunset Park, Brooklyn; Port Richmond, Staten Island; and South Bronx.

Because each student arrives at the workshop with different financial experiences, individual learning objectives vary. The main objective of Qualitas is for each student to establish a clear financial goal and acquire the knowledge and develop the skills and habits required to achieve it. By gradually opening accounts, eliminating credit card debt, improving credit scores, budgeting, saving, and avoiding high fees of loan sharks and check cashing establishments, participants will foster their financial security and improve their standard of living. In addition, having access to fair priced financial services facilitates immigrants’ integration into mainstream American society. Many studies have stated that for immigrants, opening a bank account or participating in the credit system are key measures of success in the process of becoming American.

The Qualitas financial education program is comprised of multi-level workshops, special projects, and access to diverse financial services through strategic alliances.  The above are tailored specifically to the needs and characteristics of the underserved Hispanic immigrant community in New York, in particular the Mexicans, Ecuadorians, Peruvians, Dominicans and Central Americans that have arrived to the United States in the last 20 years.

Our participants have demonstrated their educational gains through questionnaires and activities. Still, the most impressive example of their accomplishments is listening them talking comfortably about credit scores, budgeting, investment options and insurance, among other topics. They have also expressed through testimonials how Qualitas has helped to build a sense of community in their neighborhood and how the lessons taught assisted them to fight injustices such as identity theft.

Some of the topics studied during the workshops include:

• Financial goals and plans
• Budgeting
• Savings and checking accounts
• Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN)
• Credit score and credit history
• How to prevent scams
• Loans and credit
• How to teach financial literacy to your children